diff --git a/src/tray/windows-tray.ps1 b/src/tray/windows-tray.ps1
index 055387eb6b..6e843a66db 100644
--- a/src/tray/windows-tray.ps1
+++ b/src/tray/windows-tray.ps1
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ param(
 $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
 Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
 Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Drawing
+try { [System.Windows.Forms.Application]::EnableVisualStyles() } catch { $null = $_ }
 
 # Normalize aliases before deriving singleton/event names. Without this,
 # C:\path and C:\path\. create separate tray instances for the same home.
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ if (-not $createdNew) {
   $mutex.Dispose()
   exit 0
 }
+[void]$stopEvent.Reset()
 
 $heartbeatPath = Join-Path $OpenCodexHome "tray-heartbeat.json"
 $actionLogPath = Join-Path $OpenCodexHome "tray-actions.log"
@@ -332,11 +334,15 @@ $notify.add_DoubleClick({ Start-OcxCommand @("gui") })
 $timer = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Timer
 $timer.Interval = 3000
 $timer.add_Tick({
-  if ($stopEvent.WaitOne(0)) {
-    [System.Windows.Forms.Application]::Exit()
-    return
+  try {
+    if ($stopEvent.WaitOne(0)) {
+      [System.Windows.Forms.Application]::Exit()
+      return
+    }
+    Update-TrayState
+  } catch {
+    try { Write-ActionLog "timer tick failed: $($_.Exception.GetType().Name)" } catch { $null = $_ }
   }
-  Update-TrayState
 })
 $notify.ContextMenuStrip = $menu
 $notify.Icon = $offlineIcon
diff --git a/src/tray/windows.ts b/src/tray/windows.ts
index cefb61c3ee..c20e0491d1 100644
--- a/src/tray/windows.ts
+++ b/src/tray/windows.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { execFile, execFileSync, spawn } from "node:child_process";
 import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
 import { chmodSync, existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, unlinkSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { homedir } from "node:os";
-import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
+import { join, resolve, win32 as win32Path } from "node:path";
 import { expandUserPath, getConfigDir } from "../config";
 import { durableBunRuntime } from "../lib/bun-runtime";
 import type { BunRuntimeSource } from "../lib/bun-runtime";
@@ -46,6 +46,12 @@ export interface WindowsTrayStatus {
   summary: string;
 }
 
+export type WindowsTrayLaunchRunner = (
+  file: string,
+  args: readonly string[],
+  options: { stdio: "ignore"; windowsHide: true; timeout: number },
+) => void;
+
 function trayStatePath(): string {
   return join(getConfigDir(), "tray-state.json");
 }
@@ -506,8 +512,10 @@ const DETACHED_TRAY_HOST_LAUNCHER = [
   "$startInfo = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo",
   "$startInfo.FileName = $env:OCX_TRAY_HOST_BUN",
   "$startInfo.Arguments = $env:OCX_TRAY_HOST_ARGS",
-  "$startInfo.UseShellExecute = $true",
+  "$startInfo.UseShellExecute = $false",
+  "$startInfo.CreateNoWindow = $true",
   "$startInfo.WindowStyle = [System.Diagnostics.ProcessWindowStyle]::Hidden",
+  "$startInfo.EnvironmentVariables['OCX_TRAY_ENTRY_B64'] = $env:OCX_TRAY_ENTRY_B64",
   "$child = [System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start($startInfo)",
   "if ($null -eq $child) { throw 'Windows tray host did not start.' }",
   "$child.Dispose()",
@@ -537,7 +545,27 @@ export function launchWindowsTrayHost(state: WindowsTrayEntry): void {
   });
 }
 
