Secure alternate desktop shell with taskbar, start menu, and gamepad support.
Optional - Here is a Powershell script to start the application as an alternate boot shell (Windows 10 enterprise/education).
Requires (v1909) to setup a bootable image on portable SSD.
# Check if shell launcher license is enabled
function Check-ShellLauncherLicenseEnabled
{
[string]$source = @"
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
static class CheckShellLauncherLicense
{
const int S_OK = 0;
public static bool IsShellLauncherLicenseEnabled()
{
int enabled = 0;
if (NativeMethods.SLGetWindowsInformationDWORD("EmbeddedFeature-ShellLauncher-Enabled", out enabled) != S_OK) {
enabled = 0;
}
return (enabled != 0);
}
static class NativeMethods
{
[DllImport("Slc.dll")]
internal static extern int SLGetWindowsInformationDWORD([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)]string valueName, out int value);
}
}
"@
$type = Add-Type -TypeDefinition $source -PassThru
return $type[0]::IsShellLauncherLicenseEnabled()
}
[bool]$result = $false
$result = Check-ShellLauncherLicenseEnabled
"`nShell Launcher license enabled is set to " + $result
if (-not($result))
{
"`nThis device doesn't have required license to use Shell Launcher"
exit
}
$COMPUTER = "localhost"
$NAMESPACE = "root\standardcimv2\embedded"
# Create a handle to the class instance so we can call the static methods.
try {
$ShellLauncherClass = [wmiclass]"\\$COMPUTER\${NAMESPACE}:WESL_UserSetting"
} catch [Exception] {
write-host $_.Exception.Message;
write-host "Make sure Shell Launcher feature is enabled"
exit
}
# This well-known security identifier (SID) corresponds to the BUILTIN\Administrators group.
$Admins_SID = "S-1-5-32-544"
# Create a function to retrieve the SID for a user account on a machine.
function Get-UsernameSID($AccountName) {
$NTUserObject = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($AccountName)
$NTUserSID = $NTUserObject.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier])
return $NTUserSID.Value
}
# Get the SID for a user account named "Cashier". Rename "Cashier" to an existing account on your system to test this script.
$Cashier_SID = Get-UsernameSID("Owner")
# Define actions to take when the shell program exits.
$restart_shell = 0
$restart_device = 1
$shutdown_device = 2
$do_nothing = 3
# Examples. You can change these examples to use the program that you want to use as the shell.
# This example sets the command prompt as the default shell, and restarts the device if the command prompt is closed.
$ShellLauncherClass.SetDefaultShell("cmd.exe", $restart_device)
# Display the default shell to verify that it was added correctly.
$DefaultShellObject = $ShellLauncherClass.GetDefaultShell()
"`nDefault Shell is set to " + $DefaultShellObject.Shell + " and the default action is set to " + $DefaultShellObject.defaultaction
# Set Internet Explorer as the shell for "Cashier", and restart the machine if Internet Explorer is closed.
$ShellLauncherClass.SetCustomShell($Cashier_SID, "C:\WindowStations.exe", ($null), ($null), $restart_shell)
# Set Explorer as the shell for administrators.
$ShellLauncherClass.SetCustomShell($Admins_SID, "WindowStations.exe")
# View all the custom shells defined.
"`nCurrent settings for custom shells:"
Get-WmiObject -namespace $NAMESPACE -computer $COMPUTER -class WESL_UserSetting | Select Sid, Shell, DefaultAction
# Enable Shell Launcher
$ShellLauncherClass.SetEnabled($TRUE)
$IsShellLauncherEnabled = $ShellLauncherClass.IsEnabled()
"`nEnabled is set to " + $IsShellLauncherEnabled.Enabled
Remove the alternate shell from boot:
# Check if shell launcher license is enabled
function Check-ShellLauncherLicenseEnabled
{
[string]$source = @"
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
static class CheckShellLauncherLicense
{
const int S_OK = 0;
public static bool IsShellLauncherLicenseEnabled()
{
int enabled = 0;
if (NativeMethods.SLGetWindowsInformationDWORD("EmbeddedFeature-ShellLauncher-Enabled", out enabled) != S_OK) {
enabled = 0;
}
return (enabled != 0);
}
static class NativeMethods
{
[DllImport("Slc.dll")]
internal static extern int SLGetWindowsInformationDWORD([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)]string valueName, out int value);
}
}
"@
$type = Add-Type -TypeDefinition $source -PassThru
return $type[0]::IsShellLauncherLicenseEnabled()
}
[bool]$result = $false
$result = Check-ShellLauncherLicenseEnabled
"`nShell Launcher license enabled is set to " + $result
if (-not($result))
{
"`nThis device doesn't have required license to use Shell Launcher"
exit
}
$COMPUTER = "localhost"
$NAMESPACE = "root\standardcimv2\embedded"
# Create a handle to the class instance so we can call the static methods.
try {
$ShellLauncherClass = [wmiclass]"\\$COMPUTER\${NAMESPACE}:WESL_UserSetting"
} catch [Exception] {
write-host $_.Exception.Message;
write-host "Make sure Shell Launcher feature is enabled"
exit
}
# This well-known security identifier (SID) corresponds to the BUILTIN\Administrators group.
$Admins_SID = "S-1-5-32-544"
# Create a function to retrieve the SID for a user account on a machine.
function Get-UsernameSID($AccountName) {
$NTUserObject = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($AccountName)
$NTUserSID = $NTUserObject.Translate([System.Security.Principal.SecurityIdentifier])
return $NTUserSID.Value
}
# Get the SID for a user account named "Cashier". Rename "Cashier" to an existing account on your system to test this script.
$Cashier_SID = Get-UsernameSID("Owner")
# Define actions to take when the shell program exits.
$restart_shell = 0
$restart_device = 1
$shutdown_device = 2
$do_nothing = 3
# Examples. You can change these examples to use the program that you want to use as the shell.
# This example sets the command prompt as the default shell, and restarts the device if the command prompt is closed.
$ShellLauncherClass.SetDefaultShell("cmd.exe", $restart_device)
# Display the default shell to verify that it was added correctly.
$DefaultShellObject = $ShellLauncherClass.GetDefaultShell()
"`nDefault Shell is set to " + $DefaultShellObject.Shell + " and the default action is set to " + $DefaultShellObject.defaultaction
# Set Internet Explorer as the shell for "Cashier", and restart the machine if Internet Explorer is closed.
$ShellLauncherClass.SetCustomShell($Cashier_SID, "C:\WindowStations.exe", ($null), ($null), $restart_shell)
# Set Explorer as the shell for administrators.
$ShellLauncherClass.SetCustomShell($Admins_SID, "WindowStations.exe")
# View all the custom shells defined.
"`nCurrent settings for custom shells:"
Get-WmiObject -namespace $NAMESPACE -computer $COMPUTER -class WESL_UserSetting | Select Sid, Shell, DefaultAction
# Enable Shell Launcher
$ShellLauncherClass.SetEnabled($TRUE)
$IsShellLauncherEnabled = $ShellLauncherClass.IsEnabled()
"`nEnabled is set to " + $IsShellLauncherEnabled.Enabled
# Remove the new custom shells.
$ShellLauncherClass.RemoveCustomShell($Admins_SID)
$ShellLauncherClass.RemoveCustomShell($Cashier_SID)
# Disable Shell Launcher
$ShellLauncherClass.SetEnabled($FALSE)
$IsShellLauncherEnabled = $ShellLauncherClass.IsEnabled()
"`nEnabled is set to " + $IsShellLauncherEnabled.Enabled