Cortana/Windows Search breaks in default profile

[JJ Fullmer]

@csuther3 It looks like the profile was created right. You may want to try commenting out (rem or :: to comment in batch) or deleting the lines for the extra programs you don’t have. Basically all of the following in the :AppData function could be taken out because it’s for extra programs, I just left it in what I shared as an example of how to add user settings for other custom programs.

        call :copyDir "Saleslogix" "%cRoam%\Saleslogix" "%dRoam%\Saleslogix"
	call :copyDir "Sage Software" "%cRoam%\Sage Software" "%dRoam%\Sage Software"
	call :copyDir "Saleslogix" "%cLocal%\Saleslogix" "%dLocal%\Saleslogix"
	call :copyDir "Sage Software" "%cLocal%\Sage Software" "%dLocal%\Sage Software"
	rem IF %dept%==IT (
	rem 	call :copyDir "Terminals" "%cLocal%\Robert_Chartier" "%dLocal%\Robert_Chartier"
	rem 	call :copyDir "VMware Vsphere" "%cLocal%\VMware" "%dLocal%\VMware"
	rem 	call :copyDir "VMware Vsphere" "%cRoam%\VMware" "%dRoam%\VMware"
	rem 	call :copyDir "Camtasia" "%cRoam%\TechSmith" "%dRoam%\TechSmith"
	rem 	call :copyDir "Camtasia" "%cLocal%\TechSmith" "%dLocal%\TechSmith"
	rem 	call :copyDir "slack" "%cLocal%\slack" "%dLocal%\slack"
	rem 	call :copyDir "ProgramFiles" %cPF% %dPF%
	rem )
	call :copyDir "VLC settings" "%cRoam%\vlc" "%dRoam%\vlc"
	call :copyDir "FaxFinder settings" "%cRoam%\FaxFinder Client Software" "%dRoam%\FaxFinder Client Software"

A couple questions.
On the image that isn’t working, had you done anything to the default profile? It’s possible that you are copying stuff from there that you had tried before. Can I see the log from the apply where it didn’t work? It would be on the computer it was applied on and be called C:\defaultProfileApplied-ProfileName
That should show me what was copied from the profile.
My guess is that you just have some of the files that get created automatically still in the default profile folder and it’s copying them over.
I suppose it would be a good idea if I told the script to delete those directories before copying.

Try this, hop into the appData folder of the profile that isn’t working on the profiles share. Make a backup copy of what you have, just a quick copy paste will do nicely. You’re going to delete anything that doesn’t match the following needed folders.

• In the root of Roaming You only need Microsoft, Mozilla , *plus any custom program vendors*
• In the root of Roaming\Microsoft There should be only 2 folders Internet Explorer and Windows Everything else should be deleted so it can be created by windows
• In the root of Roaming\Microsoft\Windows Network Shortcuts, Printer Shortcuts, Recent, SendTo, Start Menu, Templates Most of those folders are empty but should stay put (I’m fairly sure you can customize all of them to some degree, but I’ve only customized the start menu)
• In the root of Local you should have Google, Microsoft, Microsoft Help, MicrosoftEdge, Temp, TileDataLayer temp should be empty
• In the root of Local\Microsoft you should have Windows *Plus outlook and or Office if you are trying to set customization's there*
• In the root of Local\Microsoft\Windows you should have GameExplorer, History, INetCache, INetCookies, Shell, WinX You can probably delete everything but Shell and WinX as the other dirs are empty, but this is what is currently in my most recently created deployable profile.

Sorry if that’s more information than you wanted. I just figure you probably have already put in a bunch of work into a profile that isn’t deploying. I know that was the case for me, this is how you fix it. Let me know if that does the trick. If it doesn’t then send me that log and we’ll see if we can’t make the profile work without redoing all the extra stuff.

[csuther3]

@Arrowhead-IT

Thanks for all that, much appreciated…a few notes to follow up.

I haven’t tried re-executing the script with commenting out the lines you mentioned yet.

There doesn’t seem to be any C:\defaultProfileApplied-ProfileName file/folder on the PC I applied the profile to.

Your question about have I done anything to the default profile…the answer is yes. This image is actually a Win 7 upgrade, I was hoping to cheat a bit and save myself rebuilding the whole thing from scratch because it’s a pretty customized image.

Also, I modified your script slightly to make it run locally, for what I’m trying to accomplish I don’t really need the network functions. Attached is the modified version I’ve used. 0_1463771959294_CrDef.bat

I tried manually removing all of the folders you mentioned, but the Start Menu & Search still remains broken.

[JJ Fullmer]

@csuther3 Wait you deleted the folders I mentioned or everything but the ones I mentioned. You were meant to the latter.

If this is a win 7 upgrade that may complicate things. You may need to take out just the pieces you need from the old profile to put them in a new one with the ntuser.dat registry hive using the load hive command @Quazz mentioned and then finding things like the task bar pins location and such.

