Customizations and Registry Tweaks Persisting After Clean Windows 11 Pro Installation on Wiped M.2 Drive

I recently had to perform a completely clean installation of Windows 11 Pro after my previous installation (version 25H2) became corrupted due to defective memory.

Steps Taken for Clean Install:

• Used Rufus with a fresh Microsoft ISO.
• Opted out of installing any AI options.
• Created a local logon (which is the only type of account I use).
• Deleted all original partitions during setup and chose to install on the unallocated space of my M.2 drive.

Problem:
As expected, I had to reinstall my programs. However, I ran into a very strange issue: when I went to manually disable services I don't need and apply my usual registry tweaks, I found that the services were already disabled and the registry changes were already present—exactly as I had configured them in my previous, corrupted installation.

Questions:
How is it possible for customizations from a previous installation to persist across a clean install on a wiped drive?

i cant give you an answer i just put it done to 'ghosts in the system'
best of luck Steve ..

I don't remember what all the Rufus options were, but I selected all but about two I think. Perhaps it included things I had done manually before. The one option that surprised me was I had manually added a line in the registry to enable the M.2 windows server driver and it was there. It didn't exist on the old installation until I added it.

Did you delete all the original Windows partitions before re-installing?

Yes, when the installation asked where to install the operating system, I deleted all partitions showing and was left with a single unallocated space. That was a few days ago and that's what I remember.