Uninstalling Windows Built-In Apps via PowerShell

[jdewinne]

Hello,

I am trying to uninstall Windows Apps (Cortana, Weather, Mail, etc.) from my computers on Pulseway.  I made the following script, that works perfectly when ran locally, but when I try to run it through Automation with Pulseway, I get no success.

 

dism /online /get-provisionedappxpackages |ft PackageName
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_2019.125.2243.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.Getstarted_8.2.22942.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
#dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.Messaging_2019.125.32.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub_18.1903.1152.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection_4.4.8204.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.MixedReality.Portal_2000.19081.1301.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.Office.OneNote_16001.12026.20112.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
#dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.OneConnect_5.1902.361.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.People_2019.305.632.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.SkypeApp_14.53.77.0_neutral_~_kzf8qxf38zg5c
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_16005.11629.20316.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub_2019.1111.2029.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.Xbox.TCUI_1.23.28002.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.XboxApp_48.49.31001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.XboxGameOverlay_1.46.11001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.XboxGamingOverlay_2.34.28001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.XboxIdentityProvider_12.50.6001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.XboxSpeechToTextOverlay_1.17.29001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.YourPhone_2019.430.2026.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.ZuneMusic_2019.19071.19011.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
dism /online /remove-Provisionedappxpackage /packagename:Microsoft.ZuneVideo_2019.19071.19011.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe


Get-AppxPackage |Select-Object -Property Name
Get-AppxPackage *3d* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *DesktopAppInstaller* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *Getstarted* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *Messaging* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *MicrosoftOfficeHub* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *MixedReality* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *MicrosoftSolitaireCollection* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *Office.OneNote* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *OneConnect* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.People | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *skypeapp* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *windowscommunicationsapps* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *WindowsFeedbackHub* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *XboxApp* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *Xbox.TCUI* | Remove-AppxPackage
#Get-AppxPackage *XboxGameCallableUI* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *XboxGameOverlay* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *XboxGamingOverlay* | Remove-AppxPackage      
Get-AppxPackage *XboxIdentityProvider* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *xboxSpeechToTextOverlay* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *YourPhone* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *zunemusic* | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage *zunevideo* | Remove-AppxPackage

I've tried different switches like -AllUsers, but I think the problem exists since Pulseway runs Powershell commands as nt authority\system

Please let me know if there's something I can do to automate this with Pulseway.  

[Robert Stan]

Hi Jdewinne,

Usually, Pulseway runs the scripts as a system account and not as a user account. You can try the below method and see if it works for you.

---> On the remote machine, please consider configuring the PowerShell impersonation by remoting into that affected machine, then launch Pulseway Manager -> Settings -> Runtime. 

Please enter the username and password on this field on the affected system.

If the affected machine is on a domain, domain-level credentials should be used. 

If it is not on a domain, you can use the local admin account credentials and leave the domain field blank.

You may refer to the below screenshot. 



Once you have the Powershell impersonation configured on Pulseway Manager, wait for 2-3 minutes, then run the script through Pulseway Webapp.

Thank you.