Removing the welcome.exe splash screen

[pictron]

Hi people,

I have an issue, not a big one..but a pain never the less. I have a login script configured on my nt4 server for my win2k/winnt/win9x clients. And for some odd reason every time they all boot up the script runs and triggers the splash screen. I have tried a few things to fix it and i am getting really frustrated. Any help would be a great!!!

Thanks.

 

[member 141630]

Please describe a little more about ur problem,
You have not offered enough details about this problem.
Need 2 see ur login script.
Does the problem go away when the login script is not run?

 

[pictron]

Thankyou for replying.

here is the script

"

@echo off
Rem ******** Login Script for BCN Data Systems V1. ********************
Rem ******** Created by Robert Croucher DDI 699105 ********************

Welcome to the %userdomain%, you are logged on as %username%

rem *********** Rename the welcome.exe file to remove splash screen ***
cd winnt
ren welcome.exe welcome._ex
cdrem **********************************************************************

rem *********** set local time to match server ******************
net time \\148.80.159.60 /set /y
rem **********************************************************************

rem *********** Remove All old entries for mapped drives ***************
net use * /delete /y
rem **********************************************************************

rem *********** set network share for generl use "G DRIVE" *************
net use g: \\148.80.159.60\g
rem **********************************************************************

rem *********** set specific "home Directory" on "E DRIVE" *************
net use h: \\148.80.159.5\e\%username%
rem **********************************************************************

rem *********** Any Ancillary Programs to load during Login ************

rem **********************************************************************

rem *** Master copy for editing is located at "\\bcnukntfs1\c"
Rem *** once editing is complete re propogate the file by using the copy.bat program

"

Sorry about the mess..but you asked for it

as for removing it. Yes the problem does go away if you remove the scripts....but there is nothing in the script that says load welcome.exe so I am confused.

 

[member 141630]

OK, I see that the login script does not start welcome.exe, but if welcome.exe is renamed, when it executes, is it back to welcome.exe.. not welcome._ex, or is there now 2 copies of welcome on the client?
In other words, if welcome.exe is being renamed, and it still gets executed, either the file is being run from another location, it is being copied to the client or the welcome._ex is being renamed at some point.
Question: Does this occur on ALL platforms? WinNT, 95/98/ME, 2000?

Have you tried dissecting the login script and begin with it being blank and gradually adding components until the problem starts to occur... need to be a detective here and start some diagnosis. So does a blank login script create this problem? What happens if you copy notepad.exe wo welcome.exe and ensure it is set to READ ONLY - Then NOTEPAD.EXE should be started every time you log in...

 

[Jpoandl]

On my machine (Windows 2K professional) When I rename the welcome.exe file to welcome._xe and then try to run WELCOME.... the welcome screen runs.

It seems that even if I delete the welcome.exe, it somehow regenerates.

Your problem has nothing to with the script. Your logic of working around the welcome screen is not correct. I can tell this by implementing you script through manual commands.

Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2000

If your company is in need of experts to examine technical problems/solutions, please check out

http://www.esavio.com

 

[Jpoandl]

It looks like you have to approach this from the registry. Here is a Technet article that explains how to get rid of the Welcome screen on the Windows Nt 4.0 platform.

It looks like you have a fairly simple logon script. I would convert your script to use Kixtart. Kixtart is a free logon scripting language. It can be downloaded and installed (without even a reboot) from

http://www.kixtart.org

Once you have kixtart installed on your domain controllers, you will be able to do very cool things through the logon script. It is very easy to learn and I'm sure you pick it up quick. With Kixtart, you can base mapped drives on groups. For example, if the user is in the MANAGERS groups, point him to the managers share. Or you can perform REGISTRY edits through kixtart (This is what you will need). So check it out...its cool. It's also widely used in the industry.

Take care...I hope this helps. (Don't let yourself get frustrated....) Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2000

If your company is in need of experts to examine technical problems/solutions, please check out

http://www.esavio.com

 

[Jpoandl]

Whopps.. I forget to paste the technet article.... here it is:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q173/0/58.ASP

-later Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2000

If your company is in need of experts to examine technical problems/solutions, please check out

http://www.esavio.com

 

[pictron]

Many thanks for the replies all. I am a little confused though, you say my problem has nothing whatsoever to do with the Login script. However this program never loads unless the script is triggered on the machine. I have tested this by having my machine with and without scripts...therefore if it only loads during a login script exec at bootup..surely that suggests that perhaps it has some connection with the script????

As for kixtart..I'll give it a go and see what this does!

 

[Jpoandl]

Oh, sorry, I didn't catch that part from the earlier posts. Well, now that we know simply renaming the file will not do the trick, I would delete the RENAME part of the welcome.exe from your logon script. Rerun the logon script and see if the Welcome.exe appears.

If it still appears, then I think you will have to use the registry hack in your logon script to make it stop from appearing.

-hope this helps. Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2000

If your company is in need of experts to examine technical problems/solutions, please check out

http://www.esavio.com