I am currently working on a program to immediately clear the list of previously-run-commands which appears in the Windows Start -> Run dialog. The procedure for clearing this list by removing the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU key is well documented; however, before these changes take effect, it seems to be necessary to do one of the following:
Restart the computer
Select Start -> Shut down, and then select Cancel.
Neither of these is ideal for the task I am trying to accomplish: #1 is extremely disruptive to the user, and #2 appears to require additional user interaction.
Does anyone know how to immediately (and programmatically) force a reload of this information without requiring any user interaction, while also minimizing disruption of the user's other activities? I would like for the user's Run history to be cleared out immediately after executing my program, without requiring any further action on their part (such as using the "Shut Down" -> "Cancel" trick in #2 above) or forcing a reboot.
Or, to approach the problem from a different angle: When clicking Start -> Shut Down -> Cancel, Windows Explorer reloads the RunMUI key. Is there a way to force a similar reload without having the user select Shut Down and then Cancel?
Things I have already tried:
Monitoring the explorer.exe status using procmon while selecting Shutdown and then Cancel. I see Explorer writing to the RunMRU key, but have not been able to determine what triggers this.
Numerous Google searches along the lines of "reload runmru without reboot". Most results still recommend method #1 above, although a few suggest #2.
Limited MSDN API examination. The RegFlushKey call appears promising, but I haven't ever used it before, so I don't know if it will apply to registry information cached by different processes.
Any suggestions or other information would be greatly appreciated.
Have you tried ccleaner?
http://www.ccleaner.com/
Not a full answer to your question, but I did find a third way to trigger the clearing of the run command from this article in PC Mag.
Killing explorer.exe and then restarting it will also clear the run list after the registry modification.
I have a nasty hack for you. Show the window programatically, hide it immediately (programatically) and click cancel on it (well, you guessed, programmatically).
You might try looking for the icon cache flush API, or other ones, I wouldn't be too suprised if they had side effects like the one you are looking for.
I've seen instances where it actually works, even the F5 key doesn't work? Try this, ctrl>alt>delete then go to task manager, processes tab...end explorer.exe. Then click on file new task and type explorer.exe, then check...does that work?
Windows XP
Right click on the taskbar
Properties menu option
Start Menu tab
Customize button
Programs pane
Clear List
Click on OK
This calls a Windows API function that refreshes the explorere.exe taskbar process and also clears the list (no need for registry edits).
As far as I know, it relies on the explorer.exe process that hosts the start menu/taskbar/desktop being closed and reopened. There is no "clean" way to do this that I am aware of.
If you really need to do this without user interaction, you need to close all explorer.exe processes and relaunch one.
Here's a rudimentary C# program to do that;
using System.Diagnostics;
Process[] procs = Process.GetProcessesByName("explorer");
foreach (Process proc in procs)
{
proc.Kill();
}
Process.Start("explorer.exe");
Note that this will close all "Windows Explorer" windows open, and may or may not open an additional "Windows Explorer" afterwards.
I just tested that on Windows XP 32bit, and it did indeed clear the Run command cache.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ RunMRU\
Related
This is a unique problem I have and I've searched and am unable to find a solution. This is on Windows 10, with latest updates, as of up to 9/28/2017, for the past few months. I have disabled Cortana via registry and policy. If after using system for a bit (say, 10+ seconds), and I hit Control-Escape, it brings up the start menu. Search never works. I'm a touch typist so this is really annoying. I want to hit Control-Escape and start typing my search, which works fine on other people's computers.
For example, to run cmd.exe, my typing is "Control-Esc,c,m,d,Enter". On my system, search doesn't come up and my c,m,d keystrokes don't go anywhere. I have to wait a second, then redo this, and it will work. I don't have a Run key, and I'm really used to this Control-Escape, then start typing method, and ideally would like to keep using it.
One "solution" I've found is that if I taskkill Cortana, it stays killed for a bit (like 10-15 seconds?), then comes back. If I taskkill Cortana, then hit control-esc within a few seconds, search always works. My temporary "solution" is to use auto-hotkey, and this script:
^Esc::
Process,Close,SearchUI.exe
KeyWait Esc
KeyWait Ctrl
Send {LWin}
Return
This intercepts the control-esc sequence, and kills Cortana instead, then waits until control and escape keys are released, then presses windows key (found this tip in another stackoverflow question/answer).
Anyone have any other ideas how to fix this, or what causes it? My guess is Cortana is somehow trying to do something and it's timing causes search to fail. Thanks!
I have the following problem: I've created scheduled jobs that are only containing calls to a cmd and have parameters that contain things like project name etc.
I know about the fact that you have to set it to "Run only when user is logged on" if you want to see the window (cmd in this case) and also have to uncheck "hidden".
Until a week or two ago that worked fine, the box was showing up. Now the exact same job does no longer show the dos box. I suspect a windows update but I couldn't find anything useful in the update history of the server.
Do you guys have any idea what it might be? I tried switching the settings between the two "run as" options, tried setting it to hidden, tried switching "configure for" around...
