I'm in the same boat as you.
It seems that this thread started a long time ago when XP was prominent. I've been searching for weeks on getting HS shelled correctly on Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.
Is there anyone out there using Windows 7 64bit and actually got this working?
I've changed the registry to launch HS, which DOES work...the only drawback on windows 7 (or at least that I've experienced) is that you cannot access Windows if needed. I would like the option to exit to the desktop if needed.
I press ctrl+alt+delete>task manager>start new task>explorer.exe
this does NOT start up windows. This opens a "My Computer" window. The desktop remains black...no taskbar...no icons...no wallpaper.
I've also tried ctrl+alt+delete>task manager>start new task>explorer shell:desktop
This opens a Window with all of my desktop items in it...
Are there any Windows 7 users out there that have got HS shelled? If there is, you are a rare breed that needs to share their knowledge with the rest of the HyperSpin users :-P