Powershell not creating registry key when script is run

Question

I am currently creating a powershell script in which the technicians can run to help apply various registry edits to create certain PCs which have automatic logins. However, whenever I run my script the powershell has no issue when changing values with pre-existing keys, yet it will not create keys when using the "new-item" command. I was wondering whether anyone would have any idea as to why this would not create the registry key given that I receive no errors when run.

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" –Name AutoAdminLogon -Value 1
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" -Name DefaultUserName -Value domain\TEST
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" -Name DefaultPassword -Value TEST123
Test-Path –Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ForceAutoLogon"
if ( -Not (Test-Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon"))
{
New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" -Name ForceAutoLogon  -Value 1
}

Answer 1

Test-Path is not designed for registy values. What you can do it use a Try/Catch block. You also need to Get/Set the itemPropery.

$Path = "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon"
Try {
    Get-ItemProperty -Path $Path | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ForceAutoLogon -ErrorAction Stop | Out-Null
    Set-ItemProperty -Path $Path -Name ForceAutoLogon -Value 1
} Catch {
    New-ItemProperty -Path $Path -Name ForceAutoLogon -Value 1
}

If the Get-ItemProperty fails the the key must not exist. Then we can create it! If Get-ItemProperty succeeds then we can ensure the value is set properly. I might be using the registry keywords wrong but let the code speak for itself.