How To Run A Powershell Script For All Users

Question

I want a method to run my script locally for all local users on the machine, please list the ways to do this if you can, I have researched in many places and most of the information is incomplete, if at least this topic can be more complete, it would help many other people as well.

As a example for one of my needs is to change the desktop wallpaper of all users, i already have the script, and i use a tool to execute it remotly as elevated user, but its only gonna change for that user0. Not only for visual changes, but if i need to execute something that is needed to be run for all users, i dont want to "deploy" the script in the computer, letting it be there until is executed for each user in login as in GPO or AD script or scheduled task, i want it to made the changes for all users in one only execution, without the need of others credentials, like the way you can add a profile WiFi with powershell for any local user, if youre a elevated user.

As said before, if you can list the methods even if it is one that i mentioned in my problem that doesn't serve my purpose, still comment it please.

Answer 1

The only way that I know to do that is to run a "reg load" command and point it to the ntuser.dat for each user. The main problem is that the registry gets loaded as a subkey of HKLM. You can programmatically make changes, but if you run a program that references HKCU, that won't work.

Here's a script that displays every users wallpaper. You can add code to change the value.

# Refer to this site
# https://devblogs.microsoft.com/scripting/update-or-add-registry-key-value-with-powershell/

cls
# First test loaded hives.
$AllUsers = Get-ChildItem REGISTRY::HKEY_USERS                      
foreach ($u in $Allusers) {
    $u.Name
    $r =  "REGISTRY::$($u.name)\Control Panel\Desktop" 
    $wp = (get-itemproperty -path $r -name Wallpaper -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).wallpaper  
    if ($wp) {
        $wp                         # Display wallpaper file name 
        # TODO: Here is where you test to see if the value needs changed or not and make the change. 
    } else {
        "Wallpaper not found."
    }

    ""
}

# Step 2 is to load each ntuser.dat using "reg load"  
# Note that this registry cannot be referenced as HKEY_CURRENT_USER
# This script will load it into HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ThisUser 

$users = Get-ChildItem -path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList" 
foreach ($u in $users ) {
    ""
    $r = "registry::" + $u.name
    $ntuser = (get-itemproperty -path $r  -name ProfileImagePath).ProfileImagePath 
    $ntuser = $ntuser + "\ntuser.dat"    
    $ntuser
    if ((test-path -Path $ntuser)) {
    } else {
        "No user registry"
        continue
    }

    $output =    reg.exe load HKLM\ThisUser $ntuser 2>&1
    if ($LastExitCode -ne 0) {
        "Didn't work, user must be logged on."
        #$output 
        $output = reg.exe unload HKLM\ThisUser 2>&1
        continue  
    }

    $r =  "HKLM:\Thisuser\Control Panel\Desktop" 
    $wp = (get-itemproperty -path $r -name Wallpaper -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).wallpaper  
    if ($wp) {
        $wp                         # Display wallpaper file name 
        # TODO: Here is where you test to see if the value needs changed or not and make the change. 
    } else {
        "Wallpaper not found."
    }
    $output = reg.exe unload HKLM\ThisUser 2>&1
}

Answer 2

Hi,

You can try start-process

$username = "username"  
$password = "password"  
$securePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString $password -AsPlainText -Force  
$credential = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential $username, $securePassword  
Start-Process powershell.exe -Credential $credential -ArgumentList "-file $script"  

Best Regards，
Ian Xue

============================================

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 3

IMO it is far easier to change wallpaper for all users using Group Policy rather than trying to use a script.