1 GameEx for kids, 1 GameEx for adults with single Media Center Start Page button - WORKING!!! - Here's how...

[Marker0077]

I wanted to have a copy of GameEx that has mature games & also a mature theme (using a modified version of Women We Love to Play) but at the same time, I don't want the kids to have access to it. Here's my solution...

Basically, you're running 2 copies of GameEx. Create a folder in the root directory called "Mature" & change the security settings on it so that only the accounts you want to have access to adult material may do so. It's better to deny 1 particular folder than a variety of folders scattered all over the place mainly because you do not need to go into safe mode to change the security settings for each folder, as long as you add it to the Mature folder, it's blocked in the kids account (provided their account is at "user" level, they can't unblock it).

This is also ideal for things outside of GameEx as well, in my case, I use Media Center for videos. I can add this folder to the individual accounts that have access to it. In the kids account, it appears it's not even there.

As for how I got the Media Center start page to have a single "GameEx" (or "My Games" by default) button, I changed the link to point to a batch file that checks to see if access is granted to the mature version of GameEx, then launch the other if it does not. Here's what my batch file consists of...

@echo off

c:

cd\

if exist C:\Mature\GameEx\*.* goto BIGKIDS

goto KIDS

:BIGKIDS

cd "Mature\GameEx"

start gameex.exe

goto EXIT

:KIDS

cd "Program Files\Media Center Related\GameEx"

start gameex.exe

goto EXIT

:EXIT

I also have the Media Center button pointing to a shortcut in the Windows folder that runs the GameEx batch file minimized (unneccessary, just looks better, especially in the "Kids" & "Big Kids" accounts due to the taskbar & desktop icons are hidden via DesktopX, so it appears as there is no batch file being used).

To change the Media Center GameEx button, open up regedit, goto "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Extensibility\Categories\Start Menu\{3de6904a-d9c7-4ef9-b77d-c1216b39161a}", from here you can modify "Title" to read whatever you like in Media Center (default is "My Games", I prefer "GameEx") & you can change "Run" to start whatever you like; I chose "C:\Windows\gameex.lnk".

Well, that's it. That's all there is to it. The only problem I have come across is using the configuration program on the copy moved from the original path. Changed settings, while are active, do not get saved in some cases, particularly with themes.

Hope this is as useful to some of you as it is for me.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you're new to the "security" settings tab, it may be accessed in safe mode (unneccessary in XP Pro). Do not "deny" anyone, just remove all permissions, grant full access to "system", "owner" & whatever individual accounts you'd like to have access; if you deny the "users" group, you're also denying everyone above them as well, including administrators.

P.S.

In case you're wondering, yes this does exit/enter in/out of media center exactly as it did before the changes.

[emphatic]

Nice!

Emph