The jobs run ok most of the time, the output is generated in most cases but if things go wrong I want to see the shell and not have to pipe everything to a .txt :/
I tried looking on google etc for a solution but only found other problems or the "my tasks run hidden if I choose run whether user is logged on or not" solutions.
Any ideas or hints? Anything would be really appreciated!
As you use scheduler to automate running of some rutine task, what's the point of manually checking/controlling it's execution? It is sort of negates benefit of automation and should be done through some basic logging (you can built in in your task scripts or whatever it is) and even viewer where you can check whether your tasks was run successfully.
Why it is required to you to see this window? Are you really need it?
If you state that it used to work OK then check logs does your tasks run successfully all the tine but hidden from you or it's something else?
Try to re-create / create new task & check whether it is not run hidden with settings you use.
From your description your scheduled task indeed configured so that it should be visible, namely:
- It is scheduled under your current logon account.
- It is configured to Run only when user is logged on.
These 2 conditions required for task to be visible.
The Hidden checkbox in the Windows Task Scheduler has nothing to do with how the scheduled program is displayed (in fact, there are no display options for scheduled tasks like there are with shortcuts). The Hidden checkbox controls whether or not the task is displayed in the Task Scheduler. If you set check it, then Task Scheduler will not display it unless the View Hidden Tasks option in the View menu is selected. You should still see the program window when it runs even if it is checked.
You did not indicate what changes you had made to the task between the time it worked and when it stopped, but one change that would prevent the window from being shown is if you had changed the account that runs it to the SYSTEM account. That is a trick that people use to hide the window (which is not a good solution, especially since there are much safer options), so if you had changed that, then you would not see it.
(The OP may have already fixed this by now), but if anyone else has the same problem, check the user account. If the task is not too complicated, you could do as Mikhail suggested and re-create the task from scratch.
I just started a new task at a "lower level" in the platform stack, and I'm getting started with windbg. I'm so far quite happy with the pure power of the debugger. However, I wish it would just save my session default, like the VS debugger does. What I want is that whenever I ".restart", or re-open windbg, it works just like I left it: same bp's, same sxe state, same files open in the same places, etc.
I know about "save workspace" which seems to do what I want, but it's manual, and I have to do it every time I make a change to the workspace state.
Is there a way to just have windbg do this automatically?
It should prompt the first time you close the session and ask you if you want to save your workspace, there is a checkbox like the image here.
If you click yes this time and the box 'Don't ask again in this WinDbg session' then it will automatically save your workspace, similarly you can also clear the workspaces if it's erroneously saved some breakpoints or paths that you are no longer interested.
Also you can set this in the options like so:
Microsoft NTDebugging Blog. Uncovering How Workspaces Work in WinDbg.
This might be a more difficult question since I don't even know how to do it outside of Python...
I want to write a terminal program that completely locks up my PC until a password is entered. In the locked state no one should be able to do anything outside the terminal. In it, the user may rampage and write silly commands, but he should not be able to switch windows, click outside of it, open the task manager, open the menu with Ctrl + Alt Gr + Del and so on.
While searching for a way to accomplish this I've thought of two approaches that Python is also able to do:
Modifying the registry -> can disable task manager and some other functions, but not the app switcher neither the menu
Task-killing explorer.exe and dwm.exe -> killing explorer.exe just removed the taskbar, killing dwm.exe seems like the right way, but as it's the window manager it automatically boots up itself again as soon as it gets killed
I know this is a kind of weird question and doesn't contain any code snippet, but the front-end is no problem and as said I don't even got a working approach for the back-end.
write a while loop
Into the while loop write the command to taskkill dwm.exe
It's a poor solution, but the only one I know.
Regards!
The Qt documentation for QWidget::activateWindow() states:
On Windows, if you are calling this
when the application is not currently
the active one then it will not make
it the active window. It will change
the color of the taskbar entry to
indicate that the window has changed
in some way. This is because Microsoft
does not allow an application to
interrupt what the user is currently
doing in another application.
However, Skype appears to defy this rule. If Skype is running but is not the active application, I can launch it from the start menu and it brings the existing instance to the foreground, activates it and grabs input focus.
And how can I do this?
(NOTE: This is specific to how QtSingleApplication works)
The solution is stupidly simple for my issue. Simply call AllowSetForegroundWindow(ASF_ANY); at the beginning of the application, and the original process will thus be allowed to bring itself to the foreground by use of SetForegroundWindow(). No strange hacks, just one line of code to add and no need to modify QtSingleApplication either.
I don't think you can do it reliably with the Qt API alone.
There are multiple solutions for windows. E.g. here, and here, and here.
The method I've used before is to declare a shared memory section, and write the application's window handle there. Later, when a second instance of your program is started, you can find the window handle of the first and activate it.
I don't think you have the issue of windows preventing you from doing this in this case, because your second instance is the active application, so it is allowed to 'pass focus' to other windows.
Use Single Application in Qt Solutions
For some applications it is useful or
even critical that they are started
only once by any user. Future attempts
to start the application should
activate any already running instance,
and possibly perform requested
actions, e.g. loading a file, in that
instance.
you can set the setWindowOpacity from 0 to 1 .the only thing is you may open it all the time