Default Values
In order the VIM always uses some default values:
Edit (or create new) file at either:
~/.vimrc (so that current vim for current user "sees" the default values)
/etc/vimrc (global configuration file, yes file, vimrc is not a directory)
vim -u <path of vimrc file> (for specific default values)
The common commands that I put in the .vimrc file is:
set nu
set nowrap
User vimrc is for VIM. Use virc for VI.