how i use my pc for both couch gaming and desktop stuff

01.08.2024

I have a Windows PC which is next to my TV, so that I can play PC games on the big monitor. I also use this PC for some desktop stuff, so it's not only for couch gaming. The problem so far has been that the process of starting a game, and playing it on the couch has involved too many steps:

Boot up PC
Log in to Windows
Set display output to TV (I normally have it disabled so I don't accidentally move windows there)
Open Steam
Launch the game
Move to couch
Play 🎮
After playing, quit the game
Move back to PC
Change display output back to primary monitor
Shut down PC

That's way more work than playing on a console. Just grab the controller and press a button to boot your console.

Since I also want to use the PC for desktop stuff on my primary monitor, I'm not gonna get the process as smooth as it is on consoles, but I did manage to streamline the process today a bit with a simple script. Now the process looks like this:

Boot up PC
Log in to another user called 'steamuser' *
Move to couch
Play 🎮
After playing, quit the game
Exit Steam, with a controller from the couch **

*) At this point the script changes output to TV and opens Steam in Big Picture mode **) At this point the script changes display back to primary monitor shuts down PC

Not perfect but a lot better, right? \o/

Here's how I did it:

Create couchmode.bat (make sure the script is in a location which every user on PC can access):

REM _ Wait a second after login before changing output monitor so it works properly
timeout 1

REM _ Change display to monitor 2
call displayswitch.exe /external

REM _ Open Steam in Big Picture mode (after you quit Steam, the script will continue)
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -start steam://open/bigpicture

REM _ Change display back to monitor 1
call displayswitch.exe /internal

REM _ Wait for display change to finish before shutting down
timeout 5

REM _ Shut down PC
shutdown /s /t 0

Create another Windows user called "steamuser" or whatever
Log in to your newly created account
Task Manager → Startup → Disable all unnecessary stuff here
Open Steam and log in
(optional) Set up a Windows Hello PIN from settings for faster login
Sign out, go back to your Windows admin account
Open Task Scheduler → Action → Create Task
- General
  - Name: Steam Couch Mode
  - When running the task, use the following user account: steamuser
- Triggers
  - New...
  - Begin the task: At log on
  - Specific user: steamuser
- Actions
  - New...
  - Action: Start a program
  - Program/script: ...\couchmode.bat

That's it, now all you gotta do is log in to the new user and everything else will happen automagically B)