21.Jan.2010 |
by Gusac |
Filed in: Articles, Tweaks
Windows 7 comes with another nice tweak. It lets you change the background for the login screen. To achieve that, we need to create one registry value and one file. Here is how:
Registry changes:
- Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background
- Create the following DWORD value under the above mentioned key: OEMBackground and set its value to 1
File System Changes:
-
Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the following location: %windir%\system32\oobe
-
Create the following subfolder: info
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In info folder, create another subfolder: backgrounds. So the exact path should be: <drive>:\Windows\System32\oobe\info\backgrounds
-
Copy the image file that you want to use as wallpaper for the login screen and rename it as: backgroundDefault.jpg
Note:
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The file size must not exceed 256KB
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The following image file names with different resolutions are supported:
-
backgroundDefault.jpg
background768×1280.jpg (0.6)
background900×1440.jpg (0.625)
background960×1280.jpg (0.75)
background1024×1280.jpg (0.8)
background1280×1024.jpg (1.25)
background1024×768.jpg (1.33-)
background1280×960.jpg (1.33-)
background1600×1200.jpg (1.33-)
background1440×900.jpg (1.6)
background1920×1200.jpg (1.6)
background1280×768.jpg (1.66-)
background1360×768.jpg (1.770833-)
And...
There is also a group policy related to the custom background for the login screen. The exact location for it as follows: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Logon
Ignores Windows Logon Background.
This policy setting may be used to make Windows give preference to a custom logon background.
If you enable this policy setting, the logon screen will always attempt to load a custom background instead of the Windows-branded logon background.
If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Windows will use the default Windows logon background or custom background.
