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I am configuring Windows 10 Enterprise (IoT) to run a custom shell, but running into the "Black screen with nothing other than a cursor" phenomena.

My application - a .Net4 Winforms app - is installed and runs fine from the desktop.

I can launch it as a custom shell via a batch file as per the comments here: How to run an application as shell replacement on Windows 10 Enterprise

But setting my app as a custom shell, I just get the black screen.

I note the comments in the above link about applications being signed, but I have tried two mini test applications (also .net winforms), one signed, one not, and both run fine as custom shells. (My application has several dependencies, not all of which are signed, so to sign it would mean going through the ILMerge mill or similar which I would rather avoid if I can.)

I don't expect people to be able to tell me why my app doesn't run (although that would be nice!) but I am looking for ways of diagnosing this. Looking in event logs, etc, is yielding no information whatsoever. My app keeps its own event log, which is not showing any evidence of the app starting.

Thanks in advance

Richard Chambers
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Zippy
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  • A little more information: Drilling down through the event log, I find the entry under Applications And Services Logs -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Shell Launcher -> Admin Here is shows an error launching my application - code 3407927 but with no further information. A quick google does not reveal the meaning of this error code though... – Zippy Sep 21 '16 at 13:09

1 Answers1

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Problem solved:

If a shell application requires elevated permissions, UAC must be turned off. Turning off notifications via the control panel is NOT sufficient, as UAC is still running in the background - it just doesn't notify you! To completely turn off UAC, edit registry entry: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System and set the DWORD value EnableLUA to 0

Evidence of UAC behaviour can be found in the windows event log at: Applications And Services Logs -> Microsoft -> Windows ->UAC

Zippy
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