Problem to solve
Clean all shortcuts on the all users desktop (because users cannot delete them) and also remove unwanted shortcuts from the Start menu such as "Uninstall"-shortcuts.I run this on our student computers in computer rooms where the Onedrive client cannot be used, instead we mount Onedrive as a mapped folder instead using OneDriveMapper.
We also want to remove unnecessary shortcuts for Java & Silverlight.
Description of the script
The script is based on several functions that could be used to remove files and folers other than the desktop and start menu shortcuts.
Remove-UnwantedFolders - Remove folders in a path
Remove-UnwantedFiles - Remove files in a path
Remove-UninstallLinks - Searches for and removes any shortcuts that begins with "Uninstall" in a path
Remove-EmptyFolders - Removes any empty folders in a path
Remove-FiletypeFromFolder - Removes all files of defined type from a path
Read the script comments for more details.
Change the files/folders/file types in the end of the script to adapt to your needs.
The script
=== SCRIPT Cleanup-Desktop_and_StartMenu.ps1 BEGINS ===
# David Djerf 2017-05-11
Function Remove-UnwantedFolders {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Removes unwanted folders in a path
.DESCRIPTION
Will remove one or more folders from a path, for example use this to remove unwanted folders in the start menu.
.NOTES
davpe67 2017-02-18
.PARAMETER WorkFolder
Define a path where script should seach recursive for the folders to remove
For example: "C:\" or "$ENV:Temp"
.PARAMETER SearchStartMenu
Will Set Workfolder to "$ENV:Programdata\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu"
.PARAMETER UnwantedFolders
Specify one or more folders you want to remove.
For example: "Java","Silverlight"
.EXAMPLE
Remove-UnwantedFolders -SearchStartMenu -UnwantedFolders "Java","Unique Admin Generator" -WhatIf
#>
[cmdletbinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$True,DefaultParameterSetName="WorkFolder")]
Param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="WorkFolder", Position=0, HelpMessage='Specify folder(s) serch in: ["C:\path\to\folders"]')]
[string]$WorkFolder,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="SearchStartMenu", Position=0)]
[switch]$SearchStartMenu,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, HelpMessage='Specify folder(s) to remove: ["Folder1","Folder"]')]
[string[]]$UnwantedFolders
)
BEGIN {
Write-Verbose "Begin..."
IF ($SearchStartMenu) {
$IsAdmin=Test-Admin
Write-Verbose "`$IsAdmin is $IsAdmin"
IF ($IsAdmin -like $false) { Write-Error "Script need to run as administrator" ; Break }
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path $("$ENV:ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu")
} ELSE {
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path "$WorkFolder"
} # End of IF ELSE
Write-Verbose "`$WorkFolder=`"$WorkFolder`""
Write-Verbose "`$UnwantedFolders=`"$UnwantedFolders`""
} # End of Begin
PROCESS {
# Remove Unwanted Folders in Start Menu
IF ($UnwantedFolders -and $WorkFolder) { # Only run if not empty
Write-Verbose "Processing..."
IF ($UnwantedFolders) {
ForEach ($UnwantedFolder in $UnwantedFolders) {
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path $WorkFolder -Directory | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "$UnwantedFolder" } | Resolve-Path | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
} # End of ForEach
} # End of IF
} # End of IF
} # End of Process
} # End of function Remove-UnwantedFolders
Function Remove-UnwantedFiles {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Removes unwanted files in a path
.DESCRIPTION
Will remove one or more files from a path, for example use this to remove unwanted files in the start menu.
.NOTES
davpe67 2017-03-03
.PARAMETER WorkFolder
Define a path where script should seach recursive for the folders to remove
For example: "C:\" or "$ENV:Temp"
.PARAMETER SearchStartMenu
Will Set Workfolder to "$ENV:Programdata\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu"
.PARAMETER UnwantedFiles
Specify one or more folders you want to remove.
For example: "Onedrive","Onedrive for Business"
.EXAMPLE
Remove-UnwantedFiles -SearchStartMenu -UnwantedFiles "Onedrive","Onedrive for Business" -WhatIf
#>
[cmdletbinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$True,DefaultParameterSetName="WorkFolder")]
Param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="WorkFolder", Position=0, HelpMessage='Specify folder(s) serch in: ["C:\path\to\folders"]')]
[string]$WorkFolder,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="SearchStartMenu", Position=0)]
[switch]$SearchStartMenu,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, HelpMessage='Specify files(s) to remove: ["File1","File"]')]
[string[]]$UnwantedFiles
)
BEGIN {
Write-Verbose "Begin..."
