Configure default user profile w/o sysprep

Question

_{Tuesday, May 2, 2017 6:42 PM}

Is there a way to establish a default user profile without using sysprep or AD/GPO settings?

Say a vendor delivers a machine for a special purpose. The machine is stand alone and/or cannot be part of a domain and cannot be sysprepped. The vendor establishes a generic account with elevated priviledges for everyone to use and you configure the desktop and start menu and other settings that you want users to have, but you need them to log in with different accounts. 

Is there ANY way to copy the generic account profile into the Default account so that all future, new users will get the "look and feel" that you created under the vendor's account?

This was easy in XP, and possible in Vista and 7 (I used DefProf - http://forensit.blogspot.com/2010/09/changing-default-profile-on-windows-7.html with good success). This kind of thing would be useful for all kinds of situations.

Thanks.

All replies (4)

_{Wednesday, May 3, 2017 9:13 AM}

Hi ,

The following link can be used as a reference. Hope it will be helpful for you.
Windows 7: Here's how to create a Default Profile without using SysPrep
https://www.sevenforums.com/customization/238276-heres-how-create-default-profile-without-using-sysprep.html
NOTE: This response contains a reference to a third party World Wide Web site. Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. Microsoft does not control these sites and has not tested any software or information found on these sites.

Best regards

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_{Thursday, May 4, 2017 12:25 PM}

Not helpful.

1. I don't need information on how to create a default profile in Windows 7.  That isn't hard.
2. The linked discussion has folks pointing out that the procedure that works for Windows 7 doesn't really work for Windows 10. 

If there is no way without sysprep (shame on you Microsoft!), then is there a way to run sysprep such that nothing changes with the computer except that the admin profile is copied to the default?

_{Thursday, May 4, 2017 12:42 PM}

I don't think you can use sysprep that way.

The other way of making changes to the default user profile is to do so directly - i.e. by copying files into it, and by mounting the registry hive (using REG LOAD on ntuser.dat in c:\users\default) and making changes within that. That works fine for small stuff, but it means you need to know exactly what needs changing, key by key and value by value. Fiddly, but has the advantage that it's entirely scriptable.

It might be possible to snapshot (e.g. using regshot) the changes you want and generate a .reg file or series of reg.exe commands that you could apply to the mounted registry hive.

_{Wednesday, March 13, 2019 6:08 AM}

DefProf
DefProf updates the Default Windows User Profile with the documents and settings from another user profile that you specify. You can use DefProf on Windows 7 where the "Copy To" button is greyed out in the "User Profiles" dialog box.
Installation
Just copy DefProf onto your executable path, and type "defprof". You must have administrative privileges.
Usage
Usage: defprof profile_folder_name
 Let’s say you use a ‘setup’ user account to create a user profile that you want everyone logging onto a machine to inherit. When you logon as setup, Windows creates a C:\Users\setup profile folder. To make ‘setup’ the default profile, you just type defprof setup at a command prompt.
 DefProf 1.10 adds support for Windows 10.    

i run cmd 

start /Wait %~dp0\Defprof.exe COPY2
 start /Wait net user "COPY2" /delete
 RD /S /Q C:\Users\COPY2

net stop ForensiTAppxService 1>>\winows10\LOGS\COMPUTERNAME%-%DATE%.txt 2>>&1
sc config ForensiTAppxService start= demand 1>>\winows10\LOGS\COMPUTERNAME%-%DATE%.txt 2>>&1