Remove-ADComputer

Remove-ADComputer

Removes an Active Directory computer.

Syntax

Remove-ADComputer [-Identity] <ADComputer> [-AuthType {<Negotiate> | <Basic>}] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Partition <string>] [-Server <string>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

• Identity

• AuthType

• Credential

• Partition

• Server

• Confirm

• WhatIf

Detailed Description

The Remove-ADComputer cmdlet removes an Active Directory computer.

The Identity parameter specifies the Active Directory computer to remove. You can identify a computer by its distinguished name Members (DN), GUID, security identifier (SID), or Security Accounts Manager (SAM) account name. You can also set the Identity parameter to a computer object variable, such as $<localComputerObject>, or you can pass a computer object through the pipeline to the Identity parameter. For example, you can use the Get-ADComputer cmdlet to retrieve a computer object and then pass the object through the pipeline to the Remove-ADComputer cmdlet.

Parameters

AuthType

Specifies the authentication method to use. Possible values for this parameter include:
Negotiate or 0
Basic or 1

The default authentication method is Negotiate.

A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection is required for the Basic authentication method.

The following example shows how to set this parameter to Basic.
-AuthType Basic

The following lists the acceptable values for this parameter:

• Negotiate**

• Basic**

Default Value: Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.AuthType.Negotiate

Data Type: ADAuthType

Attributes

Value Attributes

Credential

Specifies the user account credentials to use to perform this task. The default credentials are the credentials of the currently logged on user unless the cmdlet is run from an Active Directory PowerShell provider drive. If the cmdlet is run from such a provider drive, the account associated with the drive is the default.

To specify this parameter, you can type a user name, such as "User1" or "Domain01\User01" or you can specify a PSCredential object. If you specify a user name for this parameter, the cmdlet prompts for a password.

You can also create a PSCredential object by using a script or by using the Get-Credential cmdlet. You can then set the Credential parameter to the PSCredential object The following example shows how to create credentials.
$AdminCredentials = Get-Credential "Domain01\User01"

The following shows how to set the Credential parameter to these credentials.
-Credential $AdminCredentials

If the acting credentials do not have directory-level permission to perform the task, Active Directory PowerShell returns a terminating error.

Default Value: **

Data Type: PSCredential

Attributes

Value Attributes

Identity

Specifies an Active Directory computer object by providing one of the following property values. The identifier in parentheses is the LDAP display name for the attribute.

Distinguished Name
Example: CN=SaraDavisDesktop,CN=Europe,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com
GUID (objectGUID)
Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20
Security Identifier (objectSid)
Example: S-1-5-21-3165297888-301567370-576410423-1103
Security Accounts Manager Account Name (sAMAccountName)
Example: SaraDavisDesktop

The cmdlet searches the default naming context or partition to find the object. If the identifier given is a DN, the partition to search will be computed from that DN. If two or more objects are found, the cmdlet returns a non-terminating error.

This parameter can also get this object through the pipeline or you can set this parameter to a computer object instance.

This example shows how to set the parameter to a distinguished name.
-Identity "CN=saraDavisDesktop,CN=Europe,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com"

This example shows how to set this parameter to a computer object instance named "computerInstance".
-Identity $computerInstance

Default Value: **

Data Type: ADComputer

Attributes

Value Attributes

Partition

Specifies the distinguished name of an Active Directory partition. The distinguished name must be one of the naming contexts on the current directory server. The cmdlet searches this partition to find the object defined by the Identity parameter.
The following two examples show how to specify a value for this parameter.
-Partition "CN=Configuration,DC=EUROPE,DC=TEST,DC=CONTOSO,DC=COM"

-Partition "CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=EUROPE,DC=TEST,DC=CONTOSO,DC=COM"

In many cases, a default value will be used for the Partition parameter if no value is specified. The rules for determining the default value are given below. Note that rules listed first are evaluated first and once a default value can be determined, no further rules will be evaluated.

In AD DS environments, a default value for Partition will be set in the following cases: - If the Identity parameter is set to a distinguished name, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from this distinguished name.
- If running cmdlets from an Active Directory provider drive, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from the current path in the drive.
- If none of the previous cases apply, the default value of Partition will be set to the default partition or naming context of the target domain.

In AD LDS environments, a default value for Partition will be set in the following cases:
- If the Identity parameter is set to a distinguished name, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from this distinguished name.
- If running cmdlets from an Active Directory provider drive, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from the current path in the drive.
- If the target AD LDS instance has a default naming context, the default value of Partition will be set to the default naming context. To specify a default naming context for an AD LDS environment, set the msDS-defaultNamingContext property of the Active Directory directory service agent (DSA) object (nTDSDSA) for the AD LDS instance.
- If none of the previous cases apply, the Partition parameter will not take any default value.

Default Value: **

Data Type: string

Attributes

Value Attributes

Server

Specifies the Active Directory Domain Services instance to connect to, by providing one of the following values for a corresponding domain name or directory server. The service may be any of the following: Active Directory Lightweight Domain Services, Active Directory Domain Services or Active Directory Snapshot instance.
Domain name values:
Fully qualified domain name
Examples: corp.contoso.com
NetBIOS name
Example: CORP

Directory server values:
Fully qualified directory server name
Example: corp-DC12.corp.contoso.com
NetBIOS name
Example: corp-DC12
Fully qualified directory server name and port
Example: corp-DC12.corp.contoso.com:3268

The default value for the Server parameter is determined by one of the following methods in the order that they are listed:
-By using Server value from objects passed through the pipeline.
-By using the server information associated with the Active Directory PowerShell provider drive, when running under that drive.
-By using the domain of the computer running Powershell.

The following example shows how to specify a full qualified domain name as the parameter value.
-Server "corp.contoso.com"

Default Value: **

Data Type: string

Attributes

Value Attributes

Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before executing the command.

Default Value: **

Data Type: SwitchParameter

Attributes

Value Attributes

WhatIf

Describes what would happen if you executed the command without actually executing the command.

Default Value: **

Data Type: SwitchParameter

Attributes

Value Attributes

Input Type

None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADComputer

A computer object is received by the Identity parameter.

Return Type

None

Notes

• This cmdlet does not work with AD LDS.
  This cmdlet does not work with an Active Directory Snapshot.
  This cmdlet does not work with a read-only domain controller.

Examples

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

Remove-ADComputer -Identity "FABRIKAM-SRV4"

Remove one particular computer.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

Get-ADComputer -Filter 'Location -eq "NA/HQ/Building A"' | Remove-ADComputer

Confirm
Are you sure you want to perform this action?
Performing operation "Remove" on Target "CN=LabServer-01,CN=Computers,DC=Fabrikam,DC=com".
[Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"): a

Description

-----------

Remove all computers in a given location.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

Get-ADComputer -Filter 'Location -eq "NA/HQ/Building A"' | Remove-ADComputer -confirm:$false

Remove all computers from a given location and disables the confirm prompt.

See Also

Reference

Get-ADComputer
Set-ADComputer
New-ADComputer
Add-ADComputerServiceAccount
Get-ADComputerServiceAccount
Remove-ADComputerServiceAccount

Other Resources

Online version: