HideXP version 1.0

[Wimpie]

WARNING: RENAME THE .ZIP EXTENSION TO .EXE IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO WORK!!

This program enables you to 'hide' the boot process of Windows XP as much as possible on your machine. This gives a more professional look to your arcade cabinet or media center.

After starting Hide XP, you will be asked for the password of the current user. This password is needed to automatically log into Windows XP.

Optionally, you can launch a program during the startup process of Windows XP. Most people use this to start a menu system like GameEx or Meedio. To do this, select the executable file with the browse button. Otherwise, leave the checkbox blank and you will boot into a blank Windows desktop.

When you have chosen to automatically start a program during startup, you will still have the possibility to interrupt this process and skip to a blank Windows desktop. As soon as you see three white points appearing on the screen, press any key and the auto launch process will be aborted.

Features:

- transforms the mouse cursor into a black triangle to hide it on the screen, even during the logon process

- hides the welcome screen, status messages, balloon popups and desktop icons

- turns off beep sounds

- logs on a selected user automatically

- tweaks some settings to make Windows XP faster (like better memory management and faster menu display)

- reverts the desktop to the (faster) Windows Classic theme

- removes the wallpaper and sets the desktop to black (even during the logon process)

- activates the 'mouse target' option (pressing the CTRL key shows the current mouse cursor position)

- changes the boot screen (can be any BMP measuring 640x480 with 16 colors, a standard MAME boot logo is included)

- integrates as a shell to hide and show the taskbar while automatically launching your program

- adds the possibility to interrupt the boot process and return to the desktop with a keypress

Requirements:

- Windows XP (with or without servicepacks)

Release history:

- v1.0: 24-aug-2007 (initial version)

Setup.zip

[Brian Hoffman]

Wow first post and already contributing.

Thanks for sharing the app. Can you please provide a link to the homepage? It defaults to want to shell gameex.. (is this your custom app?)

Welcome to the board

BTW:

Have you tried Toms Instant sheller..

[Wimpie]

BTW:

Have you tried Toms Instant sheller..

Yes, but this is better. Toms Instant sheller has problems with the mouse cursor during login and cannot give you a full explorer shell afterwards...

[emphatic]

Cool, I guess some healthy competition is in it's place for InstantSheller.

Emph

[Tom Speirs]

WARNING: RENAME THE .ZIP EXTENSION TO .EXE IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO WORK!!

This program enables you to 'hide' the boot process of Windows XP as much as possible on your machine. This gives a more professional look to your arcade cabinet or media center.

After starting Hide XP, you will be asked for the password of the current user. This password is needed to automatically log into Windows XP.

Optionally, you can launch a program during the startup process of Windows XP. Most people use this to start a menu system like GameEx or Meedio. To do this, select the executable file with the browse button. Otherwise, leave the checkbox blank and you will boot into a blank Windows desktop.

When you have chosen to automatically start a program during startup, you will still have the possibility to interrupt this process and skip to a blank Windows desktop. As soon as you see three white points appearing on the screen, press any key and the auto launch process will be aborted.

Features:

- transforms the mouse cursor into a black triangle to hide it on the screen, even during the logon process

- hides the welcome screen, status messages, balloon popups and desktop icons

- turns off beep sounds

- logs on a selected user automatically

- tweaks some settings to make Windows XP faster (like better memory management and faster menu display)

- reverts the desktop to the (faster) Windows Classic theme

- removes the wallpaper and sets the desktop to black (even during the logon process)

- activates the 'mouse target' option (pressing the CTRL key shows the current mouse cursor position)

- changes the boot screen (can be any BMP measuring 640x480 with 16 colors, a standard MAME boot logo is included)

- integrates as a shell to hide and show the taskbar while automatically launching your program

- adds the possibility to interrupt the boot process and return to the desktop with a keypress

Requirements:

- Windows XP (with or without servicepacks)

Release history:

- v1.0: 24-aug-2007 (initial version)

I have not looked at this, but it sounds impressive. I would like to offer you some web space to host this if you want it. It can be your own site or part of the GameEx portal. Drop me an email if you want to take me up on it.

Good job.

[emphatic]

Is any of the features optional? Like boot screen for instance, I already have a nice boot screen, so I don't want to change that.

Emph

[Orclord]

Just a heads up....

Maybe user error....

Waiting for the outcome.....

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showt...part=1&vc=1

[Wimpie]

WARNING: RENAME THE .ZIP EXTENSION TO .EXE IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO WORK!!

V1.1: undo now supported, simply uncheck checkboxes!

Setup.zip

[Brian Hoffman]

WARNING: RENAME THE .ZIP EXTENSION TO .EXE IN ORDER FOR THIS PROGRAM TO WORK!!

V1.1: undo now supported, simply uncheck checkboxes!

Thanks Wimpie!

Would it be easier to Zip your exe?

[KevinPedrick]

So has anyone here given this a try..? Sounds like everything I want in one package but the posts from mameworld are concerning

Why rename the .zip file..? Why not have a zipped executable or just offer the .exe for download..?

[Circo]

So has anyone here given this a try..? Sounds like everything I want in one package but the posts from mameworld are concerning

Why rename the .zip file..? Why not have a zipped executable or just offer the .exe for download..?

That would be because he is posting the files to message boards, most message boards will not allow you to directly post an executable. So you have to change the extension to be able to post so others can download.

[Tom Speirs]

If it were me I would zip the exe file. But thats me.

[Brian Hoffman]

If it were me I would zip the exe file. But thats me.

Thats what I said

[Loris Cortina]

ShellXP freezing when shutdown computer from Gameex. ( it wait some time and then it freeze )

I'm using HideXP 1.1 and the last Gameex available.

There is some command ( launch after ) to set to evitate this problem?

Can i build one app to shutdown ShellXP and then shutdown the PC.

Please help me!

Thanks

[bkenobi]

I tried HidXP 1.0 and 1.1 and they seemed to work okay. I eventually switched back to Tom's program (Instant Sheller) since I wasn't using the new features anyway. All of the things this program can do can be done manually and are documented in the tutorials section of the GameEx main site. Also, you can enable only certain features with this program.

SO, you could try only installing a couple features at a time to see which one(s) are causing the problem. There's no way to solve a problem that isn't properly bounded...

[Loris Cortina]

I tried HidXP 1.0 and 1.1 and they seemed to work okay. I eventually switched back to Tom's program (Instant Sheller) since I wasn't using the new features anyway. All of the things this program can do can be done manually and are documented in the tutorials section of the GameEx main site. Also, you can enable only certain features with this program.

SO, you could try only installing a couple features at a time to see which one(s) are causing the problem. There's no way to solve a problem that isn't properly bounded...

I try some test to learn more about the problem....

Taking task manager when the machine is running it seam GameEX is running correctly, and ShellXp doesnt reply ( freezed! ) if i take manualy kill it doesnt work!

ShellXp launch gameex! Probably gameex doesnt return the control to ShellXp, is possible that exist a variable in the registry that control this problem ( like ECHO ON ECHO OFF in MS-DOS )

If i stop GameEX, ShellXp close correctly!

Probably when i shutdown the machine from the gameex menu, it send shutdown before shellxp close.

I solve temporaly the problem loanching "shutdown -s" on launch after.... Is not the correct solution, but it work....

Suggestion?

[Loris Cortina]

I eventually switched back to Tom's program (Instant Sheller) since I wasn't using the new features anyway. All of the things this program can do can be done manually and are documented in the tutorials section of the GameEx main site. Also, you can enable only certain features with this program.

Instant Sheller work fine!

Thanks for suggestion, it make the same job of HideXP?

Another thing, i cant uncheck the features from HideXP 1.1 probably there is something wrong in my PC ( strange becouse it is a fresh install! )

[Canti]

The single thing I want out of that is to hide the cursor on logging in. Unfortunately I've tried using HideXP before and it raped my other settings, has no choice of settings (as far as I saw) and no way to undo them. I don't suppose there's a manual way to change the cursor for logging in and out? Surely it's in the registry somewhere?

[Tempest]

The single thing I want out of that is to hide the cursor on logging in. Unfortunately I've tried using HideXP before and it raped my other settings, has no choice of settings (as far as I saw) and no way to undo them. I don't suppose there's a manual way to change the cursor for logging in and out? Surely it's in the registry somewhere?

Brian wrote a guide to shelling here:

http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?sh...amp;#entry25142

The part about cursors is about 80% down towards the bottom

I hope this helps!

[Inigo Montoya]

The single thing I want out of that is to hide the cursor on logging in. Unfortunately I've tried using HideXP before and it raped my other settings, has no choice of settings (as far as I saw) and no way to undo them. I don't suppose there's a manual way to change the cursor for logging in and out? Surely it's in the registry somewhere?

I've figured this one out. It might be in the guide, but if it isn't is should be. Go here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloa...ppowertoys.mspx and download and install "Tweak UI." Run Tom's Instant Sheller. After you have that set up exit gameex and hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and go to File, Run. Find TweakUI and run it. Expand the Logon selection and highlight settings. Checking the boxes on the right enables your desktop settings (your black background, and your one black pixel cursor) to be transfered to your logon. Mouse is the one you want, but go ahead and check all the others too. After that's done close TweakUI and restart. Your cursor should now be gone while booting up.

[Tom Speirs]

If I could find out what is involved in hidng the login mouse cursor technincally, I would update instant sheller. Last time I looked into it I could not figure it out.

[Canti]

Fantastic! I think that did the trick . Thanks folks.

One other problem I'm having is that after shelling (no matter what program), I am unable to proplerly shutdown without loading Explorer. Is there a way around this? It wouldn't be so much of a burden normally but this machine is housed inside a cabinet which makes it a little trickier.

Edit: Left it for 10-15mins and it actually does decide to turn off eventually. O_o

[Inigo Montoya]

If I could find out what is involved in hidng the login mouse cursor technincally, I would update instant sheller. Last time I looked into it I could not figure it out.

Tom,

I found what registry information is added by Microsoft's TweakUI that changes the login cursor. It adds a new "Cursors" key here:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Cursors

All you'd have to do is set all the paths to the black dot cursor.

[headkaze]

Tom,

I found what registry information is added by Microsoft's TweakUI that changes the login cursor. It adds a new "Cursors" key here:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Cursors

All you'd have to do is set all the paths to the black dot cursor.

Instant Sheller already replaces the cursors with a black dot, I think he wants to replace the cursor during the login screen which I don't think is possible. I don't think you can stop it showing for a brief moment during login.

[Inigo Montoya]

Yes, I understand that. This is the registry key that TweakUI adds to change the LOGIN cursor. It changes the cursors for the ".DEFAULT" user ie the login screen. If you edit the "Arrow" one and change to something like say, cross.cur (located in Windows\Cursors) and then logout, your cursor will be a cross.

The keys for the cursors of the users of the system are located elsewhere in the HKEY_USERS section. This is verified to work for windows xp. It possibly will work for windows 2000.