Trying to set environment variables in windows powershell

I'm trying to set the %systemroot% environment variable in powershell on windows 10. It's not working.

Here's what I've tried and the results:

$env:SystemRoot = "C:\Windows" echo %SystemRoot% %SystemRoot% setx SystemRoot "C:\Windows" SUCCESS: Specified value was saved. echo %SystemRoot% %SystemRoot% 

What am I doing wrong?

1 Answer

You are mixing up PowerShell and DOS syntax. %SystemRoot% is DOS syntax, the PowerShell syntax is $env:SystemRoot.

The following example will perhaps clarify the difference:

Please note that the change of the value of SystemRoot only applies to this one PowerShell instance (is not system-wide).

Reference: How To Work with Environment Variables in PowerShell.