Description

Description

Normally, SiteKiosk Online for Windows disables shell replacement when you select “Log off Windows user (disable startup settings)” or “Exit SiteKiosk (disable startup settings)” in the Exit dialog that appears after entering the correct authentication credentials.

In most cases, a problem with SiteKiosk Online is detected automatically. If the software is unable to resolve the problem automatically, an emergency screen is displayed. The emergency screen contains instructions for the appropriate next steps.

If you have not enabled the SiteKiosk Online keyboard lock, you can also hold down the SHIFT key while Windows is starting. This prevents the automatic logon from being performed.

If you still experience problems, there are several ways to regain access to the system.

From your SiteKiosk Online team (https://sitekiosk.online), you can send a job that closes SiteKiosk and logs off the Windows user:
Control → Jobs → New Job → Add Step → Operating System → Log Off Operating System

Otherwise, use one of the following methods.

Case 1: You can no longer use the keyboard at the Windows logon screen
In this case, you must disable the SiteKiosk Online keyboard lock using the emergency keyboard shortcuts.
The default key combinations for disabling the keyboard lock are:

1st key combination:
Left Ctrl + Right Shift + Backspace

2nd key combination:
Alt + Right Shift + Delete

If you press these two key combinations one after the other at the Windows logon screen, the keyboard lock will be disabled and you will be able to use the keyboard again.
The keys in each combination must be pressed simultaneously.
You can then use the keyboard again and log on to the system.


Case 2: You always end up on the empty desktop of the SiteKiosk Windows user and the SiteKiosk Online Client does not start
Disable the keyboard lock using the emergency keyboard shortcuts described above and press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open the Task Manager.
You must now log off from the SiteKiosk user account and log on again using an administrator account on the computer.

If this problem occurred immediately after a change was made to the computer, you can try restoring the system using WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment). Further information about this can be found online.


If none of the above measures helped:
As a last resort, you will need to edit the Windows Registry directly.

To disable automatic Windows logon, change the value of “AutoAdminLogon” in the Windows Registry from 1 to 0.
Under:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\
edit the following entry:
AutoAdminLogon

Then restart the computer, unlock the keyboard at the Windows logon screen as described in Case 1, and log on as an administrator.

If shell replacement was enabled for all users, you must also change the following Registry value:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
There you will find the SHELL entry.
Completely remove the SiteKiosk entry contained there and replace it with:
explorer.exe

Methods for Editing the Registry:
There are several ways to access the Registry of the SiteKiosk computer.

1. Recovery Shell
In the SiteKiosk Online team, the Recovery Shell can be started under:
Clients → Monitoring → affected device → Administration
The Registry can then be edited using PowerShell commands.
If a user is still logged on to the device, the user must first be logged off using:

(Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_OperatingSystem).Win32Shutdown(0)

Automatic logon can then be disabled using the following command:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon" -Name "AutoAdminLogon" -Value "0"


2. Edit the Windows Registry of the computer over the network
To do this, you must connect to the Registry of the SiteKiosk computer from a second computer.

Start regedit.exe and select:
Registry → Connect Network Registry
In the dialog box, enter the name of the computer whose Registry you want to connect to.

More information and instructions are available from Microsoft:
https://docs.microsoft.com/de-de/troubleshoot/windows-server/system-management-components/remotely-edit-the-registry

After making the changes, disconnect from the Registry again and shut down the SiteKiosk computer by briefly pressing the power button.


3. Use a second Windows system (for example, WinPE from a USB flash drive)
After starting the second Windows system, open the Registry Editor (Regedit) with administrator privileges.
It initially displays the Registry of the currently active system. To load the relevant part of the Registry from the affected system, proceed as follows:

Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) and then select File → Load Hive.

In the dialog that opens, locate the file named “SOFTWARE” (without a file extension), which can be found on the affected system under:
Windows\System32\config

If the file is not visible, configure Windows Explorer under Tools → Folder Options → View so that all files are displayed.

The Registry Editor will then ask you to enter any name under which this Registry hive should appear in HKLM, for example:
SOFTWARE SITEKIOSK

You can now find and modify the entries described above under:
HKLM\SOFTWARE SITEKIOSK

Finally, select the SOFTWARE SITEKIOSK subkey and choose File → Unload Hive.