Send-MagicPacket.ps1
19 Sep 2025Description
Purpose
Send a Magic Packet to a specific computer to wake it up.
Detailed Description
This function sends a Magic Packet to a specified MAC address to wake up a computer on the network. The MAC address should be in the format “98-90-96-DE-4C-6E” or “98:90:96:DE:4C:6E”.
Usage
Example 1
PS C:\> Send-MagicPacket -Mac '98-90-96-DE-4C-6E'
This example sends a Magic Packet to the computer with the specified MAC address.
Notes
Additional information about the function.
Script
function Send-MagicPacket {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Send a Magic Packet to a specific computer to wake it up.
.DESCRIPTION
This function sends a Magic Packet to a specified MAC address to wake up a computer on the network.
The MAC address should be in the format "98-90-96-DE-4C-6E" or "98:90:96:DE:4C:6E".
.PARAMETER Mac
Specifies the MAC address of the computer to wake up. The MAC address should be in the format "98-90-96-DE-4C-6E" or "98:90:96:DE:4C:6E".
.EXAMPLE
PS C:\> Send-MagicPacket -Mac '98-90-96-DE-4C-6E'
This example sends a Magic Packet to the computer with the specified MAC address.
.OUTPUTS
None
.NOTES
Additional information about the function.
.LINK
http://www.microsoft.com/
#>
[CmdletBinding(DefaultParameterSetName = 'Default',
ConfirmImpact = 'Low',
HelpUri = 'http://www.microsoft.com/',
PositionalBinding = $true,
SupportsShouldProcess = $true)]
[OutputType([string], ParameterSetName = 'Default')]
param (
[Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'Default',
Mandatory = $true,
ValueFromPipeline = $true,
ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName = $true,
HelpMessage = "This field will accept a string value for the MAC Address - e.g. '98-90-96-DE-4C-6E' or '98:90:96:DE:4C:6E' ")]
[String]$Mac
)
BEGIN {
Write-Verbose "Starting Send-MagicPacket function."
}
PROCESS {
if ($PSCmdlet.ShouldProcess("$($Mac)", "Sending Magic Packet")) {
try {
Write-Verbose "Converting MAC address to byte array."
$MacByteArray = $Mac -split "[:-]" | ForEach-Object { [Byte]::Parse($_, [System.Globalization.NumberStyles]::HexNumber) }
Write-Verbose "Creating Magic Packet."
[Byte[]]$MagicPacket = ( , 0xFF * 6) + ($MacByteArray * 16)
Write-Verbose "Initializing UDP client."
$UdpClient = New-Object System.Net.Sockets.UdpClient
Write-Verbose "Connecting to broadcast address on port 7."
$UdpClient.Connect([System.Net.IPAddress]::Broadcast, 7)
Write-Verbose "Sending Magic Packet."
$UdpClient.Send($MagicPacket, $MagicPacket.Length)
Write-Verbose "Closing UDP client."
$UdpClient.Close()
Write-Output "Magic Packet sent to $Mac."
}
catch {
Write-Error "Error sending magic packet: $_"
}
}
}
END {
Write-Verbose "Send-MagicPacket function completed."
}
}
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