Question

Scripting registry value change

Asked by: Gadi-at-Aba

Hey all,

I've been looking into this for a while now, but - sadly - I'm not really good at this.

I'm trying to script a batch to find a particular registry value and replace it w/ another value. Basically, I'm trying to replace POP3 and SMTP server values for Outlook users. I know where they values are in the registry, but I need to replace them w/ new values.

Anyone has any idea? I've stumbled upon following script here on EE, however, it only looks for a particular user profile, while my users have different profile names.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Set OldPOP3Server=6F006C00640070006F00700033007300650072007600650072002E006F006C0064006900730070002E0063006F006D000000
Set NewPOP3Server=6E006500770070006F0070006900730070006D00610069006C000000
Set OldSMTPServer=6F006C00640073006D00740070007300650072007600650072002E006F006C0064006900730070002E0063006F006D000000
Set NewSMTPServer=6E006500770073006D00740070006900730070006D00610069006C000000
 
for /f "tokens=2,*" %%a in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles" ^| Find /i "DefaultProfile"') do Set DefaultProfile=%%b
 
for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles\%DefaultProfile%\9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676" ^| find /i "9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676\"') do (
    reg query "%%a" /v "Pop3 Server" | FIND /i "POP3 Server" | FIND /i "%OldPOP3Server%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "POP3 Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewPOP3Server%
    reg query "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "%OldSMTPServer%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewSMTPServer%
)

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Asked On: 2009-11-03 at 23:09:18ID24869959
Tags: Windows XP
,; Registry
,; Batch
,; Script
Topics: Windows Batch Scripting
,; Windows XP Operating System
,; Windows 2003 Server
Participating Experts: 2
Points: 500
Comments: 12

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Answers

by: gecko_au2003Posted on 2009-11-04 at 00:07:13ID: 25737282

Why not update the registry yourself with all the possible registry values and save / export it into a

.reg file and then use group policy to apply the reg file to all the relevant computers by placing the reg file into a folder that all computers have access to ie sysvol ( same place where scripts are ) and just make a logon / startup script in vbs to apply said reg file silently

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/11/view.asp?id=9215

Set oShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell") 
'Your .Reg file and path goes here as in the example below
sRegFile = "C:\Temp\MyFile.Reg" 
'This line runs Regedit in silent mode
oShell.Run "regedit.exe /s " & Chr(34) & sRegFile & Chr(34), 0, True

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by: Gadi-at-AbaPosted on 2009-11-04 at 06:02:11ID: 25739347

Well, b/c I don't know all the possibilities (for example, different profile names). To make sure, I'd have to go through each and every workstation and laptop here, which would eliminate the point. It would fix the issue for some users, but not all. I wouldn't mind having 3 or 4 or 5 users left out (out of around 70), but 20 or 30 is a whole other deal.

by: gecko_au2003Posted on 2009-11-04 at 10:23:19ID: 25742211

Why would you need to know the profile name / user names ?

by: AmazingTechPosted on 2009-11-04 at 11:43:37ID: 25743090

Give this a try. It should get all the profiles for a particular user and check their settings.

Set OldPOP3Server=6F006C00640070006F00700033007300650072007600650072002E006F006C0064006900730070002E0063006F006D000000
Set NewPOP3Server=6E006500770070006F0070006900730070006D00610069006C000000
Set OldSMTPServer=6F006C00640073006D00740070007300650072007600650072002E006F006C0064006900730070002E0063006F006D000000
Set NewSMTPServer=6E006500770073006D00740070006900730070006D00610069006C000000
 
for /f "tokens=*" %%z in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles" ^| Find /i "Profiles\"') do CALL :SetProfile "%%z"
GOTO :EOF
 
:SetProfile 
for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('reg query "%%~z\9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676" ^| find /i "9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676\"') do (
    reg query "%%a" /v "Pop3 Server" | FIND /i "POP3 Server" | FIND /i "%OldPOP3Server%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "POP3 Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewPOP3Server%
    reg query "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "%OldSMTPServer%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewSMTPServer%
)

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by: AmazingTechPosted on 2009-11-04 at 11:44:52ID: 25743103

Hey that was my original code. ;)

by: Gadi-at-AbaPosted on 2009-11-04 at 23:07:33ID: 25747294

AmazingTech:
It certainly was :) Thanks for the help ;)

gecko_au2003:
As far as I can see, the server addresses are stored in keys under a profile key / unique key (for example 9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676). Thus, I cannot cover all possibilities, I have to scan the whole tree under Outlook key and find the value inside.

by: Gadi-at-AbaPosted on 2009-11-04 at 23:20:06ID: 25747348

AmazingTech:
Strangely, I'm having an error:
"ERROR: Invalid key name.
Type "REG QUERY /?" for usage."

I did have to alter the script a tiny bit in order to fit my testing machine (Vista + Outlook 2007), but as far as I can see, it's similar to XP + Outlook 2003 (except a key or two).

