Auto launch GBPVR on only one winXP account

[SCROFT]

Ok first off hello... first post. I have been playing with GBPVR for 6 months and love it. I recently got a HDTV and wanted to fully integrate GBPVR on only 1 account under WinXP and lock the user to only GBPVR (keep the kids in GBPVR only)

NOTE: this walkthrough requires changes to the registry... Proceed at your own risk.

1. Create an admin account for GBPVR

2. Login to the GBPVR account (The following steps must be done in the account you want GBPVR to auto launch into.)

3. the following steps were taken from a litestep shell replacement FAQ that when edited to use GBPVR instead... works great.Litestep FAQ Page
· Installing GBPVR to auto load on a Per account Basis
* Run regedit.exe to edit your registry.
* Locate this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping\system.ini\boot
* Set the 'Shell' string to:USR:Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
* Locate this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
* Set the 'BrowseNewProcess' string to : yes.
* If you cannot find this setting, create a new string called 'BrowseNewProcess' and set it to : yes.
* Set the DesktopProcess to: 1.
* If you cannot find this setting, create a new DWORD called 'DesktopProcess' and set it to : 1.
* Locate this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
* If it doesn't exist, create a string value called 'Shell'
* Set the 'Shell' string to : x:\path_to_gbpvr\gbpvr.exe
* If you cannot find this setting, create a new string called 'Shell' and set it to : x:\path_to_ls\litestep.exe.

4. to add security and lock out users ability to launch anything from the Ctrl+alt+del... I found this tidbit to lock out the task manager from all users. Task Manger disable FAQ
There is a registry hack to enable or disable Windows NT TaskManager. The same registry hack applies to Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Name: DisableTaskMgr
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1=Enablethis key, that is DISABLE TaskManager
Value: 0=Disablethis key, that is Don't Disable, Enable TaskManager
As part of the enhanced management available in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, rather than risking a registry change, as an administrator you can enable or disable Windows 2000 Pro or Windows XP Pro's TaskManager using Group Policy Editor. This can be applied to the local policy. Note: if you are trying to override your organizations group policy, you can't. As soon as you re-authenticate to the domain, the domain or OU Group Policy will rewrite the registry setting. But if the TaskManager was accidently disabled or you need to control this item for a set of standalone boxes this is for you:
* Click Start
* Click Run
* Enter gpedit.msc in the Open box and click OK
* In the Group Policy settings window
o Select User Configuration
o Select Administrative Templates
o Select System
o Select Ctrl+Alt+Delete options
o Select Remove Task Manager
o Double-click the Remove Task Manager option
And as I mentioned above, since the policy is Remove Task Manager, by enabling the policy, you are disabling the Task Manager.
Got XP Home - use the registry edit.

5. Log out and log back into the GBPVR account.. Thats it!!!

Thoughts....
-- For some reason GBPVR will not load on a limited access account... need to research this as I would feel better if the GBPVR account was not Admin access.
-- Load the My Video plug-in to add security to your videos by assigning PIN numbers to files you don’t want the kids to see.
-- Still to do... I want to add Firefox to GBPVR menu... but set it up to only allow access to site that I have added to the approved list of sites. ( I have researched this and there is a function to do this inside Firefox for locking the users to certain allowed domains)
-- Since GBPVR is loading as the shell... and Explore is not being loaded... you save on memory being used. Also there is no desktop icons, start menu, taskbar, or right click menu... this really locks the account to only allow GBPVR to run or programs that GBPVR has been configured to launch

Anyways... this has worked great for me and I thought I would share the info so others could benefit from it.

SCROFT

[xtoph]

Sounds very interesting to me. However, a question remains: I have to restart GB-PVR on a regular basis due to minor bugs (that I can perfectly live with). How would this be handled with your approach?

[kayleigh]

XP has a utility you can run to set auto-logon. Another registry hack allows auto-logon on Win2k/Win2k3 as long as the computer is stand-alone (not part of a domain):

Windows XP Auto-Logon:

Quote[/b] ]1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type control userpasswords2, and then click OK.
3. Clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" check box, then click Apply.
4. In the Automatically Log On window, type the password in the Password box, and then retype the password in the Confirm Password box.
5. Click OK to close the Automatically Log On window, and then click OK to close the User Accounts window.

Win2k Auto-Logon:

Quote[/b] ]1. Start Regedt32.exe, and then locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
2. Using your account name and password, double-click the DefaultUserName entry, type your user name, and then click OK.
3. Double-click the DefaultPassword entry, type your password, and then click OK.

NOTE: If the DefaultPassword value does not exist, follow these steps:

a.  Click Add Value on the Edit menu.
b.  In the Value Name box, type DefaultPassword, and then click REG_SZ for the Data Type
c.  Type your password in the String box, and then save your changes.
Also, if no DefaultPassword string is specified, Windows automatically changes the value of the AutoAdminLogon key from 1 (true) to 0 (false), which disables the AutoAdminLogon feature.  
4. Click Add Value on the Edit menu, enter AutoAdminLogon in the Value Name box, and then click REG_SZ for the Data Type.
5. Type 1 in the String box, and then save your changes.
6. Quit Regedt32.
7. Click Start, click Shutdown, and then click OK to turn off your computer.
8. Restart your computer and Windows. You are now able to log on automatically.

If you want to bypass the automatic logon to log on as a different user, hold down the SHIFT key after you log off or after Windows XP restarts. Note that this procedure applies only to the first logon. To enforce this setting for future logoffs, the administrator must set the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Value:ForceAutoLogon
Type: REG_SZ
Data: 1

Try that. I added GBPVR to my startup group, so that when I reboot my computer logs on automatically & starts GBPVR. You could even schedule a reboot without worrying about the whole CTRL-ALT-DEL thing (I don't have a keyboard attached to my PVR computer - haven't found one small enough) I hope that helps.

[xtoph]

I'm currently using the auto-login feature of XP, however the stripped-down approach IMHO is something worth pursuing further.