I was reading the news groups (as I do all the time) and I have notice numerous request/questions regarding remote registry access in powershell. I thought I would try to see if I could shed some light on the subject. So without further delay... on with the show!
Powershell to get the list of Disconnected mailbox in the Exchange Server; PowerShell Script to copy Exchange GUID from Office 365 to Exchange On-prem User. Powershell to check if Account is Enable or Disabled. Powershell to Export list of Permission given to the mailbox to CSV file; Exchange 2010 DAG local and Site DR/Failover and Fail back. Remote Registry service. On the remote host, there is a Remote Registry service to check. You can start the Windows Services list GUI with the command Services.msc, or you can click the Services icon from the Administrative Tools group icon from Control Panel: - The third column is startup type - make sure it is set to automatic.
Overview:----------
Registry access in Posh is realatively simple and extremely powerful.
From a local stand point its as simple as:
PS> Set-Location HKLM:System
From a remote standpoint... you have to utilize the powers of .NET.
$ServerKey = [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey]::OpenRemoteBaseKey([Microsoft.Win32.RegistryHive]::LocalMachine, ServerName)
For the purpose of this post... I am going to focus on the remote aspect. Local is cover in tons of documentation. So, cause of time, I am only going to address the .NET method.
I will start by giving you the Remote Registry Object useful Properties/Methods
Object
-------
[Microsoft.Win32.RegistryKey]::OpenRemoteBaseKey([Microsoft.Win32.RegistryHive]::LocalMachine,MachineName)
Properties
-------------
Name
SubKeyCount
ValueCount
Methods (Not all.. just the ones I use often)
---------------------------------------------------
CreateSubKey
DeleteSubKey
DeleteSubKeyTree
DeleteValue
GetAccessControl
GetLifetimeService
GetSubKeyNames
GetType
GetValue
GetValueKind
GetValueNames
OpenSubKey
SetAccessControl
SetValue
As you can see... You can do basically everything you could ever want.
Now that you have a basic idea of what the .NET provider can give you... let put it to practical use.
Examples:
----------
Purpose: Get a list of Subkeys and Values of Specific Registry Key.
Result (only showing first 10 of each:)
Sub Keys
--------
App Management
App Paths
Applets
BITS
Control Panel
Controls Folder
CSCSettings
DateTimeDynamic
DirectoryExplorer
Values
------
DevicePath
MediaPath
Unexpanded
SM_GamesName
SM_Configure
ProgramsName
ProgramFilesDir
CommonFilesDir
ProductId
WallPaperDir
MediaPath
ProgramFilesPath
-------------------------------------------
Purpose: Get the Value of each of the Values.
Result (only showing first 10:)
Values
------
DevicePath = [C:WINDOWSinf;C:DriversBroadcomWin2003]
MediaPathUnexpanded = [C:WINDOWSMedia]
SM_GamesName = [Games]SM_ConfigureProgramsName = [Set Program Access and Defaults]
ProgramFilesDir = [C:Program Files]
CommonFilesDir = [C:Program FilesCommon Files]
ProductId = [69713-640-4031427-45876]
WallPaperDir = [C:WINDOWSWebWallpaper]
MediaPath = [C:WINDOWSMedia]
ProgramFilesPath = [C:Program Files]
------------------------------------------------
Summary:
-----------
Registrykey
As you now can see. POSH is really powerful given its .NET access to the registry. Honestly... there is virtually nothing you can't do and its easy to boot. You have complete access to Registry keys/subkeys/values. You can even Create, Delete, and evaluate Values and keys. In the future I will be sharing a function I wrote to compare Registry Subkeys between machines. That has proven to be super valuable.Well... That about does it (at least for today :) ) I think this is a pretty good start to your POSH .NET registry adventure. I will be expanding this as I have time.
Powershell Openbasekey
As always... PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK!!! :)