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SOP-001: Windows Systems Optimization & PowerShell 7 Lifecycle

Field Detail
Document ID SOP-001
Version 1.0
Date March 2026
Author Gemi (Gemini — Atlantis AI)
Reviewed By Shane Hardin
Applies To All Atlantis OS Windows workstations
Difficulty Intermediate
Est. Time 30–60 minutes (full run)
Related Docs KB-001 — M365 Copilot Limitations, HT-001 — Cloudflare Connector Rebuild

1. Overview

This SOP covers two repeatable operational procedures for all Atlantis OS Windows workstations:

  1. C: Drive Triage — emergency space reclamation when the OS drive falls below 10GB free
  2. PowerShell 7 Upgrade — installing and configuring PowerShell 7.x (Core) side-by-side with the legacy 5.1 engine

Both procedures are relevant to the AtlantisITS infrastructure stack. PowerShell 7 is required for modern JSON handling, n8n webhook scripting, and any future Linux VPS automation work.

⚠️ NOTE: Always maintain at least 20GB free on C: to allow for .NET Core updates and log rotation from AtlantisITS automation tools.

2. When to Run This SOP

Run Section 3 (C: Drive Triage) when:

  • C: drive falls below 10GB free space
  • Windows performance degrades noticeably (slow boot, slow file operations)
  • After a major Windows Update cycle

Run Section 4 (PowerShell 7 Upgrade) when:

  • Setting up a new Atlantis OS workstation
  • Scripts using ConvertFrom-Json, parallel processing, or SSH remoting are needed
  • Migrating n8n or automation scripts to a Linux VPS

3. C: Drive Triage — The "10GB Rescue" Plan

When a system falls below 10GB free, Windows performance degrades due to Page File and Cache constraints. Run these steps in order.

⚠️ NOTE: All commands in this section require an Admin terminal. Right-click PowerShell or Command Prompt → Run as Administrator.

Step 1 — Deep Clean Windows Update Files

Standard Disk Cleanup ignores superseded update files. This command forces a deep clean of the Windows image component store.

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase

Expected result: Reclaims 2GB–10GB of old Windows Update junk. This may take 5–15 minutes.

⚠️ NOTE: The /ResetBase flag is permanent — it removes the ability to uninstall currently installed updates. Only run this when space is critical.

Step 2 — Manage the Hibernation File

If the system has 32GB+ RAM, the hibernation file (hiberfil.sys) consumes a massive amount of space (roughly 75% of total RAM).

Option A — Disable hibernation entirely (reclaims the most space):

powercfg -h off

Option B — Shrink hibernation file (keeps Fast Startup, halves file size):

powercfg /h /type reduced

💡 TIP: For a workstation that stays powered on (like the Atlantis build machine), Option A is safe. For a laptop you put to sleep, use Option B.

Step 3 — Purge Temporary Folders

Clear both the user and system temp directories. Run each path in File Explorer or use PowerShell:

# Clear user temp
Remove-Item "$env:TEMP\*" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# Clear system temp
Remove-Item "C:\Windows\Temp\*" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

💡 TIP: Use WizTree (not WinDirStat) to find hidden bloat in seconds. WizTree reads the MFT directly and is dramatically faster on large drives.

Step 4 — Find the Biggest Files on C:

Run this PowerShell 7 command to identify the top 10 largest files consuming space:

Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Users\shane\Downloads -File |
  Sort-Object Length -Descending |
  Select-Object Name, @{Name="Size(GB)";Expression={$_.Length / 1GB}} -First 10

Move any large installers, ISOs, or zip files to D:\ or E:\ storage.

Step 5 — Automate Future Cleanup with the Atlantis Archiver

To prevent C: drive bloat from recurring, deploy the AtlantisITS Archive Script. This script automatically moves files older than 30 days from Downloads to the Toshiba E: drive.

Create the script file:

Save the following as Archive-Downloads.ps1 in your scripts folder:

# AtlantisITS AI — Automated Download Archiver
# Moves files older than 30 days from Downloads to E: archive

$Source      = "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads"
$Destination = "E:\Data\AtlantisITS\Archive\Downloads"
$DaysOld     = 30
$LogFile     = "E:\Data\AtlantisITS\logs\archiver-log.txt"

# Create destination if it doesn't exist
if (-not (Test-Path $Destination)) {
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $Destination -Force | Out-Null
}

# Get files older than threshold — files only, not folders
$OldFiles = Get-ChildItem -Path $Source -File |
    Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-$DaysOld) }

foreach ($File in $OldFiles) {
    try {
        Move-Item -Path $File.FullName -Destination $Destination -ErrorAction Stop
        $LogEntry = "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm') | MOVED | $($File.Name)"
    } catch {
        $LogEntry = "$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm') | ERROR | $($File.Name) | $($_.Exception.Message)"
    }
    Add-Content -Path $LogFile -Value $LogEntry
}

Write-Host "Archive complete. $($OldFiles.Count) files processed." -ForegroundColor Green

Why this is safe:

  • Moves files only — no folders, so no specialized software paths are broken
  • Keeps C: SSD lean for AI models and OS performance
  • Uses pwsh.exe to ensure the PS7 engine is used
  • Logs every move for auditability

Schedule it with Task Scheduler (Set and Forget):

  1. Open Task Scheduler
  2. Click Create Basic Task → Name it Atlantis-Archiver
  3. Set trigger to Weekly or Monthly
  4. For Action, choose Start a Program with these settings:
Field Value
Program/script pwsh.exe
Add arguments -File "D:\Data\AtlantisITS\scripts\Archive-Downloads.ps1"
  1. Click Finish → confirm the task appears in Task Scheduler Library

4. PowerShell 7 Upgrade Path

PowerShell 7 does not replace 5.1 — they run side-by-side. Windows system tasks that rely on 5.1 will not break.

