When you directly launch a console-based application, PowerShell returns its exit code (aka Error Level) in the automatic variable $LASTEXITCODE. However, how do you get the exit code for a console-based application that you launch via Start-Process?
Here is how:
$hostname = 'powershellmagazine.com' # run the console-based application synchronously in the PowerShell window, # and return the process object (-PassThru) $process = Start-Process -FilePath ping -ArgumentList "$hostname -n 2 -w 2000" -Wait -NoNewWindow -PassThru # the Error Level information is then found in ExitCode: $IsOnline = $process.ExitCode -eq 0 $IsOnline
