Thursday, March 28, 2024

Prepping a Windows 10 Computer to be a Permanent Arcade Installation

Because this device might be on show in a space no longer managed with the aid of us, we needed to make it as air-tight and automated as possible. I will write a separate publish of the software I wrote to release and control the video games. However, I desired to post the customary steps that can be taken to ensure that any Windows 10 PC is exhibition geared up.

What does “exhibition prepared” imply? The PC desires to show itself on and off at set instances, release the program it is meant to run at startup, and not get interrupted through such things as Windows updates and other software nonsense.

Given that current computers barrage you with lots of garbage meant to assist customers, this may be trickier than you might guess.

Computer

I wrote a guide for Death By Audio Arcade to use internally and thought I might put it up here properly. This manual is heavy and heavily based on this wonderful Windows 7 guide with the aid of Eva Schilling. Much of it is precisely identical. However, a few matters needed tweaking.

Setting up a Windows 10 Machine for exhibition
1. Turn off Sleeping
-Control Panel
-Hardware and Sound
-Power Options
-Change while the PC sleeps
-Set it all to “by no means.”

2. Disable Windows Fast Startup
If you place awake time in BIOS (extra on that in a piece), but it doesn’t work, that can be because Windows Fast Startup is turned on. This makes the PC startup quicker; however, it does it via hibernating as an alternative to shutting down.

While in Power Options
-Select Change What Power Buttons Do
-click “Change settings which might be currently unavailable.”
-uncheck “Turn on speedy startup
-shop modifications

three. Go to settings and flip the screen saver off

Four. Disable updates
The manual above works for most components, but this has changed because of Windows 7. I found this guide in this manual alternatively. It involves enhancing the Registry. I will submit the steps here if that page is going down.

-Use the home windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
-Type regedit and click OK to open the Registry.
-Browse the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows
-Right-click the Windows (folder) key, select New, and then click on Key.
-Name the brand new key WindowsUpdate and press Enter.
-Right-click the newly created key, select new, and click on Key.
-Name the brand new key AU and press Enter.
-Inside the newly created key, proper-click at the proper facet, pick out New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
-Name the brand new key AUOptions and press Enter.
-Double-click the newly created key and change its value the use of one of the following options:

2 – “Notify for download and notify for installation.”
three – “Auto download and notify for installation.”
4 – “Auto download and schedule the installation.”
5 – “Allow neighborhood admin to pick settings.”
-You probably want alternative 2
-Click OK.
-Close the Registry to finish the assignment.

5. Disable some startup procedures
-Press the home windows key and look for “startup.”
-Find “See which procedures start mechanically when you begin Windows.”
-Disable all of them

6. Set Apple Software Update to never test for updates
If you have got Quicktime or something else mounted, you’ll want to open Apple Software Update and set it to in no way take a look at.

7. Hide the taskbar
Right-click the taskbar and choose “Taskbar settings.”

8. Add shortcuts/aliases to the startup folder
On Windows 7, this folder turned smoothly to discover. Now, less so.

You’ll want to press Win-R for run activate and enter “shell: startup.”

You can drop your AutoHotkey scripts or applications you need to run on startup; you are better off leaving them wherein they’re and in instead of dragging shortcuts to this folder.
-Right-click your script or program and pick “Create Shortcut.”

[Note: AutoHotkey is a scripting language for automating Windows. We often use it to create simple scripts that launch a game and reset the computer on a specific keypress. It is very useful for arcade machines.]

nine. Set the pc time
Make certain the system clock has the proper time. This is important to automate startup/shutdown
-Right-click on the time inside the bottom proper nook of the taskbar
-Select “Adjust date/time”

10. Setting the laptop to shut down routinely
Eva Schindling’s manual above has this manner with images, and it’s miles unchanged in Windows 10, but right here are the steps:

-Control Panel
-System and Security
-Administrative Tools
-Task Scheduler
-Action Menu
-Create Basic Task
-Add name and description
-Task Trigger: select Daily
-Set your close-down time and recurrence
-Action: select Start an application
-Program/script: C:WindowsSystem32shutdown.Exe
-Add arguments: /s
-Click Finish

11. BIOS to show the computer on at a set time
BIOS is firmware placed on the PC.

Enter BIOS using preserving or tapping F12 simultaneously as restarting.-If. If F12 no longer paintings, appearance is the way to input BIOS. Different manufacturers use one-of-a-kind keys, but it’s a lot, always retaining or tapping a key while it restarts.

You are searching out a putting along the lines of “Resume via Alarm” or “Wake Settings.” For example, on the PC we used for the Dream Boxx, it became under Advanced->S5 RTC Wake Settings

12. Install Notepad ++
While not strictly necessary, having a lightweight functional text editor will make your lifestyle much easier. Notepad++ is outstanding as it adds a little “edit with Notepad++” option to any report you right-click on. You will edit a file on that computer sooner or later and kick yourself in case you land up using the default Notepad app.

Jenna D. Norton
Jenna D. Norton
Creator. Amateur thinker. Hipster-friendly reader. Award-winning internet fanatic. Zombie practitioner. Web ninja. Coffee aficionado. Spent childhood investing in frisbees for the government. Gifted in exporting race cars in Orlando, FL. Had a brief career short selling psoriasis in Ohio. Earned praise for getting my feet wet with human growth hormone in Minneapolis, MN. Spent several years creating marketing channels for banjos for farmers. Spent 2002-2010 merchandising karma for no pay.

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