Step 1 — Check Current Version

Run this in any terminal to confirm what version is active:

$PSVersionTable

Reading the output:

Version Edition Terminal Background Description
5.1.x Desktop Blue (default) Legacy engine. Reliable but no longer in active development.
7.x.x Core Black (default) Modern, cross-platform engine. Required for n8n scripting and SSH remoting.

Step 2 — Install PowerShell 7 (Winget Method)

This is the cleanest install path — automatically registers the PATH correctly.

  1. Open PowerShell 5.1 as Administrator
  2. Run:
winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget
  1. Wait for install to complete — no reboot required

Step 3 — Verify the Install

Open a new terminal and run:

pwsh
$PSVersionTable

Confirm PSVersion shows 7.x.x and PSEdition shows Core.

Step 4 — Set PS7 as Default in Windows Terminal

For an Enterprise Architect workflow, set PS7 as the default shell:

  1. Open Windows Terminal
  2. Go to Settings → Startup
  3. Set Default Profile to PowerShell (the black/dark blue icon — not Windows PowerShell which is blue)
  4. Click Save

💡 TIP: To quickly distinguish: pwsh = PowerShell 7 (Core, black). powershell = PowerShell 5.1 (Legacy, blue). Both remain available at all times.

5. PowerShell 7 Key Features for AtlantisITS

5.1 Parallel Processing

The biggest upgrade for infrastructure work. In PS 5.1, tasks ran sequentially. PS 7 runs them in parallel across all CPU cores.

# Scan 100 endpoints simultaneously instead of one by one
$Servers | ForEach-Object -Parallel {
    Test-Connection -ComputerName $_ -Count 1
} -ThrottleLimit 20

Result: Network scans and log checks run 5x–10x faster.

5.2 New Operators for Cleaner Scripts

# Ternary operator (one-line if-else)
$Status = ($Service.Running) ? "Online" : "Offline"

# Pipeline chain — only run next command if previous succeeded
Write-Output "Backup started" && Start-Service Atlantis-Archiver

# Or — only run next command if previous failed
Start-Service n8n || Write-Error "n8n failed to start"

5.3 Native JSON Improvements

Critical for n8n webhook scripting. PS 7's ConvertFrom-Json is significantly faster, supports JSONC (JSON with comments), and preserves property order — which PS 5.1 would often scramble.

# PS 7 — fast, order-preserved, JSONC supported
$Payload = Get-Content webhook-payload.json | ConvertFrom-Json

5.4 SSH-Based Remoting

PS 5.1 relied on WinRM, which is painful to configure through firewalls. PS 7 supports SSH remoting on standard Port 22.

# Remote into a Linux VPS using SSH — no WinRM config needed
Enter-PSSession -HostName vps.atlantisits.co -UserName shane -SSHTransport

5.5 Cross-Platform Compatibility

PS 7 scripts run on Windows, Linux, and macOS with the same syntax. When AtlantisITS automation moves to a Linode VPS, scripts migrate with near-zero modification.

6. Feature Comparison At-a-Glance

Feature PowerShell 5.1 (Legacy) PowerShell 7.x (Core)
Engine .NET Framework 4.5 .NET 7 / 8
Performance Standard High (multi-core optimized)
JSON Support Basic / order scrambled Advanced / fast / JSONC
Cross-Platform Windows only Windows, Linux, macOS
Remoting WinRM (HTTP/HTTPS) WinRM + SSH
Parallel Processing Not native Native (-Parallel flag)
Ternary / Chain Operators ❌ No ✅ Yes
Required for AtlantisITS ⚠️ Legacy scripts only ✅ All new automation

7. Troubleshooting

Error / Symptom Cause Fix
winget not found WinGet not installed on older Windows 10 builds Install App Installer from Microsoft Store or use MSI installer from GitHub
pwsh opens PS 5.1 PATH not updated after install Close and reopen terminal — or run $env:PATH to confirm PS7 path registered
DISM command hangs Large component store or slow drive Let it run — can take 15–30 min on HDDs. Do not interrupt.
Archive script skips files Files in use or locked Script uses -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue — check log file for skipped entries
Task Scheduler task not running Wrong executable path or PS version Confirm pwsh.exe path: run (Get-Command pwsh).Source in a PS7 terminal
ConvertFrom-Json errors on PS 5.1 PS 5.1 JSON parser limitations Switch to PS7 — run script with pwsh.exe instead of powershell.exe

8. Quick Reference

Item Value
Check PS version $PSVersionTable
Launch PS7 pwsh
Launch PS5.1 powershell
Install PS7 winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget
DISM deep clean Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
Disable hibernation powercfg -h off
Shrink hibernation powercfg /h /type reduced
Archive script path D:\Data\AtlantisITS\scripts\Archive-Downloads.ps1
Task Scheduler program pwsh.exe
Task Scheduler argument -File "D:\Data\AtlantisITS\scripts\Archive-Downloads.ps1"
WizTree Preferred disk analysis tool — reads MFT directly

Document prepared by Gemi (Gemini — Atlantis AI Automations)

atlantisits.info | SOP-001 | v1.0 | March 2026