>an .ini file should not be a thing in Windows
Hard, hard disagree there. Having config files available is vastly preferable to using the unmitigated shitshow that is the windows registry. That and a config file at least gives users a prayer at being able to provide some sort of troubleshooting information, and provides savvy users with a way to actually solve problems on their own.
>half ass ports it to windows
Redmond, themselves, do all sorts of seemingly 'wrong' things with their directory structure, which tells me the 'free for all' nature of it is intentional, and not wrong at all. It is a terrible structure, it does cause problems, but, that's the conditions you work under while using windows. It's mostly OK in practice, but as bitwarden found out, there are conditions that developers have to account for if you require security and safety.
And factually, your presumed solution of "put things in the right place" is doubly broken, because if one acquires the correct privileges, there is no location on a windows machine where cleartext data is safe. The solution is not "store it in the correct location" the solution is to encrypt sensitive data at rest, regardless of location, which is more or less what bitwarden did. That's the correct strategy, and it's operating system agnostic.