diff --git a/plugins/geenforce/seed_display_scope.py b/plugins/geenforce/seed_display_scope.py
index 4bdf779..31970c7 100644
--- a/plugins/geenforce/seed_display_scope.py
+++ b/plugins/geenforce/seed_display_scope.py
@@ -352,6 +352,17 @@ function Log {
         -Value ('[{0}] {1}' -f (Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss'), $Message)
 }
 
+# REFUSE to run as SYSTEM. MainWindowHandle is session-scoped: a SYSTEM caller
+# reads 0 for a perfectly healthy kiosk in the user's session, so this script
+# would judge it dead, kill it and relaunch - every single cycle. The scheduled
+# task uses an interactive Users principal precisely so this cannot happen, and
+# this guard makes a mis-registered task fail loudly instead of thrashing the
+# display.
+if ([Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().IsSystem) {
+    Log 'refusing to run as SYSTEM: window state is not readable across sessions.'
+    return
+}
+
 # The kiosk shortcut is the source of truth for target + arguments.
 $startup = Join-Path $env:ProgramData 'Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp'
 $lnkPath = Join-Path $startup 'ShopDB Kiosk.lnk'
@@ -375,19 +386,47 @@ if (-not $target -or -not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $target)) {
     return
 }
 
-# Match on the COMMAND LINE, not just the image name. Edge spawns a crowd of
-# msedge.exe children (renderers, GPU, crashpad) that outlive nothing useful;
-# testing for "is msedge running" would leave a stray child masking a dead
-# kiosk forever.
-$running = $false
+# A kiosk counts as UP only when a --kiosk process still owns a VISIBLE WINDOW.
+#
+# Two traps, and the obvious checks fall into one or the other. Testing "is
+# msedge running" lets a stray renderer or crashpad child mask a dead kiosk.
+# Testing the command line alone is what shipped first, and it is not enough
+# either: after an Edge update the window can be gone while a --kiosk process
+# lingers, so the watchdog saw "kiosk is up" and never relaunched - observed on
+# a real display, Edge closed on the desktop but still listed in Task Manager.
+#
+# MainWindowHandle is the discriminator. A process with no window cannot be
+# showing anything to the floor, whatever its command line says.
+$kioskProcs = @()
 try {
-    $running = [bool](Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -Filter "Name = 'msedge.exe'" -EA SilentlyContinue |
-                      Where-Object { $_.CommandLine -match '--kiosk' })
+    $kioskProcs = @(Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -Filter "Name = 'msedge.exe'" -EA SilentlyContinue |
+                    Where-Object { $_.CommandLine -match '--kiosk' })
 } catch {
     Log "process query failed, assuming kiosk is up: $_"
     return
 }
-if ($running) { return }
+
+$visible = @()
+foreach ($p in $kioskProcs) {
+    $proc = Get-Process -Id $p.ProcessId -EA SilentlyContinue
+    if ($proc -and $proc.MainWindowHandle -ne 0) { $visible += $p }
+}
+if ($visible.Count -gt 0) { return }
+
+# Windowless --kiosk processes are orphans. They must be killed BEFORE
+# relaunching: leaving them would keep the next cycle's check satisfied again,
+# and a second browser would fight the first for the display.
+if ($kioskProcs.Count -gt 0) {
+    Log ("found {0} windowless --kiosk process(es) - killing before relaunch" -f $kioskProcs.Count)
+    foreach ($p in $kioskProcs) {
+        try {
+            Stop-Process -Id $p.ProcessId -Force -EA Stop
+            Log ("  killed pid {0}" -f $p.ProcessId)
+        } catch {
+            Log ("  could not kill pid {0}: {1}" -f $p.ProcessId, $_)
+        }
+    }
+}
 
 # Debounce. Edge takes a few seconds to present a --kiosk process, and a display
 # that fails to start would otherwise get a new browser every couple of minutes.
diff --git a/tests/test_plugins/test_geenforce_display_seed.py b/tests/test_plugins/test_geenforce_display_seed.py
index 5786adb..d253bce 100644
--- a/tests/test_plugins/test_geenforce_display_seed.py
+++ b/tests/test_plugins/test_geenforce_display_seed.py
@@ -180,3 +180,26 @@ def test_watchdog_does_nothing_without_a_kiosk_shortcut():
     script = build_watchdog_script()
     assert 'ShopDB Kiosk.lnk' in script
     assert 'shopdb-kiosk-lastlaunch' in script  # debounce stamp
+
+
+def test_watchdog_requires_a_visible_window_not_just_a_process():
+    """Edge can update and leave a --kiosk process behind with no window. The
+    first version tested the command line alone, so it saw 'kiosk is up' and
+    never relaunched - observed on a real display."""
+    script = build_watchdog_script()
+    assert 'MainWindowHandle' in script
+
+
+def test_watchdog_kills_windowless_kiosk_before_relaunching():
+    """Leaving the orphan would satisfy the next cycle's check again, and two
+    browsers would fight over the display."""
+    script = build_watchdog_script()
+    assert 'Stop-Process' in script
+    assert 'windowless' in script
+
+
+def test_watchdog_refuses_to_run_as_system():
+    """MainWindowHandle is session-scoped: SYSTEM reads 0 for a healthy kiosk,
+    so a mis-registered task would kill and relaunch the display every cycle."""
+    script = build_watchdog_script()
+    assert 'IsSystem' in script