+export function launchInstalledWindowsTray(
+  launcherPath: string,
+  deps: { systemRoot?: string; run?: WindowsTrayLaunchRunner } = {},
+): void {
+  const wscript = win32Path.join(deps.systemRoot ?? process.env.SystemRoot ?? "C:\\Windows", "System32", "wscript.exe");
+  const run = deps.run ?? ((file, args, options) => {
+    execFileSync(file, [...args], options);
+  });
+  run(wscript, ["//B", "//NoLogo", safePath(launcherPath)], {
+    stdio: "ignore",
+    windowsHide: true,
+    timeout: 15_000,
+  });
+}
+
 function spawnTray(state: WindowsTrayEntry): void {
+  const launcher = installedTrayLauncherPath();
+  if (existsSync(launcher)) {
+    launchInstalledWindowsTray(launcher);
+    return;
+  }
   launchWindowsTrayHost(state);
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/windows-tray.test.ts b/tests/windows-tray.test.ts
index 7b0b026692..550f894730 100644
--- a/tests/windows-tray.test.ts
+++ b/tests/windows-tray.test.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import {
   buildWindowsTrayLauncherScript,
   buildWindowsTrayPowerShellCommand,
   buildWindowsTrayRunCommand,
+  launchInstalledWindowsTray,
   launchWindowsTrayHost,
   parseWindowsTrayRunValue,
   readWindowsTrayRunValueWithAsyncRunner,
@@ -132,6 +133,31 @@ describe("Windows tray packaging and command safety", () => {
     expect(runCommand.toLowerCase()).toContain("wscript.exe");
     expect(runCommand.length).toBeLessThanOrEqual(260);
   });
+
+  test("launches the installed tray through hidden wscript with bounded stdio", () => {
+    const calls: Array<{
+      file: string;
+      args: readonly string[];
+      options: { stdio: "ignore"; windowsHide: true; timeout: number };
+    }> = [];
+    const launcherPath = "C:\\Users\\Test\\.opencodex\\opencodex-tray.vbs";
+
+    launchInstalledWindowsTray(launcherPath, {
+      systemRoot: "C:\\Windows",
+      run: (file, args, options) => { calls.push({ file, args, options }); },
+    });
+
+    expect(calls).toEqual([{
+      file: "C:\\Windows\\System32\\wscript.exe",
+      args: ["//B", "//NoLogo", launcherPath],
+      options: {
+        stdio: "ignore",
+        windowsHide: true,
+        timeout: 15_000,
+      },
+    }]);
+  });
+
   test("keeps UNC backslashes literal in the VBS Run command", () => {
     const uncRoot = "\\\\server\\share";
     const uncEntry: WindowsTrayEntry = {
@@ -306,9 +332,16 @@ describe("Windows tray packaging and command safety", () => {
     const cli = readFileSync(join(import.meta.dir, "..", "src", "cli", "index.ts"), "utf8");
     expect(typescript).not.toContain("\u0000");
     expect(typescript).toContain("OCX_TRAY_ENTRY_B64");
-    expect(typescript).toContain("$startInfo.UseShellExecute = $true");
+    expect(typescript).not.toContain("$startInfo.UseShellExecute = $true");
+    expect(typescript).toContain("$startInfo.UseShellExecute = $false");
+    expect(typescript).toContain("$startInfo.CreateNoWindow = $true");
+    expect(typescript).toContain("$startInfo.EnvironmentVariables['OCX_TRAY_ENTRY_B64'] = $env:OCX_TRAY_ENTRY_B64");
     expect(source).toContain("System.Threading.Mutex");
     expect(source).toContain("System.Threading.EventWaitHandle");
+    expect(source).toContain("[System.Windows.Forms.Application]::EnableVisualStyles()");
+    expect(source.indexOf("[void]$stopEvent.Reset()")).toBeGreaterThan(source.indexOf("if (-not $createdNew)"));
+    expect(source).toMatch(/\$timer\.add_Tick\(\{\s*try \{/);
+    expect(source).toContain('Write-ActionLog "timer tick failed: $($_.Exception.GetType().Name)"');
     expect(source).toContain("GetFullPath");
     expect(source).toContain("GetPathRoot");
     expect(source).toContain("$heartbeat.hostPid = $HostPid");