Remotely change user environment variables

[Fudor]

Hi all,

I'd like to be able to edit another user's environment variable remotely. I work for a software dev company and I would like to be able to install new releases to all the PCs on my team automatically. I have admin rights on all of their PCs so I can run software on their PCs using the task scheduler. The problem is to install this software, I need to edit user environment variables, but when setting them with my admin account through the scheduler, it obviously sets the user env variables for my admin user and not the regular user my coworkers use.

I don't have access to their personal user account and I won't get it so it's not an option. I would also prefer not to have to install some sort of server on their PC to execute remote code. I can set user environment variables when they reboot by putting a batch file in their startup folder using the SetX command, but i'd prefer if it would not need a reboot, because then I need to have all of them relog on their PC and this means I can't install the software automatically at night when everyone is away.

Thanks for your input everyone

 

[bcastner]

I think you misunderstand the SETX command. It can set both USER and SYSTEM level environmental variables immediately. You can use SetX to set values for user and system environment variables from one of three sources: Command Line Mode, Registry Mode, or File Mode.

If used in registry mode, (and only in this case), would the results require a reboot to take effect. So, do both command line and registry modes through the startup folder.

 

[Fudor]

If I use the SETX remotely through the task scheduler, the user variables I will create won't be for the user of the computer, it will be a user variable for my admin account on that machine. I need the user variable to be set for the person using the computer.

 

[bcastner]

I understand the issue better now.
Use the freeware tool by Vince Fatica: SETENV:

http://windowsnetworking.com/nt/atips/atips343.shtml

Download SETENV.EXE:

http://barnyard.syr.edu/~vefatica/#SETENV

 

[Fudor]

Thanks for your input. I think this tool will help.

 

[bcastner]

Depending on circumstances, I often pull out of my toolkit PSEXEC, a freeware from the remarkable Sysinternals.com team:

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/PsExec.html