How to customize the logon screen for Windows 7
Windows 7 now supports the ability to change the logon background screen without the use of any third-party software or hacks. The feature seems to have been intended for OEMs to customize. Rafael who is known for releasing the Blue-Badge patch made this great finding. This tweak only works for builds 7057 and up.
Toggling the ability to change the logon background screen can easily be done by changing the value of a specific registry key.
1) Download this file to Enable/Disable custom login backgrounds
If you want to edit the registry key manually, simply open the Start Menu and type regedit in the search bar.
Head to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background
Check to see if a DWord value named OEMBackground exists and has a value of 1. If not, right click the white-space and create a DWORD Value for this.
2) The images for these custom backgrounds are to be placed in the following directory. Keep in mind that the file size must remain under 256kb.
%windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds
3) This directory may not exist by default, in which case, you would have to navigate to the directory below and create the info and backgrounds folders yourself.
%windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds
4) These are the possible file names you can use for your images. backgroundDefault.jpg is loaded and set to stretch-to-fit when a resolution specific background (for example background1280x1024.jpg for my monitor) cannot be found.
- backgroundDefault.jpg
- background768x1280.jpg (0.6)
- background900x1440.jpg (0.625)
- background960x1280.jpg (0.75)
- background1024x1280.jpg (0.8)
- background1280x1024.jpg (1.25)
- background1024x768.jpg (1.33-)
- background1280x960.jpg (1.33-)
- background1600x1200.jpg (1.33-)
- background1440x900.jpg (1.6)
- background1920x1200.jpg (1.6)
- background1280x768.jpg (1.66-)
- background1360x768.jpg (1.770833-)
5) To see if changes have taken into effect, you can simply log off then log back in, instead or rebooting your computer each time.
If you are having trouble finding some quality backgrounds of that size, you can check out a few backgrounds our forum members shared.
Related posts:
Tags: desktop customization, windows 7, windows 7 logon background screen, windows 7 logon UI background, Windows 7 Tutorials
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53 Responses to “How to customize the logon screen for Windows 7”
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The download link is wrong but if you think dear viewers ;D you can fix it.
I make this horrible mistake every time but I’ve fixed it. Please keep commenting and telling me I make the mistake so I know to change it =) thanks
Will this work on build 7000? Or does it have to be build 7057 or higher?
not sure but was found on build 7057. If you are on build 7000, you are more than welcome to try it and tell us if it works for you =)
I’ve tried it now on build 7000, but it doesn’t work
Thanks for testing out for me. I will note it in the article. I don’t think it will work on any builds prior to 7057 anyway, otherwise Rafael would have noticed
it would be cool when the lines by the log in move but never mind…
I downloaded the registry tweak but it still shows the same bootscreen :O
did you add a new wallpaper and make sure that the file size and file name is correct?
yes I did but it shows the normal boot screen for 7057
BTW I’m using x64 maybe there might be some difference but even if I go into SysWOW64/oobe nothing changes at all
Never mind my file size was to big and I changed to a smaller one and now it works fine …. yeah I’ve got my old bootscreen back :dance:
i have downloaded the registry too. it doesnt work too.
the .jpg is 878 kb big
it’s too large. Must be under 256kb
I just tested it and it works fine. Are you guys using the correct registry key since I have provided both?
I would advise to do it manually if you don’t see any significant change
i have already changed ich manually and ich hab created the folders
what’s your build? are you logging on and off to check the change? I suggest we discuss this on the forums so we do not clutter the comment area =) We can talk about it there if you make a thread
it ist no possible that the file ist under because ich have got a dimension of 1920*1080
my buld ist 7057
where should i make a thread
anywhere just don’t wanna crowd up this space, let me know if you need more help
yes i need more help
P.S.: how should i do a thread i don´t know how to do one can´t you do one??
Check your email
it worked… all the pictures were to big … XD i have made just a black background and have checked then it worked… i´m so glad
thanks Al
First of all, there were no folders \info\ background or \background in my OS. Adding these folders and adding the OEMbackground registerentry mentioned above did nothing to me. Adding my background picture and calling it backgrounddefault and placing it in the ooeb (or is it the oobe) folder where the original background.bmp is placed did not work either.
It has to be .jpg
Also make sure that the file size is under 256kb. Although I’m no amateur, this tweak gave me some trouble too because I made some careless mistakes. I think MS purposely made it uneasy to change it because it is mainly an OEM only feature.
You can try the utility here:
http://windows7center.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552
But what with dual screen? Is it support dual screen background(for example 2560×1024)?
This tweak does not work on JUST 7057. Take a look at this: http://windows7center.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552
FAKE! FAKE! FAKE!
what’s fake? this program works…
o’really? did you tried it on 7100?
Sorry. Give this a try, I thought you were referring to our own login manager.
http://windows7center.com/news/download-our-windows-7-logonui-background-changer/
Although this trick was simple, I had a lot of trouble getting it right the first time too
I did exactly what the post says step by step and the image I tryed to use was of 200kb (quality 7 in Photoshop), didn’t worked.
Anyway your software from the link you passed me works perfectly. Thanks a lot!
Andrei try it it works.I have a 7100 build windows7 and the software changed it for me.It’s not a fake unless you don’t know how to use a program and you want to make this guys work look bad.
I don’t know how to deal with registry keys very wel,but I tryed your changer tool and it worked.I used one of windows 7 wallpapers to test,I logged off and on and there it was.And I have a 7100 build windows 7.Thanks guys.
cocutzamisca, I said that the registry trick doesn’t work on 7100 (RC), I didn’t said that the program don’t work, it works perfectly, but you don’t have to make the registry trick for program to work. The program has no mystery, you add the image and click apply, voila! And I already thanked Al for the program and the link.
And wasn’t for making this guys look bad, the trick just didn’t worked.
dos someone think what we will do with all those windows we are downloading after march the thierd
will we throw it from the window?
I hope somone will replay me
Hi,
Just tested the simple reg fix and copied a 32KB file into the folder path. Works fine on Build 7600 (RTM) Windows 7 Professional 32 bit.
BTW you can set this up and then simply lock your screen rather than log off.
Works great! Build 7600. Thanks
[...] (as seen in the example opposite) but you need to be somewhat of an IT professional to do this. See How to customize the logon screen for Windows 7 by [...]
Thanks for the instructions. Worked great.
Works fine…!!!
Good tweak…
Is there any way to set a number of images to be randomized for the logon screen each boot or each logon?
i got through some of the steps but i got stuck after saving the picture in the folder. How do i save as a login background? pllz help
Hi,
Thanks. Then manual procedure didn’t worked for me. I was logged in with a user who is in the Administrators group, but the background of the logon screen didn’t changed. Afterwards I tried your little program and it works out of the box. Good
job, well done. For Infor I’m using Windows 7 Ultimate Build 7600.
Thanks and greetings.
Wolf
Couldn’t get the tweak to work, but the software is bonzer!
how do i locate %windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds? i cannot find it
[...] Vía | Windows7Center [...]
Ok so what about 64-bit do you use the one in system32 or the systemWOW64? I have tried both and the default image they have IS .bmp I can’t deleted without trustedInstaller permissions.
This tweak is fantastic! Worked first time, thanks very much!
Hey Al, I have an Acer Aspire series notebook. When i went to the folder to put a custom login screen in there were already pictures in there for the Acer installed theme, is there a possible way for it to recgonize which theme I am using? It is all very confusing and I could use some help.
-Cf
I couldn’t get this tweak to work, not sure what my build is, how do i check that?
good blog. I’ve honestly fancied it!