Start Layout in Windows 11 for All users


AMH4Y

New member
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17
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Windows
Hi,

Is it not supported /possible to override the Windows 11 default start layout?

I am trying to set the following start layout for all users:
139438-image.png


Following this article and created json file as
Customize the Windows 11 Start menu

  1. {
  2. "primaryOEMPins": [
  3. { "packagedAppId": "Microsoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" },
  4. { "desktopAppId": "Chrome" },
  5. { "desktopAppId": "308046B0AF4A39CB" },
  6. { "desktopAppId": "{7C5A40EF-A0FB-4BFC-874A-C0F2E0B9FA8E}\\Notepad++\\notepad++.exe" }
  7. ],
  8. "secondaryOEMPins": [
  9. { "desktopAppId": "::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}" },
  10. { "packagedAppId": "windows.immersivecontrolpanel_cw5n1h2txyewy!microsoft.windows.immersivecontrolpanel" }
  11. ],
  12. "firstRunOEMPins": [
  13. { "packagedAppId": "Microsoft.WindowsNotepad_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App" }
  14. ]
  15. }


Now copied this LayoutModification.Json file in mounted image as:
D:\Mount\Users\Default\Appdata\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

Once image is deployed, the result wasn't as expected:

139491-image.png
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11 Professional

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows
i was unable to do this as well. even if you manually set your start menu pinned items and enable the group policy for start layout, it does not let you pin new items to start but you are still able to unpin current items from the menu...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
i was unable to do this as well. even if you manually set your start menu pinned items and enable the group policy for start layout, it does not let you pin new items to start but you are still able to unpin current items from the menu...
Yeah, as far as I can see, currently it's kind of impossible to override default layout and replace with a custom layout.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
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    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
try setting your preferred on a pc, then using sordum's utility to export/import it to another. may work for your needs

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
try setting your preferred on a pc, then using sordum's utility to export/import it to another. may work for your needs

Would prefer using MS way, but thanks anyways, have tested this utility today already.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows
Hello!, an alternative is to use registry entries:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\current\device\Start]

"ConfigureStartPins"="{\"pinnedList\":[{\"desktopAppId\":\"308046B0AF4A39CB\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Chrome\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"MSEdge\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Office.WINWORD.EXE.15\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Office.EXCEL.EXE.15\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Office.POWERPNT.EXE.15\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{7C5A40EF-A0FB-4BFC-874A-C0F2E0B9FA8E}\\\\CDBurnerXP\\\\cdbxpp.exe\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{6D809377-6AF0-444B-8957-A3773F02200E}\\\\Adobe\\\\Acrobat DC\\\\Acrobat\\\\Acrobat.exe\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"Microsoft.WindowsNotepad_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe!microsoft.windowslive.calendar\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Windows.ControlPanel\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"windows.immersivecontrolpanel_cw5n1h2txyewy!microsoft.windows.immersivecontrolpanel\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Windows.Explorer\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{1AC14E77-02E7-4E5D-B744-2EB1AE5198B7}\\\\cmd.exe\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{7C5A40EF-A0FB-4BFC-874A-C0F2E0B9FA8E}\\\\TEAMVIEWER\\\\TEAMVIEWER.EXE\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"prokzult ad\"}]}" "ConfigureStartPins_ProviderSet"=dword:00000001

Captura de tela de 2021-12-25 18-24-11.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
Hello!, an alternative is to use registry entries:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\current\device\Start]

"ConfigureStartPins"="{\"pinnedList\":[{\"desktopAppId\":\"308046B0AF4A39CB\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Chrome\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"MSEdge\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Office.WINWORD.EXE.15\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Office.EXCEL.EXE.15\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Office.POWERPNT.EXE.15\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{7C5A40EF-A0FB-4BFC-874A-C0F2E0B9FA8E}\\\\CDBurnerXP\\\\cdbxpp.exe\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{6D809377-6AF0-444B-8957-A3773F02200E}\\\\Adobe\\\\Acrobat DC\\\\Acrobat\\\\Acrobat.exe\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"Microsoft.WindowsNotepad_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_8wekyb3d8bbwe!microsoft.windowslive.calendar\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Windows.ControlPanel\"},{\"packagedAppId\":\"windows.immersivecontrolpanel_cw5n1h2txyewy!microsoft.windows.immersivecontrolpanel\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"Microsoft.Windows.Explorer\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{1AC14E77-02E7-4E5D-B744-2EB1AE5198B7}\\\\cmd.exe\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"{7C5A40EF-A0FB-4BFC-874A-C0F2E0B9FA8E}\\\\TEAMVIEWER\\\\TEAMVIEWER.EXE\"},{\"desktopAppId\":\"prokzult ad\"}]}" "ConfigureStartPins_ProviderSet"=dword:00000001

