Windows 11 system settings reset to default every day - Tell me how to stop it please

Question

Windows 11 system settings reset to default every day - Tell me how to stop it please

DejRich 0

I have an Asus ROG Xbox Ally, and Windows system settings keep changing my battery settings and my display settings, and probably a ton of other ones that don't absolutely aggravate me on a daily basis. How do I stop this?

why can I not control the setting / set-up of my own machine???

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2 answers

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Answer 1

It certainly sounds like you are working in a temporary profile rather than your regular user account. The temporary profile was created for troubleshooting, when your regular user account has problems. As the name says, it's only temporary so nothing in a temporary profile is saved when you restart your computer.

Here, from Gemini AI, are the most obvious signs that you are in a temporary profile:

Upon logging in, Windows typically displays a notification in the System Tray stating: "You've been logged on with a temporary profile" or "We can't sign in to your account."
Custom desktop wallpapers are replaced with the default Windows 11 background, desktop shortcuts disappear, and browser preferences/bookmarks are absent.
Folders such as Documents, Downloads, and Pictures appear completely empty or revert to default states.

Here's a more technical method - also from Gemini:

Go to Start > Windows System > Command Prompt and type: whoami/user

If you are in a temporary profile, the result of running that command will include the word TEMP.

If you discover that you are working in a temporary profile, you need to figure out what is preventing you from signing in to your regular user account.

Answer 2

Alex-L 10,190 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi DejRich

It isn’t normal for Windows settings to reset every day. On ASUS ROG Ally devices, one of the cause could be ASUS software (Armoury Crate SE/MyASUS) overriding Windows power, battery, or display settings.

Try checking:

Armoury Crate SE or MyASUS for performance profiles, Battery Care, or automatic scenario profiles.
Settings > System > Power & battery and confirm your preferred power mode and screen/sleep settings are saved.
Settings > System > Display > Brightness and disable adaptive brightness or content-adaptive brightness if enabled.
If the issue persists, perform a clean boot to see whether a third-party utility is changing the settings in the background.

If you can tell us which settings are resetting (sleep timers, brightness, refresh rate, charging limit, resolution, scaling, etc.), that will help narrow down the cause.

Alex-L 10,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-03T13:45:53.1666667+00:00

Hi DejRich

Did you get a chance to check my reply? Feel free to reach out if anything is unclear.
DejRich 0 Reputation points

2026-08-03T15:14:40.7566667+00:00

I have gone into the Computer settings (almost daily) to update the power mode under System > Power & Battery because it always switches back to Balanced when I have it set for performance when plugged in and efficient when on battery. I am curious if that happens when the battery goes below 30% - because I cannot change the Energy Saver setting.

I have updated my battery/power button settings to go into Hibernate mode instead of sleep. I have also turned off the battery controls in Armoury Crate and turned off the Fast Startup setting in Control Panel. Hopefully this works. I never had this problem with the ASUS Rog Ally Z1 Extreme and that also had Windows 11 and Armoury Crate. I will keep you posted - any additional help or suggestions would be appreciated.
DejRich 0 Reputation points

2026-08-04T12:46:43.58+00:00

I had to shut down and restart my handheld again this morning. I went in and checked the Armoury Crate and Windows settings and the only thing that has changed were the "screen, sleep, and hibernate timeouts".
Alex-L 10,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-05T14:38:26.4366667+00:00
Hi DejRich

That is a useful clue. If only the Screen, sleep, and hibernate timeouts are changing now, Windows or ASUS software may still be applying a power-saving profile rather than fully resetting all settings.

Since you've already disabled Battery Care controls in Armoury Crate, turned off Fast Startup, and changed the power button action to Hibernate, I would also check:

Settings > System > Power & battery > Energy saver and see whether it is automatically activating at a specific battery percentage.

Task Scheduler for any ASUS or Armoury Crate tasks that run at startup or when power conditions change.

Whether the timeout changes occur only after the battery drops below a certain level.

The fact that your Power Mode setting is reverting from Best Performance back to Balanced is not expected behavior, so I suspect a power management service or profile is overriding Windows rather than Windows itself resetting the settings.

Please keep us posted on whether the timeout changes continue after disabling the Armoury Crate battery controls, as that may help narrow down the culprit.