I'm deploying a custom PyQt6 application in a Windows domain environment, and I'm experiencing an odd issue. When users log in, the application starts (I can see it running in Task Manager), but no graphical interface appears. The EXE is stored in the domain's SYSVOL and is launched through a User-based Group Policy Object (GPO) as a logon script. It works perfectly when I run it locally on the machine.
I've noticed a Windows warning about file verification when attempting to run it from the SYSVOL location, so I wonder if there are security-related issues at play here.
I have a few questions:
1. Is it generally considered a bad practice to run GUI apps directly from SYSVOL during user logon?
2. Could the logon scripts be running before Explorer is fully loaded, causing the GUI not to appear?
3. Would copying the EXE to a local machine via Group Policy Preferences and launching it with a Scheduled Task be a better approach?
4. Could this problem be due to session isolation or window station behavior?
The application must display a window to the logged-in user, so I'm trying to find out if this is a session/context issue, a security zone trust issue, a logon timing problem, or just a poor deployment method for GUI applications.
3 Answers
It sounds like you might be using the wrong method for deploying GUI software. Logon scripts aren’t intended for GUI apps since they don’t run with the full GUI context. You might consider placing the app in the user's startup folder using a GPO, or alternatively, create a scheduled task to launch it at login. Running it from SYSVOL is really not a good idea.
Make sure the app is executing in the user context in Task Manager. Running apps directly from SYSVOL is typically a bad practice because of security restrictions.
Since you're using the Qt framework, you might want to look into potential library issues. Your app could be missing dependencies that aren't available when launched through the GPO.
I've run the same EXE before without issues, but this one is giving me trouble, especially since I compressed the file as requested.
Yes, it’s running in the background, but I just can’t see anything on the screen. Any advice on a better launch method?