Windows 11 Pro copy to default profile greyed out

Dear Rodney Wilsoncroft,

In Windows 11, the “Copy To” option in the User Profiles dialog is intentionally disabled for active profiles to prevent unintended changes. To achieve your objective, we recommend using the CopyProfile feature during image creation. This method allows you to configure a reference profile and apply it to the default user profile during deployment.

Here’s a high-level overview of the process:

1. Enter Audit Mode After installing Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + F3 at the OOBE screen to enter Audit Mode.
2. Customize the Profile Configure the desktop, taskbar, Start menu, and application settings as desired.
3. Create an Unattend.xml File Use Windows System Image Manager (SIM) to create an answer file. In the specialize pass, set CopyProfile=true under Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup.
4. Run Sysprep Execute sysprep /generalize /oobe /shutdown /unattend:unattend.xml.
5. Capture and Deploy the Image Use DISM or your preferred imaging tool to capture and deploy the customized image.

For detailed instructions, please refer to Microsoft’s official guide on customizing the default user profile using CopyProfile.

Important Notes

• Some user-specific settings (e.g., default apps, Start layout) may not persist due to profile encryption or system restrictions.
• CopyProfile is best used in clean environments and may not work as expected if the reference profile has been used extensively.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

Best regards,

Harry Phan

Is there a way to enable it, copy the profile, then disable it again. I understand why it's disabled, however the recommended answer seems excessive for a simple task.