This bug report is a duplicate of #28715.
Hello,
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (32 bit)
Portable Apps version: 10.0.1
Device: 4GB USB Drive
Cannot open On-Screen Keyboard Portable. The logo comes and goes away but nothing loads onto the screen. Rest all apps are opening without any problems. I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling it but the problem persists. Tried opening it using the option "Run As Administrator" as well but to no avail.
Please help.
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This is a previously known issue, but it keeps slipping through the cracks. I honestly thought it had been fixed, but looking back on past threads I don't think it has.
Please edit your post and add [Bug] to start of the title so it appears in the bug-tracker. Then it will be noticed for fixing.
Original thread regarding this issue here.
To the moderator who marked this as a duplicate, it isn't quite a duplicate, as the earliest thread only indicates why it won't work for 64 bit Windows.
This thread, and my comment in the intermediate thread I linked above, are both regarding 32 bit Windows to which I don't see the reasoning in the earliest thread as explaining the problem.
There were some issues I posted in the intermediate thread that also need to be dealt with. In Other/Source/On-ScreenKeyboardPortable.nsi there are a number of places where settings is misspelled as setttings, and the registry key being used to detect Vista will not detect Win7 as it is looking for 6.0, where Win7 will have a value of 6.1.
Also this particular app (On-Screen Keyboard) is extremely
important because the most important use of portable apps
on usb is to use them on a public computer where a keylogger
might be installed. So I would request the developers to
fix this issue at the earliest.
Just so you realize, On-Screen Keyboard is not a great security measure for protecting personal data.
It will beat hardware keyloggers (physical devices plugged between the keyboard and the PC), but it cannot beat most software keyloggers, as osk.exe merely sends the same keypress events that a hardware keyboard would. It is also susceptible to screen recording software.
On-Screen Keyboards do absolutely nothing against software keyloggers (the most common things people need protection from). They are only effective against a hardware keylogger (which is now exceedingly uncommon).
OSKs are really only useful from an accessibility standpoint. Anyone who claims otherwise doesn't really understand keyloggers or on-screen keyboards or is trying to sell you something.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
winterblood, are you sure about that?? coz its generally advised to use
on screen keyboard to beat the software keyloggers out there. Its even
recommended on bank websites!!
My source.
Excellent!!! thanks for the source....so how about requesting the developers to add Neo’s SafeKeys or Monitor Only Keyboard instead of the current keylogger??
Checking them both out myself. If one or the other is decent and doesn't have any blocking requirements I will ask permission.
I've got a local dev test of this one, I'll make it public soon.
If you are already on it, I will leave it to you.
Neo's was definitely a more refined product than MOK, at least in terms of the GUI.
Wow, Neo's SafeKeys is awesome. Thanks for the tip.
I'm working on a new version of OSK Portable that should fix these issues. The launcher is pretty old (still NSIS Ansi based) and needs a rewrite anyway. It is on the list for an installer update, too. I already have my test version working on Windows 7 with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions as well as back to Windows XP.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
This is fixed in 2.0 and has a completely new launcher. The only reason it won't launch now is if either (1) it's been removed from Windows somehow or (2) someone manually places a restriction on the osk.exe file preventing your current user account from launching it.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Although you've now made me realize just how ugly the osk is with XP theme enabled. I had previously only seen it on XP PC's with Classic theme or on Win7.