About

Super Start is a program designed to bootstrap other programs like Point of Sale software or Kiosk software. Super Start acts as a fail safe in the event Kiosk or Point of Sale software crashes or is accidentally exited by showing a splash screen with a timer (giving the user an oportunity to enter an over-ride pin) then re-launching the Kiosk / Point of Sale software.

Setup

A standard setup with Super Start can be as simple as adding the executable to the windows startup folder, or by configuring Super Start to launch as a shell application via Group Poliy in a Windows Active Directory Domain. Below we will outline how to do the latter. Before begining, please familiarize yourself with the note and XML file below.

To begin setting up Super Start, first you must run the program; doing so will generate a SuperStart.xml file. To exit Super Start with defaults applied, exit the CMD window that says “Start Process”, press anywhere on the splash screen, and enter the pin 1234.

SuperStart.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SuperStart>
  <!--The process that will be launched.-->
  <StartProcessFileName>C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe</StartProcessFileName>
  <StartProcessWorkingDirectory>C:\</StartProcessWorkingDirectory>
  <StartProcessArguments>/K echo Start Process</StartProcessArguments>
  <!--What to do if the start process wont start. Choices: StartExitProcessAndClose, DoNothing, KeepTrying, Close-->
  <StartProcessFailBehavior>DoNothing</StartProcessFailBehavior>
  <!--The process that will be launched on exit.-->
  <ExitProcessFileName>C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe</ExitProcessFileName>
  <ExitProcessWorkingDirectory>C:\</ExitProcessWorkingDirectory>
  <ExitProcessArguments>/K echo Exit Process</ExitProcessArguments>
  <!--The delay that the program will be launched with the first time.-->
  <StartDelay>1</StartDelay>
  <!--The delay that the program will be launched with the consecutive times.-->
  <RestartDelay>5</RestartDelay>
  <!--The image that will be shown full screen while the program is closed.-->
  <BackgroundImage>C:\Windows\Web\Screen\img100.jpg</BackgroundImage>
  <!--The message displayed when the PIN screen appears.-->
  <UnlockMessage>Enter Unlock PIN</UnlockMessage>
  <!--The PIN used to quit out after double clicking the background if the program is closed.-->
  <UnlockPin>1234</UnlockPin>
  <!--The amount of time in seconds to enter the PIN. (To disable timer, set to nothing or a string)-->
  <UnlockTimeout>10</UnlockTimeout>
</SuperStart>

Group Policy

Below are the recommendations for setup via GPO (Group Policy). You can follow these however you would like.

Set the following settings under the User Configuration section in the GPO object.

GPO Settings to Enable:

• Policies
  • Administrative Templates
    • System
      • Custom User Interface: Enabled: C:\PathToSuperStart\SuperStart.exe
      • Crl+Alt+Del
        • Remove Change Password: Enabled
        • Remove Lock Computer: Enabled
        • Remove Task Manager: Enabled
        • Remove Logoff: Enabled
• Preferences
  • Windows Settings
    • Files
      • SuperStart.exe
        • Source file(s): \\SOMESERVER\PathToSuperStart\SuperStart.exe
        • Destination File: C:\PathToSuperStart\SuperStart.exe
      • SuperStart.xml
        • Source file(s): \\SOMESERVER\PathToSuperStart\SuperStart.xml
        • Destination File: C:\PathToSuperStart\SuperStart.xml

Please note: When using GPO to copy files, the Action field can be misleading. Using the action type Update does not update the files copied if they changed on the file share. Using the Replace option may not be ideal either since every time GPO applies updates, the files will be re-downloaded from the file share. Using the action type Update on SuperStart.exe and using action type Replace on the SuperStart.xml may be a better approch for your environment.

Known Limitations

• Multiple Displays