Powershell pass variable to start-job
Use the -ArgumentList parameter on Start-Job e.g.:
Start-Job -Scriptblock {param($p) "`$p is $p"} -Arg 'Server1'In your case:
$pingblock = {param($servername) pathping $servername | Out-File C:\...\ServerPing.txt}Start-Job $pingblock -Arg Server1
To complement Keith Hill's helpful answer with a PSv3+ alternative:
The $using: scope modifier can be used to reference the values of variables in the caller's scope inside the script block passed to Start-Job, as an alternative to passing arguments (by default, a script block executed as a background job does not see any of the caller's variables or other definitions):
$Servername = 'Server1'Start-Job { "Target: " + $using:ServerName } | Receive-Job -Wait -AutoRemoveJobThe above yields:
Target: Server1Note that the same technique can be used when passing a script block for execution on a remote computer to Invoke-Command - see this question.