Useful Script Number 5 - Adjusting the Default User Registry Hive

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Michael Murgolo did a great post on the different ways to adjust default settings when building an image (Configuring default settings for Windows image deployment) and one of the options presented was to targeted changes to the Default User Registry hive and profile folders. I had to do this recently and put together a script that can be launched from the MDT task sequence because I was finding my customised Administrator profile wasn't being copied over correctly to the Default User profile as part of SysPrep.

As Michael mentioned in his post - there are three main processes...you first need to load the default user hive (NTUser.dat) - make the changes you require - then unload the user hive. I have reproduced the core part of my script that does this process for discussion.

The first section sets the two variables that will be used - one to store the temp key (sTempHive) that we will load to, and the second to hold the profile file and location that we want to load (sDefaultUserHive)

For Windows Vista the entry """%USERPROFILE%\..\Default\NTUSER.DAT""" refers to C:\Users\Default\ntuser.dat

sTempHive = """HKEY_USERS\Test"""
sDefaultUserHive = """%USERPROFILE%\..\Default\NTUSER.DAT"""
sSName = oUtility.ScriptName
set oshell = WScript.CreateObject ("Wscript.Shell")

iZTIRetValue="1"

We then need to start logging - it's the law :-)

oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Actions Start - Updating Default Profile",LogTypeInfo
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Loading the Default User hive",LogTypeInfo

The next section runs reg load to load the NTUser.dat file from the default user directory to the temp key (HKEY_USERS\Test) set in the first section - if there is an error the script fails and quits with a specific failure number or we log success.

oShell.run "reg load " & sTempHive & " " & sDefaultUserHive
If Err<>0 Then
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to load the registry hive " & sDefaultUserHive,LogTypeError
ZTIProcess=70
Exit Function
End If
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Default User Hive Loaded to " & sTempHive,LogTypeInfo
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Starting Registry Changes... ",LogTypeInfo

Now that the hive is loaded we can start changing stuff...as an example - I have set the code to change the wallpaper and the screen saver for the default user - again with error checking and specific failure codes

This codes sets the wallpaper (the file needs to be where you set the key to :-)

oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting Default User Wallpaper",LogTypeInfo
RegPath = "HKEY_USERS\Test\Control Panel\Desktop\"
oshell.RegWrite Regpath & "WallPaper", "C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper\CorporateWallpaper.bmp", "REG_SZ"
If Err<>0 Then
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to update wallpaper file setting",LogTypeError
ZTIProcess=60
Exit Function
End If

...and this codes sets the screen saver (again - the file needs to be where you set the key to :-)

oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting Default User Screensaver",LogTypeInfo
RegPath = "HKEY_USERS\Test\Control Panel\Desktop\"
oshell.RegWrite Regpath & "SCRNSAVE.EXE", "C:\Windows\CorporateScreensaver.scr", "REG_SZ"
If Err<>0 Then
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to update Screensaver settings",LogTypeError
ZTIProcess=50
Exit Function
End If

Once all of the changes have been made - its time to unload the hive from its temp key - again with logging and error checking

oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Unloading the Default User hive",LogTypeInfo

oShell.run "reg unload " & sTempHive
If Err<>0 Then
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to unload the default user registry hive",LogTypeError
ZTIProcess=40
Exit Function
End If
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Actions completed",LogTypeInfo

The completed script can be added to your MDT task sequence towards the end - so that it runs before the machine SysPreps and reboots for capture.

The complete script - in MDT format (to include logging and access to classes from ZTIUtility.wsf) with a number of other changes included is available on the Deployment Guys SkyDrive:

This post was contributed by Richard Smith a Senior Consultant with Microsoft Services, UK.