Pimp My Desktop!
Lesson Two: Boot and Login Screens
Made it through the wallpaper lesson okay? Good. Now to move onto an subject a little more trickier, Windows 2000/XP Boot and Login screens. I must warn you that this may not work for your system, so proceed with caution. Do not blame me if your system gets slightly messed up because you followed my instructions!
If you’re sick and tired of the plain of standard Windows boot and login screen, look no further than LogonUI Boot Randomizer to solve your problem. By using this program your plain blue welcome screen can look like this:
Once you’ve downloaded the program, unzip the file into whereever you want. I suggest a sub-folder called “logonuibootrandomizer” for simplicity purposes. You’ll also want to create two folders within the “logonuibootrandomizer” folder for the boot and login files you’ll be downloading. I suggest checking out themeXP and getskinned for Windows 2000/XP boot and login screens.
After you’ve downloaded and extract a few boot and login screens (each screen should have their own folder in whichever sub-directory they belong to, i.e. “boot” or “login”), start up LogonUI Boot Randomizer and do the following:
1. Choose either Boot or Logon (Boot is the first icon on the toolbar, Logon the second).
2. Go to Logonui –> Options (Ctrl+O).
3. General tab, select the base folder where your boot/logon screens are located.
4. Refresh the listing, you should get a list of the screens you’ve downloaded.
5. Select an screen to use, normally there’ll be a thumbnail image of the screen.
6. Even if there isn’t, right click in the preview area and select “Set Logonui screen”.
7. Successful confirmation prompt of the screen being selected.
8. If you get an error, odds are the screen just won’t work with LogonUI.
If done correctly, you should now have some cool looking boot and/or logon screens! However, if not and you’re still having problems, feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment. I’ll usually respond back within the same day if not sooner.
Great tutorial, Alex. Five Stars(or was it 2 thumbs xx;) Anyway, thankies for finally making the tutorial.
Wow this is wonderful, thanks for making this!
To answer this question, no the visual style/themes do not change your cursor. However, some VS do come with cursors to match the windows skin. Just double check the VS files to see if any cursors were included. Same can be said with icons for the theme too.
As for Aqua looking themes, I don’t use them. There are like a ton of OSX looking ones in deviantART so browse around and try them out.
I can recommend some VS that are my personal favs though. Anything by b0se is always good. Other than that, agroove, areao4, exeed, roguesi, and shaded are all great VS to check out.
Yeah, thanks a bunch for sharing this.
I have another suggestion for your desktop addons/widgets programs. I have in the past tried out a program called Konfabulator which used to be just for Mac. But a few months ago they released a Windows version.
I just looked at Konfabulator’s site and it appears that it is the same as the Yahoo! widgets that you linked to.
Nice bit of information you have. Just wanted to add a nice site for icons that I use.
oh, the HTML didn’t work. Sorry for the 2 posts. But the site is http://www.pixelgirlpresents.com
wow….I was trying to figure out how to do this myself after looking at your screens, but this helps alot. =) thanks for all your previous help and for this resource =)
I use WindowsBlinds because it has nicer skins, but its not free.
Also, i use “Wallpaper Changer” which is a free mircosoft powertool downloadable from here somewhere. You set a directory, and it changes your wallpaper every 15 or xx minutes to the next image in the folder. its wonderful
Hey moy, what theme is that you’re using in the screenshots for the Visual Styles section? I have area04 by =heylove over at DeviantArt, but it looks slightly different (and incomplete), I like your version much better. Where did you get it?
It’s actually Nano by the same people, I think.
Ah, thankies. Quick google search sent me to http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/8833258/
by ~whistl3r
For themeXP and getskinned, which one is the boot and which one is the login screens?
Shimi, boot screen is the initial screen you see (i.e. WinXP is loading). Login screen is the one you see aftewards, that might prompt you for a user password to get into Windows.
If you’re asking about which is which, I suggest you don’t fool around with them much. While not an advance customize, both are definitely not for novices; esp. if something goes wrong.
Moyism, thanks for this tutorial. Very very helpful! Very simple too, considering im a skinning newbie.
NB:Nano font is so tiny!! XD I like it.
Just wondering.. how u remove the recycle bin?
If you’re running WinXP, d/l the newest version of TweakUI. It’ll allow you to easily remove the Recycle Bin from the desktop.
mayu i know where i can d/L that?
This is the only blog I’ve added to my links after reading only two pages of it. You’re da man, but I just can’t find the Nano msstyles.
whoops, got it, nvm.
Thanks a lot for this tutorial.. it really helped me, who was always checkin’ your COOL desktops, and wonderin’ how’d i make them myself…
I think my desktop’s now a hella lot better…
Does this thing work with Windows Media Center, too?
I honestly would not know. I suggest googling to find out.
can u tell me where you got that wallpaper for your swordsman love post? or better yet, send it to me? i cant seem to find it on 4chan.org
oh, and nice tutorial btw. I read through it because i was bored, but i use an aternative desktop. so it was all pointless for me to read through it. strange? i thought so.
Fuck this, your tutorial says to do exactly what Ive tried and they just wont show up in my desktop preferences anywhere.
oh… i still not found where to download these wallpaper… -_-!