How does one read a registry value using SCCM

Question

We would like to be able to detect if a user is running either 32-Bit or 64-bit Outlook. Based on the returned value, we'll be running the appropriate script.

Using SCCM, how can we read the value "Bitness" from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook

WHAT WE'VE TRIED
We tried running a .bat file containing the command REG QUERY HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook /v "Bitness", but when run from an SCCM package, it cannot read values from any key.

We tried a Powershell Script, all I saw was the working directory briefly pop-up on the screen and the script stopped running.

QUESTION

• Is there a way that SCCM can directly read a value without relying on a script?
• Is there a way to write a script so that SCCM will use it to find the registry value?

Any workable solution not investing in some new piece of software is acceptable.

Answer 1

First, you can query the registry for the Bitness value:

$OutlookBitness = Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook" -Name "Bitness"

$OutlookBitness.Bitness will then give you the detail you need, either x64 or x86, and you can use this to branch in your script to execute your next steps. For example:

if ($OutlookBitness.Bitness -eq 'x64')
....

Answer 2

It turns out that I could do this with my old batch file, but I needed to add a flag.

TWO SAMPLE COMMAND LINES THAT ARE IN A BATCH FILE THAT IS LAUNCHED FROM SCCM

This one does NOT find the "Bitness" registry value.
REG QUERY HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook /v "Bitness"

This works. I added "/reg:64 flag"
REG QUERY HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook /v "Bitness" /reg:64