PowerShell: Get Windows Install Date
Need to know when Windows was installed on a machine - for auditing, troubleshooting, or just curiosity about how old a system is? This one-liner pulls the install date straight from the OS.
Prerequisites:
- Privileges: None
- Module: Built-in, no import needed
Quick Command:
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object InstallDateExample Output:
InstallDate
-----------
7/16/2026 6:52:37 PM📦
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How It Works:
- Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem queries the operating system class through CIM/WMI, which holds core system details like version, build number, and architecture.
- InstallDate returns the date and time Windows was originally installed on the machine, already converted into a readable local date/time format by CIM.
- Select-Object trims the output down to just this one property, since Win32_OperatingSystem also returns a lot more data (like Caption, Version, or BuildNumber) that isn't needed for a quick install date check.