How to write a Kiosk application in Windows that has control from startup?

Question

I'm not sure if this is technically a Kiosk, but it's basically the same idea. I have a program that runs full screen all the time from boot to shutdown to control a machine that the computer is hooked to.

Right now I just have a shortcut to the exe in the Startup folder so it starts when the system boots up and logs in. Is there any better way to do this? I'd really like the user to never see the Windows environment (just the windows loading progress bar on boot) if at all possible, but I'm guessing that's not possible.

Just thought I'd ask and see if there is a better way to do this than putting it in the startup folder?

Answer 1

The best option is to use Windows Embedded. This gives you much more control over the shell, and what is run and installed with the system.

If you have to do this with a consumer OS, you can try to bypass the login prompts to auto-login your user, and have your program setup in the registry to startup. Disable any other services you don't need. That will minimize the time the shell is displayed (but it's very difficult to remove it).