Hey lazyfedi, I'm preparing a second-hand machine for an acquaintance and it comes with Windows. I'm preinstalling the stuff they'll need and removing the junk they won't, but I'd like them to be able to create the first user themselves. Is there a way to "factory reset" a Windows machine that only wipes all the users but not the applications or other configuration changes?
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Not really 😕
Such a reset would be more like a clean OS installation. Many settings and customisations are per user rather than machine or OS wide.
Create the user for them and set it up as needed. Install the apps they need; setup security and privacy as needed.
UniGet UI is a good app to install other apps and keep them updated. Works using WinGet so it's a UI for the Windows package manager.
There are several apps and utilities I use for configuration and testing. If you would like suggestions, let me know 🙂
@gabrielesvelto
Read up on the sysprep command. It wipes users and the machine name and causes it to go through the just-installed setup again. I can't guarantee it doesn't remove apps but I am 99% sure.
@gabrielesvelto There are ways to script what happens when a new user account is made or at install time, but most configuration you want to set is probably user-local and not something that would be kept just by setting it then deleting the user account. You'd have to figure out the scripting, I think.
However, if the user isn't technical, you really should create the local account for them anyway, since otherwise they're going to get railroaded into making and using a Microsoft Account to log in, which drastically reduces the degree to which they actually own their system/data.
@dalias yeah, I've installed the machine using a modified installer so that it doesn't go into the Microsoft account prompt but I wonder if that could also be reset if I wipe all users