Here's the code, I post partial address of the mail server, so you can get the idea of what I'm running:

Set OldPOP3Server=6d00610069006c002e006d00
Set NewPOP3Server=6d00610069006c0031002e00
Set OldSMTPServer=6d00610069006c002e006d00
Set NewSMTPServer=6d00610069006c0031002e00
 
for /f "tokens=*" %%z in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles\outlook" ^| Find /i "Outlook\"') do CALL :SetProfile "%%z"
GOTO :EOF
 
:SetProfile 
for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('reg query "%%~z\9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676" ^| find /i "9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676\"') do (
    reg query "%%a" /v "Pop3 Server" | FIND /i "POP3 Server" | FIND /i "%OldPOP3Server%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "POP3 Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewPOP3Server%
    reg query "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "%OldSMTPServer%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewSMTPServer%
)

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by: AmazingTechPosted on 2009-11-04 at 23:31:42ID: 25747389

Hmm...

This is where we are getting the profile names.
reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles"

Your version specifies Outlook which may or may not be the profile name.

Opps my mistake in the :SetProfile.

Try this.

Set OldPOP3Server=6d00610069006c002e006d00
Set NewPOP3Server=6d00610069006c0031002e00
Set OldSMTPServer=6d00610069006c002e006d00
Set NewSMTPServer=6d00610069006c0031002e00
 
for /f "tokens=*" %%z in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles" ^| Find /i "Profiles\"') do CALL :SetProfile "%%z"
GOTO :EOF
 
:SetProfile
for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('reg query "%~1\9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676" ^| find /i "9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676\"') do (
    reg query "%%a" /v "Pop3 Server" | FIND /i "POP3 Server" | FIND /i "%OldPOP3Server%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "POP3 Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewPOP3Server%
    reg query "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "%OldSMTPServer%"
    IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewSMTPServer%
)

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by: AmazingTechPosted on 2009-11-04 at 23:34:48ID: 25747402

I usually don't like to use CALL.

Here's what I normally do.

Set OldPOP3Server=6d00610069006c002e006d00
Set NewPOP3Server=6d00610069006c0031002e00
Set OldSMTPServer=6d00610069006c002e006d00
Set NewSMTPServer=6d00610069006c0031002e00
 
for /f "tokens=*" %%z in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles" ^| Find /i "Profiles\"') do (
    for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('reg query "%%z\9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676" ^| find /i "9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676\"') do (
        reg query "%%a" /v "Pop3 Server" | FIND /i "POP3 Server" | FIND /i "%OldPOP3Server%"
        IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "POP3 Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewPOP3Server%
        reg query "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "%OldSMTPServer%"
        IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d %NewSMTPServer%
    )
)

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by: Gadi-at-AbaPosted on 2009-11-04 at 23:45:39ID: 25747437

AmazingTech:
Mate, you're amazing (obviously, you already know that).

It seems to work flawlessly. Now I will set it up for different users (I have to propagate separate addresses to separate OUs) and will push it through group policy.

Absolutely amazing, mate. I wish I had your knowledge.

Now, I'm not in an absolute hurry to declare a victory, but it seems that your thing did the trick.

by: Gadi-at-AbaPosted on 2009-11-04 at 23:46:39ID: 31649854

Amazing!

by: AmazingTechPosted on 2009-11-05 at 00:03:46ID: 25747491

If each OU already has a unique SMTP and POP3 address you could use 1 script/1GPO to change to new addresses.

SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION
Set OldPOP3Server1=6d00610069006c002e006d01
Set NewPOP3Server1=6d00610069006c0031002e01
Set OldSMTPServer1=6d00610069006c002e006d01
Set NewSMTPServer1=6d00610069006c0031002e01
 
Set OldPOP3Server2=6d00610069006c002e006d02
Set NewPOP3Server2=6d00610069006c0031002e02
Set OldSMTPServer2=6d00610069006c002e006d02
Set NewSMTPServer2=6d00610069006c0031002e02
 
Set OldPOP3Server3=6d00610069006c002e006d03
Set NewPOP3Server3=6d00610069006c0031002e03
Set OldSMTPServer3=6d00610069006c002e006d03
Set NewSMTPServer3=6d00610069006c0031002e03
 
for /f "tokens=*" %%z in ('reg query "hkcu\software\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\windows messaging subsystem\profiles" ^| Find /i "Profiles\"') do (
    for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('reg query "%%z\9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676" ^| find /i "9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676\"') do (
        for /l %%n in (1,1,3) do (
            reg query "%%a" /v "Pop3 Server" | FIND /i "POP3 Server" | FIND /i "!OldPOP3Server%%n!"
            IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "POP3 Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d !NewPOP3Server%%n!
            reg query "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "SMTP Server" | FIND /i "!OldSMTPServer%%n!"
            IF NOT ERRORLEVEL 1 REG ADD "%%a" /v "SMTP Server" /t REG_BINARY /f /d !NewSMTPServer%%n!
        )
    )
)

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Scripting registry value change

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Windows XP

Registry

Batch

Script

Windows Batch Scripting

Windows XP Operating System

Windows 2003 Server

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