Changing the values of registry entries is a common registry management task. The most challenging aspect of that task is determining which entries you need to change, and to which values they must be changed. After you have this information, you must choose the appropriate Registry Provider methods for making the change.
To change a string value (REG_SZ), you use the SetStringValue method; to change a numeric value (DWORD), you use the SetDWORDValue method. Each of these methods takes four parameters:
These parameters are similar to the parameters used to read registry entries. The only difference is that when registry entries are read, the fourth parameter represents the value read from the registry; when registry entries are configured, the fourth parameter represents the new value being written to the registry.
Be certain to investigate whether other methods of configuration are available before deciding to script direct changes to the registry.
The following VBScript code example shows how to create HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\NewKey\Example DWORD Value and write a value of type REG_DWORD to it. If NewKey already exists then the value is added to it. You can use a registry editor such as regedt32 to view the results of the script.
Example
Do not run below example code just to see what happens next. Many methods seriously affect your system. Always make sure you actually understand what the method and the code do.
param
(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[UInt32]
$hDefKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[String]
$sSubKeyName,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[String]
$sValueName,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[UInt32]
$uValue
)
Invoke-CimMethod -ClassName StdRegProv -MethodName SetDWORDValue -Arguments $PSBoundParameters
To run this method on one or more remote systems, use New-CimSession:
param
(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[UInt32]
$hDefKey,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[String]
$sSubKeyName,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[String]
$sValueName,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[UInt32]
$uValue,
[String[]]
$ComputerName,
[PSCredential]
$Credential
)
$session = New-CimSession -ComputerName $ComputerName -Credential $Credential
Invoke-CimMethod -ClassName StdRegProv -MethodName SetDWORDValue -Arguments $PSBoundParameters -CimSession $session
Remove-CimSession -CimSession $session
Learn more about
Invoke-CimMethodand invoking WMI methods.
Syntax
uint32 SetDWORDValue(
[in] uint32 hDefKey = HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,
[in] string sSubKeyName,
[in] string sValueName,
[in] uint32 uValue =
);
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| hDefKey | UInt32 | Optional parameter that specifies the tree that contains the sSubKeyName path. The default value is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (0x80000002). The following trees are defined in Winreg.h: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT (0x80000000) HKEY_CURRENT_USER (0x80000001) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (0x80000002) HKEY_USERS (0x80000003) HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG (0x80000005) HKEY_DYN_DATA (0x80000006) Note that HKEY_DYN_DATA is a valid tree for Windows 95 and Windows 98 computers only. |
| sSubKeyName | String | Specifies the key that contains the named value to be set. |
| sValueName | String | Specifies the named value whose data value you are setting. You can specify an existing named value (update) or a new named value (create). Specify an empty string to set the data value for the default named value. |
| uValue | UInt32 | Specifies a double word data value. |
hDefKey
[Flags()]Enum StdRegProvhDefKey
{
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT = 2147483648 #
HKEY_CURRENT_USER = 2147483649 #
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = 2147483650 #
HKEY_USERS = 2147483651 #
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG = 2147483653 #
}
Return Value
Returns a value of type UInt32. Typically, a value of 0 indicates success.
See Also
Additional methods implemented by StdRegProv:
CheckAccess()
CheckAccess() verifies that the user has the specified access permissions.
CreateKey()
CreateKey() creates a subkey.
DeleteKey()
DeleteKey() deletes a subkey.
DeleteValue()
DeleteValue() deletes a named value.
EnumKey()
EnumKey() enumerates subkeys.
EnumValues()
EnumValues() enumerates the named values of a key.
GetBinaryValue()
GetBinaryValue() gets the binary data value of a named value.
GetDWORDValue()
GetDWORDValue() gets the DWORD data value of a named value.
GetExpandedStringValue()
GetExpandedStringValue() gets the expanded string data value of a named value.
GetMultiStringValue()
GetMultiStringValue() gets the multiple string data values of a named value.
GetQWORDValue()
GetQWORDValue() gets the QWORD data values of a named value.
GetSecurityDescriptor()
GetSecurityDescriptor() gets the security descriptor for a key.
GetStringValue()
GetStringValue() gets the string data value of a named value.
SetBinaryValue()
SetBinaryValue() sets the binary data value of a named value.
SetExpandedStringValue()
SetExpandedStringValue() sets the expanded string data value of a named value.
SetMultiStringValue()
SetMultiStringValue() sets the multiple string values of a named value.
SetQWORDValue()
SetQWORDValue() sets the QWORD data values of a named value.
SetSecurityDescriptor()
SetSecurityDescriptor() sets the security descriptor for a key.
SetStringValue()
SetStringValue() sets the string value of a named value.
Requirements
To use StdRegProv, the following requirements apply:
PowerShell
Get-CimInstance was introduced with PowerShell Version 3.0, which in turn was introduced on clients with Windows 8 and on servers with Windows Server 2012.
If necessary, update Windows PowerShell to Windows PowerShell 5.1, or install PowerShell 7 side-by-side.
Operating System
StdRegProv was introduced on clients with Windows Vista and on servers with Windows Server 2008.
Namespace
StdRegProv lives in the Namespace Root/CIMv2. This is the default namespace. There is no need to use the -Namespace parameter in Get-CimInstance.
Implementation
StdRegProv is implemented in Stdprov.dll and defined in RegEvent.mof. Both files are located in the folder C:\Windows\system32\wbem:
explorer $env:windir\system32\wbem
notepad $env:windir\system32\wbem\RegEvent.mof