How to install Shells?

[toreach]

Hi all,

I want to install 3 different Shells on three different users and one user will use the default explorer shell.

can someone give me some information on how to do this? anyone tried yet?

i dont want to reboot for doing this.

It should be something like this:

LOGON User1

Install BB4Win

LOGOFF

LOGON User2

Install LiteStep

LOGOFF

LOGON User3

Install geOShell

LOGOFF

/Edit.

Well, i`ve just found a way to logon as the default user and install programs from this account for any other account that has been created!

Only limitation is that the accounts must have been protected with a password.

If u hold down the shift key and right-click on an file there will be an option "Open as". Click on it and u can choose the account on which the software should be installed on.

But i still need to find out how to do this in a batchfile...

Anyone knows how to find out?

[RayOK]

This help topic from Geoshell goes into something like that.

I too use Geoshell and I think some people on the board say to use a program like

ShellOn. Try the registry fix first, and if that doesn't work, then go to another space taking program.

Geoshell Multiple Users Multiple Shells

[toreach]

Thx for the link,

but i guess it cant be done with these programs or the registry, except if i would do a restart for every user/shell i want to install.

(but i need to read a little more about shellon, its planned to add this feature in the future...)

If there would be a way to do a fastuserswitch, or simply logoff and logon it would be better.

But this rightclick method seems to be the best if i could find out how to do it with a command shell.

[RayOK]

I dunno about BB4Win or Litestep but with Geoshell you can install it in whatever account and just set it to start manually after you logged in with the user.

Another idea maybe.. Whenever you have multiple users are the users that aren't in use stored in HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-## instead of the current user? If so, just figure out what folder in HKEY_USERS the other users are in and change them accordingly.

Hope it makes sense. If not, say and I will explain more.. If ya do, good luck figuring out which user uses which folder in HKEY_USERS and making sure they stay the same from install to install.

[toreach]

Ive just created 5 new Users and nothing changed in there.

What i know is that users are saved as NTUser.Dat files in the profiles directory.

they will be loaded into the registry after first logon. Maybe that key will change after logon with the new users.

Is there a way to edit these ntuser.dat files directly?

I will try google to find out....

/edit

Looks like there is no way to edit ntuser.dat files directly as microsoft only implemented editing the registry while it is loaded into memory.

User.dat files can be loaded into memory using the registry editor.

Those HKC entries are created after a new user logs on the first time.

This is how the keys look like:

S-1-5-21-1614895754-329068152-839522115-1013 (Userx)

S-1-5-21-1614895754-329068152-839522115-1014 (Usery)

S-1-5-21-1614895754-329068152-839522115-1015 (Userz)

Its sorted as created in chronological order. Doesnt matter what user logged on first, the key is defined before first logon.

The first key is

S-1-5-21-1614895754-329068152-839522115-1003 (Usera)

1, 2 and 3 are missing, maybe because of the helpassistant, the guest account and the Ms support account.

[toreach]

New profile directories will be created on first logon. Getting their registry out of the default user profile.

I guess i should wait until shellon will support this. Its in the todo list of the shellon programmer! but also he said that it could take a long time until the next release....

[WadeV1589]

Has anyone used Aston (www.astonshell.com)? I tried copying that over so it restores my current layout but it blanks out and I just can't work out why, no paths have changed and I checked through the RC file to see if something was picky in there but to no joy.