How can I prevent explorer.exe from loading at startup?

The title says it all, how can I do that?

I'd like to prevent the explorer.exe process from loading at startup on the guest account.

Thanks

 

Hello pilau,

You can't, you wouldn't have the Desk Top (a window) without it, and w/o the Desk Top you couldn't run the computer.

 

Edited ......... TMI

 

Hi Dave,

Once I upgraded to a newer version of System Safety Monitor and got a big supprise - it wouldn't allow Explorer to load. I couldn't do anything, not even TM, had to reload an image. Anyone trying this on purpose is running the risk of an inoperable system.

 

Hi Charles,

Thought about it a bit and edited my post.

 

Of course you can't do anything - and this is exactly what I want. Maybe you can help me?

 

One of these apps might do what you want more easily.

http://advanced-security-level.softfolder-inc.qarchive.org/

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/winbounds.html

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/deskmanse.html

 

The system can't do anything either, such as switching users. In short, it makes the system inoperable for all users.

Follow Dave's suggestions and stay away from this particular solution.

 

You don't get it - I don't want the user to so anything but run only a certain program, and this is why I want to disable everything else which is not that program, including the desktop, taskbar, and such. That's all

Do you know how?

 

For everyone's convenience, here is a link to another related thread also started by pilau.

• Allowing a user to run only a specific program

 

Since you didn't indicate whether you had or not, did you check out any of the apps I linked you to? I still feel one of them would be your best option.

Sure, I can tell you how to keep explorer from even loading, how to disable the task manager, how to hide or disable basically anything on the system, AND how to make your desired program startup and run, but I still feel an application like the ones I suggested is a better route to take.

 

Thanks for your links, Noahdfear I had a look at them earlier, but forgot to respond about it.

I have encountered the Winbounds and Deskman SE programs earlier, but none for to what I need, as they just prevent access to objects (desktop items, programs, windows...), rather then hide them from the user. The third program though, is almost like a copy of a program I use, which is called 1st Security Agent, and if you look at the screenshots they look astoundingly identical!

I have found a solution to what I need:
- For the desktop, I am using a feature of 1st Security Agent that "Hides all Desktop items" - in this case, all icons and the right-click menu.
- For the taskbar I am using Taskbar Hide, which is a great, convenient and straight-forward program that is ment to hide windows, but can also hide the taskbar completely.

Combining these too I am preventing all access to the computer, except through the Task Manager, which I am going to password protect it's Ctrl + Alt + Del hotkey using AutoHotKey and a .vbs file.

So, Noahdfear, you say you know how to do all these things? I'd relly like to learn how to do them without using 3rd-party applications, or rather, by not using your prefered route
I am an advanced user, so I believe I will understand most of what you'd say, anyway So, could you please explain?

 

Most everything you want to do; disable task manager, taskbar, start menu items, desktop items, display properties, restricting program access, etc, can all be achieved through registry tweaks to the Current User hive. You'll find quite a few of those tweaks at the following link.

http://www.windowsitlibrary.com/Content/638/09/3.html

Check out page 1 too!
Using policies in that way can enable you to restrict access to most anything, yet allow you to keep the taskbar/Start Menu for the purpose of log off/shutdown.

mailman also gave you good links to the Group Policies in your other topic, which is effective as well.

While I don't understand why you want to keep explorer from loading (after all, who cares, if you can't do anything with it), it loads from the following registry key, under the Shell value. No shell value data, no shell (the Shell value should stay, the explorer.exe Data can be removed).

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Now, that means the change would be global, affecting all users. So, an Administrative or non-restricted account would have to start explorer either manually through Task Manager, or through the use of a shortcut to explorer.exe in the startup folder, or through a batch file loaded under said user's run key. You can also load the program you want on the restricted user's account in this way, although using the RestrictedRun policy would allow the user to start the program manually while preventing them from running anything else.

 

Thanks a lot man! But your link is not working, I get a server error.

Anyway, I only wanted to disable explorer because that this is the way to achieve these limitations and restrictions. It is a way though, but as I learned through my research and through your help, there are other ways of doing so, either by using 3rd-party applications or built-in Windows tools.

Still, your link isn't working Thanks a lot, noahdfear!

 

Hi, pilau.

The link worked fine for me in both Firefox 2.0.0.7 and Internet Explorer 7 (v7.0.5370.11).

EDIT: I tried the link again after posting this message and got the following error message (in Firefox 2.0.0.7).

Perhaps there are issues with Macromedia's/Adobe's Flash Player? (I do not have Flash Player installed in my computer.)

EDIT#2: I just tried the link yet again in Firefox 2.0.0.7 and the link worked.

 

pilau, Just so you know, if you do decide to jack around with the Registry, be sure you have a backup plan. You can lock yourself out and not be able to correct any misstep if you aren't careful. It all sounds so easy, just edit the Registry Keys and disable the Desktop, TaskMgr and the explorer shell. I have been there and done that successfully but I have a nearly fail safe backup system and I had to use it before I refined the process down to where I wanted it. Do be careful!

That said, I finally made a batch file and placed a command for it in the Registry Key value to replace the explorer.exe value.

That batch file had a line command that opened a software program into a specific spreadsheet that I wanted to present to the user. Let me add that you can open any executable program by placing it's executable file into the Shell value but you cannot designate an associated program file and have it open the program to the desired file. That's where the batch file comes into play.

If you carry that one step further, as I did, and disable Taskmgr, you better be sure you are dotting all the i's and crossing the t's. It's thin ice at best.

Good backups that can be invoked outside of a Windows session are imperative!

 

Sound advice, surferdude2!
I suppose I should have added some of that with my posting.

I will instead repeat my first recommendation ..........

 

Hey guys, sorry for the long silence, been away from home for a day.

Thanks for all of the advice. I know and understand the registry has a bunch of dark corners, narrow corridors and dead ends in it, as I have meddled in it's contents many a time before

Actually, I haven't really found what I needed on that page, except for disabling Task Manager. But anyway, this is what I have achieved already by using some of my ideas and other ideas mentioned here by others:

• Using Group Policy to:
  
  - Disable all Desktop items and objects, including right-click menu.
  - Deploy a few extra restrictions, like control panel aplets access and other things
  ​
• Using a 3rd-party program called TaskBar Hide to hide and disable the taskbar and start menu. (1)
• Using a batch file to load the program on startup, wait for it to end & exit, then log off the user.

(1) I have underlined disable, because I have found out that you can hide the taskbar and start menu button using VERY simple C++ code, however, the start button's functionality is still active, that is, if you press the Win key, start menu loads!