Removing Start Menu

[csteinhilber]

I'm actually trying to REMOVE the Start Menu from given users on Win XP Home.

I'd like my 3-year old daughter to be able to log onto the machine and set her up so she can launch her 4 or 5 toddler games (probably from the desktop) and know that she can't get to the start menu or anywhere else to cause any havoc.

I would then just CTRL-ALT-DEL to log her off when she's finished.

I've seen several apps that remove the Start Menu and/or Taskbar... but they seem more oriented toward the tweaker (ie - the user can log in, and then use the app to get rid of the Start Menu)... they don't really seem to have the option of actually starting up that way. And I can't really tell my daughter "everytime you log in, I want you to run this program and select 'Hide Start Menu'". Plus, they all seem to still allow workarounds (like using the Windows key to make the Start Menu pop-up even if the Start button is hidden).

Is there a way to completely remove the taskbar/start menu on a per-user basis? Is it still a separate app or service that I could replace? Or is it built into Explorer.exe now? And if so, if I wanted to run a new shell (ie- replace Explorer.exe), could I have different shell exes for different users?

Obviously, for other users (my wife and I), we'd still want the full Start Menu to be available, etc.

Any insight would be appreciated!

-Carl

 

[wolluf]

You can remove virtually everything from the start menu (you could then add stuff back as she gets older & more competent. Also, windows computers do have taskbars and start menus - she'll see yours and other peoples and want to know where her's is!).
Presuming your daughter will be using a restricted user, there's not really a lot of havoc she can wreak on the machine (remember XP users can easily be made secure from each other)

 

[csteinhilber]

See... I don't agree.
A lot of apps are really what I call XP-aware. Installing TurboTax, for instance, doesn't just create a program group for the current user, it creates it under All Users... including "restricted" users.

If you have ever seen what a 3 year old can do once she's in your TurboTax file... it's the very definition of havoc.

I've played around with all the registry settings to remove stuff from the Start Menu... but it seems like an awful lot to tweak and keep track of. It would be a lot more efficient if I could simply replace it with a new taskbar exe, or remove it altogether.

I appreciate your comments, though, wolluf. Thanks.
-Carl

 

[GUJUm0deL]

See if this can help you:

http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/display.asp?id=498

Forget the Nobel Peace prize, I just want to take over the world!!

 

[linney]

Might be some options here.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q="Hide+start+button"+windows+xp

This article is for XP Pro, but it will show you all the registry settings you can alter for XP Home.

292504 - Policy Settings for the Start Menu in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;292504&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

 

[wolluf]

Carl,

You can do a few things with apps you want to 'preserve'.

1. Move the shortcuts out of All Users folder, and copy them to specific users profile folders who use them (eg, your wife and you). I've recently done this on a school network (Using a 2 pane file manager - eg 2xExplorer - makes this job easy).

2. Set permissions on the executable to deny access to your daughter's user - then she won't be able to tun it anyway.

 

[Comtech]

Just have Explorer not start.
The desktop would still be available, but nothing else, no start button, no taskbar...
Trying to think of a way to do this, maybe something in "Startup" to turn off Explorer once the computer is up? Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[csteinhilber]

Thanks Comtech!

I was under the impression that the desktop was part of explorer.exe as well. But, if not, that does sound like exactly what I want. Question is, indeed, how to accomplish it. And would I still be able to CTRL-ALT-DEL to log her off?
-Carl

 

[Comtech]

C_A_D will still work, it's independent of Explorer.
Need to find a way to "End Task" on it.
Maybe a .bat that resides in Startup?
Gotta do more thinking on this one. Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/