You should be able to recreate just the profile in a fresh install of windows 10 and copy it over to the upgraded image. That should work too.

[csuther3]

@Arrowhead-IT Sorry I misspoke, I kept the folders you mentioned and deleted the rest, but that didn’t change anything. I’m officially on vacation starting this evening, so I won’t get a chance to dig into this any deeper until I return. I’ll follow up at that time. Thanks for all your help!

[Quazz]

I’ve been trying some stuff out regarding the taskbar icons and it’s frustrating to say the least.

It’s like windows either ignores or overrides the registry keys for the default user when you create a new user.

[Wayne Workman]

@Quazz arrowhead’s scripts do work. I can confirm this. The registry keys I mentioned about Win7 earlier in this thread are totally ignored by Win10 - I’ve already tried lol.

Microsoft takes one step forward, two steps back.

Their programmers are hard-coding values instead of using the registry that is ALREADY THERE! lol I hope someone from Microsoft reads this.

[Quazz]

@Wayne-Workman So the script works for W7 and W10 default taskbar icons?

[Wayne Workman]

@Quazz Arrowhead’s scripts work for Win10. The methods I posted way back work for Win7.

[Wayne Workman]

@Arrowhead-IT can you make a git repo with your two scripts in it, with a read me and a GNU GPLv3 license?

[Quazz]

@Arrowhead-IT @Wayne-Workman

I found some more interesting information on this subject: https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/VCL/How+to+Configure+the+Windows+Default+User+Profile

They recommend deleting the shell items of the ntuser.dat if you copy it from a different profile.

[Wayne Workman]

@Quazz I’ve not done that, everything seems fine. I wonder what potential issues there could be? I’m not copying the default user’s registry entries, just the files I believe.

[Quazz]

@Wayne-Workman Not sure what the copy profile thing actually transfers, but if ntuser.dat is part of it then that’s where the user’s registry keys are in.

You can test it by loading it in regedit and searching for the account it was transfered from.

I figure windows would alter that regardless upon account creation, though, so you may be right that it’s unnecessary.

[Quazz]

@Wayne-Workman It seems like this is not necessary on Pro versions of Windows, but it is on Home Premium! At least that’s how my test situations have turned out so far. In Home Premium it seems to copy over literally everything and in Pro it is more clever about it.

[Wayne Workman]

@Quazz I’m sure Arrowhead wrote this for Pro/Enterprise. Makes sense.

[JJ Fullmer]

@Wayne-Workman @Quazz
Sorry I took an extra day on the long weekend and was out of town. Just seeing these posts.

I will make a public git repo when I have a chance with these scripts.

I will also look into the deleting shell items from the ntuser.dat. I wonder what those hold.

The ntuser.dat is the registry entries, so you are copying a file that contains registry entries.

I did make it with enterprise and only enterprise in mind really. That’s all I use in a work environment. Granted, I imagine they could be adapted to work on the other versions.

[JJ Fullmer]

@Wayne-Workman said in Cortana/Windows Search breaks in default profile:

@Arrowhead-IT can you make a git repo with your two scripts in it, with a read me and a GNU GPLv3 license?

@Tom-Elliott Say, could my github user be added to the fog project group so I can add this there?

[Twilems]

The scripts are working fine. But my problem is that i want to use the default profile to use as mandatory profile. When i do that i get an error “the service Group Policy Client prevents logon”. What can i do about it?

Is there anyone uses Mandatory Profiles for Windows 10?
It’s for our environment. It’s a school with students. So we don’t want they can make any changes in the profile. That’s the reason we choose for a mandatory profile.

[Quazz]

@Twilems http://www.linuxgfx.co.uk/karoshi/documentation/wiki/index.php?title=Creating_a_Windows_10_Mandatory_Profile might help.

Basically you need to alter the registry key permissions and ownerships of the default ntsuer.man

[Wayne Workman]

@Twilems I work in a school as well. I’m not concerned about the students customizing what they are allowed to customize. A great deal of things are locked down via group policy, to include wallpaper, screensavers, themes, resolution, control pannel, access to the command prompt, numerous file extension screenings and rules, no access to the c:\ drive. However, if they want to re-arrange the tiles in the start menu I don’t care about that, also re-arranging or customizing the task bar icons, that’s fine with me. Maybe they have a good reason for it, maybe it makes their life easier.

[JJ Fullmer]

@Wayne-Workman said in Cortana/Windows Search breaks in default profile:

@Arrowhead-IT can you make a git repo with your two scripts in it, with a read me and a GNU GPLv3 license?

I made the repo where they will go.

I was trying to decide whether I wanted to make one repo or a bunch for a few other fog-snapin/image prep type scripts.
For now it’s just the one repo. I’d prefer it to be in the fog-project group of repos, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ll link to the fog-project repos for sure though.

https://github.com/darksidemilk/Create-and-Deploy-Windows-Default-Profiles