View attachment 16943
Hi,
Can you email /attach the reg file?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows
See attached, now I'm racking my brain to not let users remove or add icons, any help is valid.
 

Attachments

  • StartMenu.reg
    1.4 KB · Views: 146

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
See attached, now I'm racking my brain to not let users remove or add icons, any help is valid.
Thanks for attaching the file, will check it in my LAB environment.
To answer your question, maybe you can have your defined layout for all users and have it apply at startup (when computer starts), so if a user has modified the layout, will be reverted to what you defined.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows
I tried to do this, it doesn't work. I'm looking for a way to remove the add button or remove the pins
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
If you're still looking for a way -

I had a hard time with the JSON file for the start menu. What I found is that Windows creates a start.bin (\user\YourUSER\Appdata\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\) which has all the start menu pins. You can literally copy that and paste it in the default user folder path so that new users can have it.

What I do for my organization currently is I use PS App Deployment Toolkit to wrap it up:

Ex:
Note- I also use this to copy the taskbar pins

Code:
          $Profilepaths = Get-UserProfiles | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'ProfilePath'
          ForEach ($Profile in $ProfilePaths) {
          Copy-File -Path $dirSupportFiles\start.bin -Destination $Profile\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState
          Copy-File -Path $dirSupportFiles\LayoutModification.xml -Destination $profile\AppData\local\Microsoft\Windows\Shell
          }

This will copy to the default + any profiles that exist (If you are doing an In place Upgrade)

So to test:

1. Log in to a profile
2. Change the start menu as you see fit
3. Copy the start.bin to another profile
4. Login to that profile and test (You can also restart Explorer for the change to take effect)

I attached an example snip below. My Start.bin has some of the office apps on there but, I didnt install office on my lab so it left them out. I really wanted the Microsoft store gone so this route was pretty kind to me.

1640708965622.png


This post explains it better
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Hello, this is a solution that works, but I have many complaints, the user removes the icons and then they call to complain that they have changed and then returned to normal, the interesting thing is to remove the "unpin from start" option, but this is difficult find.
If you're still looking for a way -

I had a hard time with the JSON file for the start menu. What I found is that Windows creates a start.bin (\user\YourUSER\Appdata\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\) which has all the start menu pins. You can literally copy that and paste it in the default user folder path so that new users can have it.

What I do for my organization currently is I use PS App Deployment Toolkit to wrap it up:

Ex:
Note- I also use this to copy the taskbar pins

Code:
          $Profilepaths = Get-UserProfiles | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'ProfilePath'
          ForEach ($Profile in $ProfilePaths) {
          Copy-File -Path $dirSupportFiles\start.bin -Destination $Profile\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState
          Copy-File -Path $dirSupportFiles\LayoutModification.xml -Destination $profile\AppData\local\Microsoft\Windows\Shell
          }

This will copy to the default + any profiles that exist (If you are doing an In place Upgrade)

So to test:

1. Log in to a profile
2. Change the start menu as you see fit
3. Copy the start.bin to another profile
4. Login to that profile and test (You can also restart Explorer for the change to take effect)

I attached an example snip below. My Start.bin has some of the office apps on there but, I didnt install office on my lab so it left them out. I really wanted the Microsoft store gone so this route was pretty kind to me.

View attachment 17100


This post explains it better
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
New tutorial to help. :)

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Currently working on this for domain joined machines and the start.bin file seems to not get copied from the default user anymore for a new domain user profile. This is with Windows 11 pro. Haven't had luck with the json file either as we don't currently use Endpoint manager or intune. The main objective is to modify the start menu pins to not show the promotional apps such as tiktok/climpchamp/etc. Any thoughts?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Currently working on this for domain joined machines and the start.bin file seems to not get copied from the default user anymore for a new domain user profile. This is with Windows 11 pro. Haven't had luck with the json file either as we don't currently use Endpoint manager or intune. The main objective is to modify the start menu pins to not show the promotional apps such as tiktok/climpchamp/etc. Any thoughts?

