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Asked: 2026-06-01T02:30:49+00:00

I’m working with Windows CE 5 and, before realizing that this was the wrong

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I’m working with Windows CE 5 and, before realizing that this was the wrong reg key, I changed the value of HKLM>init>Launch10 from shell.exe to my own program. I know now that I should have changed Launch50.

So when my physical device boots up I just get an empty screen, and since shell is actually used for communication between the dev box and the device I can’t connect to it from my computer.

Thoughts/Ideas?

Update
– If there is a way to perform a factory reset I don’t know it, the inside of the device is cut of from me due to security screws, the parts I can access don’t provide me with any options.
– No other apps launch, though I expected some to, so there is no way to launch anything. the network connectivity and usb don’t even turn on at this point.
– The platform normally has debugger connectivity through ActiveSync, but it isn’t working since I made the change. Remote Registry is how I made the change to begin with.
– When I took out the batteries there was a small plate I was able to remove which had a port under it, but I’m not familiar with the type. It looked a lot wider with a lot more pins then a normal serial connection.
– I was trying to figure out the KITL connection thing but don’t have it setup, not sure if it will work or not.
– The OS is not on removable media as far as I know, or if it is I can’t tell and can’t physically get to the media.

Now for the good news: the device supports a “Safe Boot” option which I’ve been able to access. This loads the device into a slimmed down version of Windows CE so that you can repair the system. However the version is so slimmed down that I can’t connect to it remotely. What can I do to change the image so it will rebuild the registry?

Resolved
I called the vendor and they were able to show me where the registry hive was. I deleted the hive and the OS booted up. Only problem was that all of my installed applications stopped working/were not seen as installed anymore. Fortunately I have several of these devices so once I knew where the registry folder was I just copied the files from a working one onto the dead one and that fixed it.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    So the OS is no longer launching the shell – this could be problematic, depending on the capabilities of the device (which you’ve told us little about).

    • Can you restore to a factory state? If so, that will reverse your change.
    • Can you cause other apps to run (i.e. does the platform have some OEM-specific “launch” stuff)? If so, you could run an app to restore that registry key
    • Does the platform have debugger connectivity? Using Remote Registry Editor from the platform tools could be a way to recover it
    • Is there a way to re-flash the OS? It’s heavy-handed, but may be the only way to restore it
    • Do you have a KITL connection option? You could use that to make a tools connection.
    • Can you change the OS image? That will invalidate the MD5 hash of the existing registry and force it to build a new one.
    • Is the OS itself on removable media? Plugging it into a PC and deleting the registry hives would likely recover.

    If you don’t have any of these at your disposal, you might be the proud owner of a new brick – contact the OEM and see if they can recover it for you.

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