IF ($SearchStartMenu) {
$IsAdmin=Test-Admin
Write-Verbose "`$IsAdmin is $IsAdmin"
IF ($IsAdmin -like $false) { Write-Error "Script need to run as administrator" ; Break }
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path $("$ENV:ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu")
} ELSE {
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path "$WorkFolder"
} # End of IF ELSE
Write-Verbose "`$WorkFolder=`"$WorkFolder`""
Write-Verbose "`$UnwantedFiles=`"$UnwantedFiles`""
} # End of Begin
PROCESS {
# Remove Unwanted Folders in Start Menu
IF ($UnwantedFiles -and $WorkFolder) { # Only run if not empty
Write-Verbose "Processing..."
IF ($UnwantedFiles) {
ForEach ($UnwantedFile in $UnwantedFiles) {
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path $WorkFolder -File | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "$UnwantedFile" } | Resolve-Path | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
} # End of ForEach
} # End of IF
} # End of IF
} # End of Process
} # End of function Remove-UnwantedFiles
function Test-Admin {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Test if script is run as administrator
.DESCRIPTION
Use to check if script is run with administrator privilegues or not.
Will return true or false.
.NOTES
Downloaded from: http://www.powertheshell.com/testadmin/
.EXAMPLE
Test-Admin
#>
$wid = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()
$prp = New-Object System.Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal($wid)
$adm = [System.Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator
$prp.IsInRole($adm)
}
Function Remove-UninstallLinks {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Removes unwanted Uninstall links in a path
.DESCRIPTION
Will remove links that begin with "uninstall" from a path,
for example use this to remove unwanted uninstall-links in the start menu.
.NOTES
davpe67 2017-02-18
.PARAMETER WorkFolder
Define a path where script should seach recursive for the folders to remove
For example: "C:\" or "$ENV:Temp"
.PARAMETER SearchStartMenu
Will Set Workfolder to "$ENV:Programdata\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu"
.EXAMPLE
Remove-UnwantedFolders -SearchStartMenu -WhatIf
#>
[cmdletbinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$True,DefaultParameterSetName="WorkFolder")]
Param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="WorkFolder", Position=0, HelpMessage='Specify folder(s) serch in: ["C:\path\to\folders"]')]
[string]$WorkFolder,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="SearchStartMenu", Position=0)]
[switch]$SearchStartMenu
)
BEGIN {
Write-Verbose "Begin..."
IF ($SearchStartMenu) {
$IsAdmin=Test-Admin
Write-Verbose "`$IsAdmin is $IsAdmin"
IF ($IsAdmin -like $false) { Write-Error "Script need to run as administrator" ; Break }
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path $("$ENV:ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu")
} ELSE {
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path "$WorkFolder"
} # End of IF ELSE
Write-Verbose "`$WorkFolder=`"$WorkFolder`""
} # End of Begin
PROCESS {
Write-Verbose "Processing..."
# Remove all Uninstall-links
$UninstallLinks=Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path $WorkFolder -File "*.lnk" | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "Uninstall*" } | Resolve-Path
$UninstallLinks | ForEach-Object {
Write-Verbose "Removing `"$_`""
Remove-Item "$_" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
} # End of Process
} # End of Remove-UninstallLinks
Function Remove-EmptyFolders {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Removes empty folders in a path.
.DESCRIPTION
Will remove empty folders in a path.
Script will loop x times to ensure folders that became empty, default number is 10.
.NOTES
davpe67 2017-02-18
.PARAMETER WorkFolder
Define a path where script should seach recursive for the folders to remove
For example: "C:\" or "$ENV:Temp"
.PARAMETER SearchStartMenu
Will Set Workfolder to "$ENV:Programdata\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu"
.PARAMETER KeepFolders
Will not remove folders with these names.
For example: "StartUp","Maintenance"
.PARAMETER Looptimes
Script will loop this many times to remove new empty folders from previous runs.
.EXAMPLE
Remove-EmptyFolders -SearchStartMenu -Looptimes 10 -WhatIf
#>
[cmdletbinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$True,DefaultParameterSetName="WorkFolder")]
Param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="WorkFolder", Position=0, HelpMessage='Specify folder(s) serch in: ["C:\path\to\folders"]')]
[string]$WorkFolder,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="SearchStartMenu", Position=0)]
[switch]$SearchStartMenu,
[int]$Looptimes,
[string[]]$KeepFolders
)
BEGIN {
Write-Verbose "Begin..."
IF (!$Looptimes) { $Looptimes=10 }
IF ($SearchStartMenu) {
$IsAdmin=Test-Admin
Write-Verbose "`$IsAdmin is $IsAdmin"
IF ($IsAdmin -like $false) { Write-Error "Script need to run as administrator" ; Break }
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path $("$ENV:ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu")
} ELSE {
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path "$WorkFolder"
} # End of IF ELSE
Write-Verbose "`$WorkFolder=`"$WorkFolder`""
} # End of Begin
PROCESS {
Write-Verbose "Processing..."
