Powershell script to modify DWORD of an unknown GUID

spiceuser-pau0h · 2021-05-20T13:08:30.000Z

Hi all,

First of all, I’m a total novice when it comes to Powershell scripting. I have a client that needs to disable the control panel sound device property “Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device” on every machine’s speaker and microphone devices (around 100 devices). I have found the registry value of this setting to be HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\MMDevices\Audio\Capture{Random GUID}\Properties{b3f8fa53-0004-438e-9003-51a46e139bfc},3 which needs to be set to 0.

learn.microsoft.com

ForEach-Object (Microsoft.PowerShell.Core) - PowerShell

The ForEach-Object cmdlet performs an operation on each item in a collection of input objects. The input objects can be piped to the cmdlet or specified using the InputObject parameter. Starting in Windows PowerShell 3.0, there are two different ways...

Going off of Microsoft’s Example 4, I need to do something similar to the following,

Get-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\MMDevices\Capture*\Properties |
ForEach-Object {Set-ItemProperty -Name {b3f8fa53-0004-438e-9003-51a46e139bfc},3 -Value 0}

What I am initially stuck on is the random GUIDs that are not constant from computer to computer. In what I’ve already posted I get this result. Note the erro "Set-ItemProperty : Cannot convert ‘System.Object’ to the type ‘Sytsem.String’ required by parameter ‘Name.’ Can someone please help to point me in the right direction? I’m sure I’m probably way off

PS C:> Get-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\MMDevices\Audio\Capture*\Properties” | ForEach-Object {Set-ItemProperty -Name {b3f8fa53-0004-438e-9003-51a46e139bfc},3 -Value 0}
Set-ItemProperty : Cannot convert ‘System.Object’ to the type ‘System.String’ required by parameter ‘Name’. Specified method is not supported.
At line:1 char:153

… -ItemProperty -Name {b3f8fa53-0004-438e-9003-51a46e139bfc},3 -Value …
CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: ( [Set-ItemProperty], ParameterBindingException
FullyQualifiedErrorId : CannotConvertArgument,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetItemPropertyCommand

Set-ItemProperty : Cannot convert ‘System.Object’ to the type ‘System.String’ required by parameter ‘Name’. Specified method is not supported.
At line:1 char:153

… -ItemProperty -Name {b3f8fa53-0004-438e-9003-51a46e139bfc},3 -Value …
CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: ( [Set-ItemProperty], ParameterBindingException
FullyQualifiedErrorId : CannotConvertArgument,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetItemPropertyCommand

Set-ItemProperty : Cannot convert ‘System.Object’ to the type ‘System.String’ required by parameter ‘Name’. Specified method is not supported.
At line:1 char:153

… -ItemProperty -Name {b3f8fa53-0004-438e-9003-51a46e139bfc},3 -Value …
CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: ( [Set-ItemProperty], ParameterBindingException
FullyQualifiedErrorId : CannotConvertArgument,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetItemPropertyCommand

Evan7191 · 2021-05-20T13:44:07.000Z

Welcome to the community. Here are some good guides for working with the registry in Powershell.

learn.microsoft.com

Working with registry entries - PowerShell

This article discusses how to deal with registry entries using PowerShell.

learn.microsoft.com

Working with registry keys - PowerShell

This article discusses how to deal with registry keys using PowerShell.

Scripting Blog [archived] – 2 Apr 15

Update or Add Registry Key Value with PowerShell - Scripting Blog [archived]

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using Windows PowerShell to update or add a registry key value. Hey, Scripting Guy! I am having a problem trying to update the registry. I am using the New-ItemProperty cmdlet, but it...

You can use Get-ChildItem to list registry keys, which will help you to locate your random GUID. Then you will need to provide the whole path for a specific entry to Set-ItemProperty.

learn.microsoft.com

Set-ItemProperty (Microsoft.PowerShell.Management) - PowerShell

The Set-ItemProperty cmdlet changes the value of the property of the specified item. You can use the cmdlet to establish or change the properties of items. For example, you can use Set-ItemProperty to set the value of the IsReadOnly property of a...

Neally · 2021-05-20T14:12:10.000Z

Welcome

If you post code, please use the ‘Insert Code’ button. Please and thank you!

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING! Read if you're new to the PowerShell forum! Programming & Development

Hi, and welcome to the PowerShell forum! Don’t apologize for being a “noob” or “newbie” or “n00b.” There’s just no need – nobody will think you’re stupid, and the forums are all about asking questions. Just ask! Use a descriptive subject. Don’t say “Need help” or “PowerShell Help”, actually summarize what the problem is. It helps the rest of us keep track of which problem is which. Don’t post massive scripts. We’re all volunteers and we don’t have time to read all that, nor will we copy…