Powershell: Script to query softwares installed on remote computer

UPDATE(15/7/2015): This script is updated recently to query 32-bit as well as 64-bit applications installed on remote computers. It also provides an extra column in the output which indicates the architecture(x86 or x64) of the software.

Recently I came across a forum question where I have seen people using Win32_Product WMI class to get the installed installed applications list from remote computers. Historically, Win32_Product proved to be a buggy one due to various factors (which I will talk in later posts). So, I didn’t recommend them to use Win32_Product WMI class. If not WMI, what are the various options available to get the installed problems from remote computers. There are two methods (1) Using Win32Reg_AddRemovePrograms (2) Using Registry(uninstallkey).

The Win32Reg_AddRemovePrograms is not a common WMI class that you will find in any windows computer. It comes along with SMS or SCCM agent installation. So if you have one of these agents then probably you can explore this method. Otherwise, we need to rely on registry to get this information. Is the information queried from registry is accurate? My answer is YES and NO. It gives all the applications installed by both MSI installer and executables. But some of the registry keys will have less information about the software — not sure why it is that way.

Keeping the downsides aside, it is definitely the best approach to get installed softwares from remote computer. I am also excluding the applications from display if their display name black(which makes sense). This script will return the uninstall string as well which is essential for uninstalling the software. I will use this in my upcoming posts to uninstall a software remotely.

Now Code follows. (download)

[cmdletbinding()]            
param(            
 [parameter(ValueFromPipeline=$true,ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true)]            
 [string[]]$ComputerName = $env:computername            
)            
            
begin {            
 $UninstallRegKeys=@("SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall",            
     "SOFTWARE\\Wow6432Node\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall")            
}            
            
process {            
 foreach($Computer in $ComputerName) {            
  Write-Verbose "Working on $Computer"            
 if(Test-Connection -ComputerName $Computer -Count 1 -ea 0) {            
  foreach($UninstallRegKey in $UninstallRegKeys) {            
   try {            
    $HKLM   = [microsoft.win32.registrykey]::OpenRemoteBaseKey('LocalMachine',$computer)            
    $UninstallRef  = $HKLM.OpenSubKey($UninstallRegKey)            
    $Applications = $UninstallRef.GetSubKeyNames()            
   } catch {            
    Write-Verbose "Failed to read $UninstallRegKey"            
    Continue            
   }            
            
   foreach ($App in $Applications) {            
   $AppRegistryKey  = $UninstallRegKey + "\\" + $App            
   $AppDetails   = $HKLM.OpenSubKey($AppRegistryKey)            
   $AppGUID   = $App            
   $AppDisplayName  = $($AppDetails.GetValue("DisplayName"))            
   $AppVersion   = $($AppDetails.GetValue("DisplayVersion"))            
   $AppPublisher  = $($AppDetails.GetValue("Publisher"))            
   $AppInstalledDate = $($AppDetails.GetValue("InstallDate"))            
   $AppUninstall  = $($AppDetails.GetValue("UninstallString"))            
   if($UninstallRegKey -match "Wow6432Node") {            
    $Softwarearchitecture = "x86"            
   } else {            
    $Softwarearchitecture = "x64"            
   }            
   if(!$AppDisplayName) { continue }            
   $OutputObj = New-Object -TypeName PSobject             
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name ComputerName -Value $Computer.ToUpper()            
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppName -Value $AppDisplayName            
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppVersion -Value $AppVersion            
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppVendor -Value $AppPublisher            
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name InstalledDate -Value $AppInstalledDate            
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name UninstallKey -Value $AppUninstall            
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name AppGUID -Value $AppGUID            
   $OutputObj | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name SoftwareArchitecture -Value $Softwarearchitecture            
   $OutputObj            
   }            
  }             
 }            
 }            
}            
            
end {}

Copy this code to a text file and save it as Get-InstalledSoftware.ps1. Look at the below image for usage.