Windows HOW-TO make XBMC for Windows boot as a Shell in Full Screen (the easy way)

Solved all this by buying a ssd device, now XBMC is loads before the windows 7 welcome sound has finished playing..
Total Boot time till XBMC is up and running 15 secs!

So I followed the instructions from the wiki - For Windows 7 and optional EventGhost : Using Windows 7 Group Policy Object Editor

I now realize that I need to change something through actual windows but when I shutdown XBMC I'm left with just a black screen and no ability to do anything. I'm assuming this is because explorer isn't loaded.

My question is this - How can I regain access to the computer at this point? I don't see a way that I can access the computer now or even go in and reverse this process if I wanted to.

Edit - It seems to me that this is a bit unnecessary for me as with the OS and XBMC being on an SSD the load times were fine... My only reason for exploring this option was because when I added XBMC to the startup folder it would open fullscreen but there were times when windows would load and xbmc would either be minimized or if it were fullscreen it wouldn't actually recognize XBMC as the main window until I moved the mouse and clicked. This is going to be a problem when I get my remote in because I will then no longer be using keyboard and mouse...

It seems like a simple batch file with a delay placed in the startup folder of Windows would resolve this but I haven't been able to find the correct command for a batch file to achieve this. Could anyone write out what a batchfile should look like that would cause maybe a 5 second delay or so before it attempted to open XBMC? I believe this would resolve the issue of XBMC opening but not actually being the active window. I think it's just opening too fast.

Hey guys, just put together my first HTPC and now i'm trying to get XBMC to start up directly at boot but I'm having some trouble getting XBMC to stay in focus.

I tried both

"For Windows 7 and optional EventGhost : Using Windows 7 Group Policy Object Editor"

and the Silenlaunch way, but with both ways i end up with XBMC beeing shown in my left corner, minimized.

I tried adding -fs p switches after xbmc.exe but that didn't do anything.

I then created an advancedsettings.xml file and put

<advancedsettings>
<fullscreen>true</fullscreen
</advancedsettings>

in there but that didn't help either.

Some help needed guys!

The guide worked a treat.

The only thing is:
1) I want XBMC to load to fullscreen when the cpu starts (which it does thanks to the guide)
2) I still want to be able to press \ and put XBMC into window mode so I can use my cpu as normal, which when I do now is just a black screen with nothing on it

So I want it it to boot straight into the XBMC shell but also have the explorer shell startup but remain hidden until I shrink XBMC

Is there anything that can do this?

Ok I deleted silentlaunch and now when i boot my cpu theres just a black screen......

Pls help. I cant do anything

Wow, no help on this? I hope you were able to get your computer back up and running!

I would guess that you could use instant sheller to make explorer.exe the shell once again?

1. On the blank screen, press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC and get the task manager up'n running.
2. Under File->Open find the Instantsheller (or what ever solution you used) to change the shell, reverse it here.
3. Boot and you're back in biz...

Cheerio!

Edit: Sorry for very late reply, I didn't get any reply pr mail earlier on this...

Okay, now I'd like some help, if possible. So I followed the wiki's procedure's for EventGhost (on XP). Everything seems to be going fine. Something interesting with the setup, though. There was no "XBMC" plugin, but there was an "XBMC2". I chose that, and it seems to be fine.

Anyway, to the point, I notice that EventGhost stays running. I checked the task manager and it takes up more memory than explorer.exe. I can close it manually, but I'd rather it close automatically after getting XBMC running. Is there a way to make that happen?

(2012-07-18 11:03)gatekepa Wrote:  Okay, now I'd like some help, if possible. So I followed the wiki's procedure's for EventGhost (on XP). Everything seems to be going fine. Something interesting with the setup, though. There was no "XBMC" plugin, but there was an "XBMC2". I chose that, and it seems to be fine.

Anyway, to the point, I notice that EventGhost stays running. I checked the task manager and it takes up more memory than explorer.exe. I can close it manually, but I'd rather it close automatically after getting XBMC running. Is there a way to make that happen?

Decided to go with the Silent Launch method. Seems to work awesome.

Also, if you're like me and using an old system with Windows XP, you might want to add a delay. I noticed I was getting CApplication:: Create() Failed errors when XBMC tried to boot, but it was opening fine after a minute or so. I added -d 30 to the SilentLaunch.cfg (you could do the same in EventGhost), and now it works great!

(2012-07-20 10:51)gatekepa Wrote:  Decided to go with the Silent Launch method. Seems to work awesome.

Also, if you're like me and using an old system with Windows XP, you might want to add a delay. I noticed I was getting CApplication:: Create() Failed errors when XBMC tried to boot, but it was opening fine after a minute or so. I added -d 30 to the SilentLaunch.cfg (you could do the same in EventGhost), and now it works great!

Great that it worked out for you