pxe-server/playbook/shopfloor-setup/Shopfloor/03-ShellDefaults.ps1

# 03-ShellDefaults.ps1 - Shell appearance defaults for all new user profiles.
#
# Applies the following tweaks so shopfloor PCs look/behave closer to the
# Win10 baseline and don't reach out to Bing from the Start menu:
#   1. Taskbar aligned to the left (TaskbarAl=0). Per-user setting, written
#      into the Default User hive so every NEW profile inherits it.
#   2. Start menu "Recommended" section hidden (HideRecommendedSection=1).
#   3. Web results + Bing search-box suggestions killed in Start/Search.
#   4. Cortana disabled via policy (no-op on LTSC 2024 since Cortana isn't
#      shipped, but set anyway for belt-and-suspenders).
#
# 2-4 are HKLM policy values - W11 LTSC / Enterprise honour them; Home/Pro
# do not. Fine here since the fleet is LTSC 2024.
#
# Existing profiles (SupportUser, pre-existing end-user accounts) are NOT
# modified for TaskbarAl - the Default User hive is a template copied on
# profile creation, not a live cascade. The HKLM policies affect everyone.

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue'

$isAdmin = ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal][Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole]::Administrator)
if (-not $isAdmin) {
    Write-Host "ERROR: 03-ShellDefaults.ps1 must run as Administrator." -ForegroundColor Red
    exit 1
}

# ---- 1. HKLM policy DWORDs (all LTSC-honoured) -------------------------------
# Each entry: KeyPath, ValueName, ValueData. Key is created if missing.
$hklmPolicies = @(
    # Hide Start menu "Recommended" section.
    @{ Key = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer'
       Name = 'HideRecommendedSection'; Value = 1 }

    # Kill web results in Start/taskbar search.
    @{ Key = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search'
       Name = 'DisableWebSearch';       Value = 1 }
    @{ Key = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search'
       Name = 'ConnectedSearchUseWeb';  Value = 0 }

    # Disable Cortana (policy; LTSC doesn't ship Cortana but this is harmless).
    @{ Key = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search'
       Name = 'AllowCortana';           Value = 0 }

    # Kill Bing-powered search-box suggestions (per-keystroke telemetry).
    @{ Key = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer'
       Name = 'DisableSearchBoxSuggestions'; Value = 1 }
)

foreach ($p in $hklmPolicies) {
    try {
        if (-not (Test-Path $p.Key)) {
            New-Item -Path $p.Key -Force | Out-Null
        }
        Set-ItemProperty -Path $p.Key -Name $p.Name -Value $p.Value -Type DWord -Force
        Write-Host ("Set {0}\{1} = {2}" -f $p.Key, $p.Name, $p.Value)
    } catch {
        Write-Warning ("Failed to set {0}\{1}: {2}" -f $p.Key, $p.Name, $_)
    }
}

# ---- 2. Taskbar left-align via Default User hive ----
$defaultHive = 'C:\Users\Default\NTUSER.DAT'
$mountPoint  = 'HKU\SFLDDefault'
$regPath     = 'Registry::HKEY_USERS\SFLDDefault\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced'

if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $defaultHive)) {
    Write-Warning "Default User hive not found at $defaultHive - skipping taskbar tweak."
    exit 0
}

# Unload a stale mount from a previous run, if any. reg unload returns
# non-zero when nothing is mounted; ignore that.
& reg.exe unload $mountPoint *> $null

$loadOutput = & reg.exe load $mountPoint $defaultHive 2>&1
if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
    Write-Warning "reg load failed ($LASTEXITCODE): $loadOutput"
    exit 1
}

try {
    if (-not (Test-Path $regPath)) {
        New-Item -Path $regPath -Force | Out-Null
    }
    Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name 'TaskbarAl' -Value 0 -Type DWord -Force
    Write-Host "Set Default User TaskbarAl=0 (left-aligned)"
} catch {
    Write-Warning "Failed to set TaskbarAl: $_"
} finally {
    # Force GC so PowerShell drops its handles on the hive before unload,
    # otherwise reg unload fails with "The process cannot access the file".
    [gc]::Collect()
    [gc]::WaitForPendingFinalizers()
    [gc]::Collect()
    & reg.exe unload $mountPoint *> $null
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        Write-Warning "reg unload returned $LASTEXITCODE - Default User hive may still be mounted"
    }
}

exit 0