How to make a perfect default profile?

When I prepare a Windows 11 image to replicate on many identical PCs, I usually use an old tool called "defprof" that is used to transform the profile created and customized during installation into the default one, so that each time a new profile is created, it is customized in an identical way to the default one.Unfortunately, this utility, which in my opinion is still the best, does not allow you to create a PERFECT default profile that is replicated on all new profiles because some details are left out that are not replicated:

1) some applications set as default lose this feature (Firefox, Thunderbird, Acrobat reader, etc...).
2) two links always reappear in the start menu (Outlook new and Office 365).
3) the desktop background loses the settings and "windows spotlight" is always proposed.

I followed various tutorials to set the default profile, in some cases they are long and complex and the results are never satisfactory because something is always missing and the "perfect" profile is never created with the exact same characteristics as the one I created at the start during the first installation of the operating system.What can you recommend to create a perfect default profile?Thanks

I always customise my system the way i want it then capture the image using DISM++, copy the INSTALL.WIM file to a USB drive with a new copy of 24H2 then deploy it on any machines i build. That way all my machines look and behave identically.

In this guide, we’ll cover how to create a custom Windows 10/11 installation image with pre-installed apps, necessary files, and other environment and application settings.

retegraf said:

When I prepare a Windows 11 image to replicate on many identical PCs, I usually use an old tool called "defprof" that is used to transform the profile created and customized during installation into the default one, so that each time a new profile is created, it is customized in an identical way to the default one.Unfortunately, this utility, which in my opinion is still the best, does not allow you to create a PERFECT default profile that is replicated on all new profiles because some details are left out that are not replicated:

1) some applications set as default lose this feature (Firefox, Thunderbird, Acrobat reader, etc...).
2) two links always reappear in the start menu (Outlook new and Office 365).
3) the desktop background loses the settings and "windows spotlight" is always proposed.

I followed various tutorials to set the default profile, in some cases they are long and complex and the results are never satisfactory because something is always missing and the "perfect" profile is never created with the exact same characteristics as the one I created at the start during the first installation of the operating system.What can you recommend to create a perfect default profile?Thanks

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For what I understood, OP does know how to create an image of the whole installation.
He wants to create a profile template to be used on any new user created using this image.

Megahertz said:

For what I understood, OP does know how to create an image of the whole installation.
He wants to create a profile template to be used on any new user created using this image.

Click to expand...

Yes, exactly.

My experience is for a number of "random" settings, W11 new user provisioning will ignore the default profile and do whatever it wants. What settings are overwritten isn't documented.

Some HKCU customizations seem to only stick if they're applied after the user's first logon session. So you end up scripting some things. You can demonstrate this behavior w/o an install by customizing the Default user's profile on a live PC, create a new Local Account, and check what actually got provisioned.