131 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
131 lines
4.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: The Hidden Features of the Windows OOBE
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description: The Windows 11 OOBE is a mess, but it's excellent for bulk deployment and has some hidden features and customization options!
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authors: ['Enderman']
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created: 2024-03-01T23:30:10Z
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updated: 2024-03-02T15:10:58Z
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draft: false
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tags: ['windows', 'oobe', 'deployment', 'know how', 'secret features', 'protocols', 'features', 'windows 10', 'windows 11']
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---
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# The Windows 11 OOBE is a mess...
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The OOBE (Out-of-Box Experience) is the first thing a user sees when they boot up a new Windows device.
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It's the first impression of the operating system, and it's important to get it right.
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At first glance, it seems to be a thing Microsoft surprisingly _has_ gotten right.
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However, once you take a look under the hood, you find a mess of legacy code, hidden features and undocumented APIs...
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and suddenly, you take it all back.
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In this article, I aim to take a deep dive into that mess and explore some hidden features and
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customization options it offers.
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::card
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---
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icon: warning
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title: Unfinished article
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---
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This post is a **work in progress**, please check back later for more content!
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::
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### The OOBE protocol
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The OOBE is a web application, and the `ms-cxh://` protocol is a custom handler that defines a couple of shortcuts to
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various pages, seemingly, for internal use.
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The list of available protocol strings can be retrieved by scanning Windows binaries for the `ms-cxh://` occurrences.
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Luckily, Hexacorn did all the heavy lifting for us and shared
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his findings in [his blog post](https://go.enderman.ch/18n6n).
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The protocol API is **undocumented** by Microsoft, so it's not guaranteed to work in the future.
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In fact, it has already been partially removed or deprecated in Windows 11 without any notice.
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Microsoft used acronyms in protocol strings, and some of them are quite cryptic, but there's nothing we can't decode.
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#### Out-of-Box Experience
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FRX stands for «**F**irst **R**un e**X**perience»;
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RDX stands for «**R**etail **D**emo e**X**perience».
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* `ms-cxh://FRX/AAD`
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* `ms-cxh://FRX/INCLUSIVE`
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* `ms-cxh://FRX/INCLUSIVE?start=OobeProvisioningStatus`
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* `ms-cxh://FRX/TEAMEDITION`
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* `ms-cxh://FRXRDXINCLUSIVE`
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#### Microsoft Azure
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The AAD acronym is commonly used and refers to «**A**zure **A**ctive **D**irectory»;
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SSPR stands for «**S**elf-**S**ervice **P**assword **R**eset».
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* `ms-cxh://AADPINRESETAUTH`
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* `ms-cxh://AADSSPR`
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* `ms-cxh://AADWEBAUTH`
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#### Modern settings
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The MOSET acronym most likely refers to «**Mo**dern **set**tings»;
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MAM stands for «**M**obile **A**pplication **M**anagement».
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MSA stands for «**M**icro**s**oft **A**ccount».
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* `ms-cxh://MOSET/AADLOCAL`
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* `ms-cxh://MOSET/CONNECTTOWORK`
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* `ms-cxh://mosetmamconnecttowork?mode=mdm&username=%s&servername=%s`
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* `ms-cxh://mosetmdmconnecttowork`
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* `ms-cxh://MOSETMSA`
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* `ms-cxh://MOSETMSALOCAL`
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#### Microsoft account
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CFL probably stands for «**C**hange **F**irst **L**ogon»?
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* `ms-cxh://MSACFLPINRESET`
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* `ms-cxh://MSACFLPINRESETSIGNIN`
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* `ms-cxh://MSACXSIGNINAUTHONLY`
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* `ms-cxh://MSACXSIGNINPINADD`
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* `ms-cxh://MSACXSIGNINPINRESET`
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* `ms-cxh://MSAPINENROLL`
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* `ms-cxh://MSAPINRESET`
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* `ms-cxh://MSARDX`
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* `ms-cxh://MSASSPR`
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#### Windows Hello for Microsoft Intune
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NTH stands for «i**NT**une **H**ello»;
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NGC stands for «**N**ext **G**eneration **C**redential»;
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ENT stands for «**Ent**erprise»;
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MDM stands for «**M**obile **D**evice **M**anagement».
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* `ms-cxh://NTH`
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* `ms-cxh://NTH/AADRECOVERY`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHAADNGCFIXME`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHAADNGCONLY`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHAADNGCRESET`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHAADNGCRESETDESTRUCTIVE`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHAADNGCRESETNONDESTRUCTIVE`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHAADORMDM?ngc=enabled`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHENTNGCFIXME`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHENTNGCONLY`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHENTNGCRESET`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHENTNGCRESETDESTRUCTIVE`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHENTORMDM`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHENTORMDM?ngc=enabled`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHNGCUPSELL`
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* `ms-cxh://NTHPRIVACY`
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* `ms-cxh://RDXRACSKUINCLUSIVE`
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#### Second-chance OOBE
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* `ms-cxh://SCOOBE`
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* `ms-cxh://SCOOBE%ws`
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* `ms-cxh://SCOOBE/UPGRADE`
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#### Cloud settings
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* `ms-cxh://SETADDLOCALONLY`
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* `ms-cxh://SETADDNEWUSER`
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* `ms-cxh://SETCHANGEPWD`
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* `ms-cxh://SETPHONEPAIRING`
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* `ms-cxh://SETPHONEPAIRING?scenarioId=SwiftKeyCloudClipboard`
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* `ms-cxh://setsqsalocalonly`
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#### Miscellaneous
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* `ms-cxh://TSET/ADDFAMILY`
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* `ms-cxh://WLT`
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* `ms-cxh://WLTUC`
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