Hi,

You should copy the start.bin file to this path:

%SystemDrive%\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\

Regards.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI Prestige 15
Hi,

You should copy the start.bin file to this path:

%SystemDrive%\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\

Regards.
I have this as a step in my mdt deployment task sequence and I can see by the time stamp on the file after deployment for the default user is the right file. When I look at the same file for the newly logged in domain user the time stamps are the day off and size is not the same. I have even moved the newly created profile's start.bin file to my reference machine and it is indeed not the correct file. It's almost as if that folder/file is not getting copied over from the default profile at all.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
I found a way that maybe, with a lot of cost, can help you and help me (in parts). Come on!

My scenario is as follows, all the pcs here at the company run a standard "image", I cloned a disk from a newly installed machine, with all the apps and systems that we use, and every time I need to format a pc, I this image above, and it saves me a lot of time, but the default start of windows bothers me because it always comes loaded with useless apps for the desktop.

Looking around, I saw that the start saves its state in an encrypted file in this folder here: %LocalAppdata%\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState, in a file called "start.bin", many people said that it was just a copy and paste this file and the menu was exported, well, I tested it and that's not how it works, once the user has already logged into the machine, his start menu can no longer be changed (which for me doesn't have problem, because as I have few pcs, I manually change the start, but I have to configure each time a new user accesses, which takes me time and took me to look for this tutorial), but users who have not yet logged in machine can have their start menu changed already, which would save time.

Well, what I did was, in my user, I created a "standard" start menu, then I went to C:\Users, and changed the folder permissions so that the hidden files were displayed, so that the system's protected files operating system were displayed, and the known file extensions were displayed, in this way some interesting folders appeared to me, which windows hides by default, they are: "All Users, Default, Default User, All Users and Default User", but when access them, I only got to the AppData folder, the folder "\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\" didn't exist, so what I did was copy the entire path into these "default" users. When logging in with an existing user, the menu remains the same, however, when logging in with a new user, EURECA, we have the new menu.

Now the mission would be to find a way to, via GPO, include this altered path in the PCs of the domain, I still haven't been able to stop to test it, but maybe the easiest way is via script, unfortunately it's only possible to customize the menu according to the workstation location, not according to the user, but I believe it's a start.

If you can find a simpler way, let me know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
So....first post, and between this thread and a couple other links, found about the best solution I possibly can for my own situation. We run Win 10 Pro everywhere, since we're too poor to run Enterprise. 5-man IT team with 3 of them being barely to install Office without screwing it up. Myself and director are the only ones with a brain, and I'm only half his equal. Domain is still 2008r2 (yes, I know, I know). Feel free to criticize or use as you see fit.

Powershell:
# Copy the start.bin file into all existing profiles, to overwrite all the crap MS is including in the default Start Menu
# Won't prevent users from unpinning these items or pinning new items, only handles initial cleanup
echo ""
echo "Clean up new and existing Start Menu's"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$Source = 'start.bin'
$Destination = 'C:\Users\*\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState'
Get-ChildItem $Destination | ForEach-Object {Copy-Item -Path $Source -Destination $_ -Force}
Copy-Item -path start.bin -Destination C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.StartMenuExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState

# Using a PolicyFileEditor command, import the modifications to group policy found in the Win11Clean file into the Machine registry.pol file
# The modifications change local group policy to do the following: disable Chat, Widgets, Cortana, OneDrive, load default application associations file
echo ""
echo "Importing local group policies"
Import-Clixml -Path $PSScriptRoot'\Win11Clean.xml' | Set-PolicyFileEntry -Path $MachineDir

# Import registry file to help with new profiles
echo ""
echo "Import registry file with Start Menu"
reg import .\StartMenu.reg

Attempts to both the start.bin file copy and setting the registry. Thanks to joserf for giving me the base to create my own file.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Personal: Win 10 / Environment: Win 7/10/11, Server 2008r2/2012/2016

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