Process health snapshot: a guided PowerShell project
Documentation: Microsoft Learn
Milestone 1 — Discover the data
Not checked yet
Run Get-Process and open the Sample data tab. Name the properties each process object carries (Name, CPU, WS, Id). Everything downstream depends on knowing what the objects actually contain — not what you assume they contain.
Sample environmentStep through, copy or reset
Run the example to inspect its sample result.
Fictional data. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
Follow the objects
Each stage shows the objects after one command. Choose Step from start repeatedly to move through the stages, or Run to see the final result.
Run or step through the command to follow its objects.
Inspect the inputs
These fictional objects are reset for every run.
Run and check the milestone
The browser runs supported sample commands against fictional objects. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
- Open Sample data to inspect the input objects.
- Edit the command, then choose Run to see its final result.
- Choose Step from start repeatedly to inspect each pipeline stage in order.
- Choose Check answer to compare the final rows and properties with the milestone.
Reset restores the editor. Saved completion stays in your progress history.
PowerShell normally streams objects between commands. Sort-Object and Group-Object need their inputs before returning their grouped or sorted results; these sample stage snapshots show the result after each command.
Read the pipeline lesson →Milestone 2 — Catch the cpu burners
Not checked yet
Keep only processes with CPU greater than 100. Choose Step from start repeatedly to compare the source objects with the filtered result. Inspect the CPU values in Sample data to explain which objects were kept or dropped.
Step through, copy or reset
Run the example to inspect its sample result.
Fictional data. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
Follow the objects
Each stage shows the objects after one command. Choose Step from start repeatedly to move through the stages, or Run to see the final result.
Run or step through the command to follow its objects.
Inspect the inputs
These fictional objects are reset for every run.
Run and check the milestone
The browser runs supported sample commands against fictional objects. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
- Open Sample data to inspect the input objects.
- Edit the command, then choose Run to see its final result.
- Choose Step from start repeatedly to inspect each pipeline stage in order.
- Choose Check answer to compare the final rows and properties with the milestone.
Reset restores the editor. Saved completion stays in your progress history.
PowerShell normally streams objects between commands. Sort-Object and Group-Object need their inputs before returning their grouped or sorted results; these sample stage snapshots show the result after each command.
Read the pipeline lesson →Milestone 3 — Rank by memory
Not checked yet
Order all processes by working set, largest first, and keep the top three. Sorting never changes which objects you have — only their order. Finish the pipeline, then Check answer.
Step through, copy or reset
Run the example to inspect its sample result.
Fictional data. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
Follow the objects
Each stage shows the objects after one command. Choose Step from start repeatedly to move through the stages, or Run to see the final result.
Run or step through the command to follow its objects.
Inspect the inputs
These fictional objects are reset for every run.
Run and check the milestone
The browser runs supported sample commands against fictional objects. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
- Open Sample data to inspect the input objects.
- Edit the command, then choose Run to see its final result.
- Choose Step from start repeatedly to inspect each pipeline stage in order.
- Choose Check answer to compare the final rows and properties with the milestone.
Reset restores the editor. Saved completion stays in your progress history.
PowerShell normally streams objects between commands. Sort-Object and Group-Object need their inputs before returning their grouped or sorted results; these sample stage snapshots show the result after each command.
Read the pipeline lesson →Milestone 4 — Shape the report
Not checked yet
A report is objects with the right properties and nothing else. Take the CPU burners from milestone 2 and project just Name, CPU and WS. Extra properties are noise in a morning check.
Step through, copy or reset
Run the example to inspect its sample result.
Fictional data. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
Follow the objects
Each stage shows the objects after one command. Choose Step from start repeatedly to move through the stages, or Run to see the final result.
Run or step through the command to follow its objects.
Inspect the inputs
These fictional objects are reset for every run.
Run and check the milestone
The browser runs supported sample commands against fictional objects. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
- Open Sample data to inspect the input objects.
- Edit the command, then choose Run to see its final result.
- Choose Step from start repeatedly to inspect each pipeline stage in order.
- Choose Check answer to compare the final rows and properties with the milestone.
Reset restores the editor. Saved completion stays in your progress history.
PowerShell normally streams objects between commands. Sort-Object and Group-Object need their inputs before returning their grouped or sorted results; these sample stage snapshots show the result after each command.
Read the pipeline lesson →Milestone 5 — Assemble and defend
Not checked yet
Assemble the final snapshot: all processes, sorted by CPU descending, top three, with Name, CPU and WS. Then defend it below: what does this snapshot prove, and what does it not prove?
Step through, copy or reset
Run the example to inspect its sample result.
Fictional data. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
Follow the objects
Each stage shows the objects after one command. Choose Step from start repeatedly to move through the stages, or Run to see the final result.
Run or step through the command to follow its objects.
Inspect the inputs
These fictional objects are reset for every run.
Run and check the milestone
The browser runs supported sample commands against fictional objects. Nothing runs on your device or tenant.
- Open Sample data to inspect the input objects.
- Edit the command, then choose Run to see its final result.
- Choose Step from start repeatedly to inspect each pipeline stage in order.
- Choose Check answer to compare the final rows and properties with the milestone.
Reset restores the editor. Saved completion stays in your progress history.
PowerShell normally streams objects between commands. Sort-Object and Group-Object need their inputs before returning their grouped or sorted results; these sample stage snapshots show the result after each command.
Read the pipeline lesson →Defend it
In one paragraph, defend your snapshot the way you would in standup: what does it prove, and what does it not prove? Then compare with the model defense.
Compare with a model defense
This snapshot proves which processes had accumulated the most CPU time and held the largest working sets at the moment it ran, in a repeatable one-line form. It does not prove a leak or a hang: one snapshot cannot show a trend, CPU time is cumulative since process start (not current load), and working set is resident memory now — so the honest next step is to re-run it under a comparable workload and compare.
Process snapshot handover
Deliver a usable report
Record the computer, collection time, process name, ID, working set in bytes and accumulated CPU time. Preserve a second observation if the question concerns change.
Test the failure path
A process exits between collection and inspection. Keep its identity and timestamp; do not assume a later process with the same name is the same instance.
Verify before handing over
Compare one process by ID with a direct query. Working set is a snapshot, while CPU is accumulated time rather than a utilization percentage.
Complete each checked milestone above. Completion records show practice against fictional data; they do not certify a production script.
Apply this project to the next admin taskPractise the next scenario
Report process memory
Return Name and WorkingSet64 for all processes, highest memory first.
The sandbox is visible now. Sign in with Google only when you run or check a task; commands and temporary files are discarded when you leave.
Run a command to inspect its result.