# Remove all folders with no links
$LoopCounter=0
do {
Write-Verbose "Loop number $LoopCounter of $Looptimes"
$EmptyFolders = Get-ChildItem $WorkFolder -Directory -Recurse -Force -Exclude $KeepFolders | Where-Object { (Get-ChildItem $_.fullName).count -eq 0 } | Select-Object -ExpandProperty FullName
$EmptyFolders | ForEach-Object { Write-Verbose "Removing `"$_`"" }
$EmptyFolders | ForEach-Object { Remove-Item "$_" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction Continue }
$LoopCounter=$LoopCounter+1
} while ($EmptyFolders.count -gt 0 -and $LoopCounter -le $Looptimes)
} # End of Process
} # End of Remove-EmptyFolders
Function Remove-FiletypeFromFolder {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Removes files of defined type in a path
.DESCRIPTION
Will remove all files of defined file type in a path and subfolders,
could be used to remove all links from the common desktop.
Use the -whatif to see what files that will be removed.
.NOTES
davpe67 2017-02-25
davpe67 2017-05-11 Added support for exclution of files
.PARAMETER WorkFolder
Define a path where script should seach recursive for the folders to remove
For example: "C:\" or "$ENV:Temp"
.PARAMETER SearchStartMenu
Will Set Workfolder to "$ENV:Programdata\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu"
.PARAMETER SearchPublicDesktop
Will Set Workfolder to "$ENV:PUBLIC\Desktop"
.PARAMETER KeepFiles
Define files that should not be deleted
.EXAMPLE
Remove-FiletypeFromFolder -SearchPublicDesktop -FileTypes ".lnk" -WhatIf
Remove-FiletypeFromFolder -SearchPublicDesktop -FileTypes ".lnk","*.tmp" -Verbose
#>
[cmdletbinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$True,DefaultParameterSetName="WorkFolder")]
Param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="WorkFolder", Position=0, HelpMessage='Specify folder(s) serch in: ["C:\path\to\folders"]')]
[string]$WorkFolder,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="SearchStartMenu", Position=0)]
[switch]$SearchStartMenu,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, ParameterSetName="SearchPublicDesktop", Position=0)]
[switch]$SearchPublicDesktop,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$True, HelpMessage='Specify filetypes to search for: [".lnk",".tmp"]')]
[string[]]$FileTypes,
[string[]]$KeepFiles
)
BEGIN {
Write-Verbose "Begin..."
$IsAdmin=Test-Admin
Write-Verbose "`$IsAdmin is $IsAdmin"
IF ($SearchStartMenu) {
IF ($IsAdmin -like $false) { Write-Error "Script need to run as administrator" ; Break }
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path $("$ENV:ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu")
} ELSEIF ($SearchPublicDesktop) {
IF ($IsAdmin -like $false) { Write-Error "Script need to run as administrator" ; Break }
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path $("$ENV:PUBLIC\Desktop")
} ELSE {
$WorkFolder = Resolve-Path "$WorkFolder"
} # End of IF ELSE
Write-Verbose "`$WorkFolder=`"$WorkFolder`""
} # End of Begin
PROCESS {
Write-Verbose "Processing..."
# Search and remove
foreach ($FileType in $FileTypes) {
$FilesToRemove=Get-ChildItem $WorkFolder -Force -Exclude $KeepFiles | Resolve-Path
$FilesToRemove | ForEach-Object {
Write-Verbose "Removing `"$_`""
Remove-Item "$_" -Recurse -Force
}
} # End of foreach
} # End of Process
} # End of Remove-FiletypeFromFolder
Remove-FiletypeFromFolder -SearchPublicDesktop -FileTypes "*.lnk" -KeepFiles "Mount Onedrive for Business.lnk"
Remove-UnwantedFolders -SearchStartMenu -UnwantedFolders "Java","Microsoft Silverlight"
Remove-UnwantedFiles -SearchStartMenu -UnwantedFiles "Onedrive*.lnk"
Remove-UninstallLinks -SearchStartMenu
Remove-EmptyFolders -SearchStartMenu -KeepFolders "StartUp","Maintenance"
=== SCRIPT Cleanup-Desktop_and_StartMenu.ps1 ENDS ===
How it runs
The script is run by a scheduled task that triggers on computer startup, user logon, and every hour and on the creation of the scheduled job. This is to make sure that any shortcuts that may have been added by software installation have been removed.
