How to Change the Logon Screen Background in Windows 7

HOW-TO GUIDES, WINDOWS HACKS 29 May 2010
36 Comments

How would you like to change the logon screen background in Windows 7 so as to give your Windows a customized look and feel? With a small tweak it is possible to customize the Windows 7 logon screen and set your own picture/wallpaper as the background. Changing logon screen background in Windows 7 is as simple as changing your desktop wallpaper. Well, here is a step-by-step instruction to customize the logon screen background:

  1. The image you need to set as the background should be a .jpg file and its size should not exceed 245KB.

  2. The image resolution can be anything of your choice. However I prefer 1440 x 900 or 1024 x 768. You can use any of the photo editing software such as Photoshop to compress and set the resolution for your image. Once you’re done, save this image as backgroundDefault.jpg.

  3. You will need to copy this image to the following location:

    C:\Windows\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds

    You will need to create that path if it does not already exist on your computer.

  4. Now, open the Registry Editor (Start -> Run -> Type regedit) and navigate to the following key:

    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\
    LogonUI\Background

    If the key Background does not exist, then right-click on LogonUI, select New -> Key, and then name it as Background.

    Now locate OEMBackground (listed on the right side). If it does not exist, right-click Background and select New -> DWORD and name it OEMBackground.

  5. Double-click on OEMBackground and set the Value Data to 1.

  6. Now log-off to see the new logon screen background. If you would like to revert back to the default background, just set the Value Data back to 0.

Using a Tool to Change the Logon Screen Background:

The above steps will give you a detailed instruction on how to change the logon screen background manually. However, there is a nice tool to completely automate the above steps so that you can do everything with just a few mouse clicks!

The tool is called Windows 7 Logon Background Changer from Julien-Manici.com. This small tool is very easy to use and contains a set of preloaded images to choose from or you can set your own desired image as the logon screen background.

I hope you love this post! Pass your comments. Cheers :)

Tags: Registry HacksWin7 Hacks
← Easy Way to Take Ownership of Files and Folders in Windows 7 How to Alter Windows Product ID →

36 Comments

  1. WiFiLeech
     May 29, 2010 at 6:45 PM

    There is an automated tool that does this:
    http://tweaks.com/software/tweakslogon/
    It can automatically resize the jpg files if it is too large
    and can revert to the default

  2. Divy
     June 1, 2010 at 2:54 PM

    Hey sri , i am ur big fan . I find this website 2 month ago . I also visited all websites in ur BLOGROLL . & read all articles of these all site and also subscribe via feedburner . This method is for windows7 . Can i use this method for Xp , 98 , vista ?

  3. Srikanth
     June 1, 2010 at 5:09 PM

    @ Divy

    THe above method is only for Win 7

  4. balaji
     June 4, 2010 at 3:54 PM

    hello mr.srikanth….

    is that picture is in exact to 245 kb or may be lesser to also 245 kb?????

    advance thanks for your reply………

  5. Srikanth
     June 4, 2010 at 9:03 PM

    @ balaji

    It should not exceed 245KB. It can be less than too…

  6. mayank
     June 7, 2010 at 8:42 PM

    there’s an automated tool for doin this

    http://www.julien-manici.com/windows_7_logon_background_changer/
    just download dis n run the setup n u r ready to change login backgrounds
    n
    da size of pic just dsn’t matters…………..

    hope dis helps those who r unable 2 do it da way u’ve described
    people like me

  7. ankit
     July 7, 2010 at 7:53 PM

    Sir
    I have tried this it works but after a few days it reverts back to its original and the value of OEMbackground changes to 0

  8. Srikanth
     July 8, 2010 at 6:12 PM

    @ ankit

    This happens because of Windows update which will set the settings back to the default.

  9. Akash
     July 18, 2010 at 1:44 AM

    I’ve tried in ma window 7…….but i find no such folder names “info” in oobe……

    n when i resave ma background image it’s denied ma opperation……
    also I’m working on Administrator account…….

    plzzzz solve this….i’m confused..

  10. waffles
     July 18, 2010 at 2:04 AM

    hey although you said this only works for windows 7,does that mean you can with vista like,in a different way?different path?if u know what i mean?

  11. waflles
     July 18, 2010 at 2:22 AM

    i figured out something,this also wrks in vista,i have tried it,all u hav 2 do is swap out the JPEG image with something of the same size :)

  12. me
     July 28, 2010 at 4:52 AM

    i didnt find in the Registry Editor the HKLM, what i do?

  13. Srikanth
     August 4, 2010 at 12:06 PM

    @ me

    HKLM means HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. You can find it in the registry editor

  14. biswajit
     August 20, 2010 at 11:15 AM

    can i change the logon screen in windows xp??? and how???

  15. jo..
     September 2, 2010 at 12:12 PM

    i am sure that this will work fine!!!!!!!!!…..

  16. bhanu
     October 16, 2010 at 12:15 PM

    my window7 is not supporting the copy of image in background folder…..
    how can i do this……tell me…

  17. Srikanth
     October 18, 2010 at 10:57 AM

    @ bhanu

    I did not understand what you mean by “not supporting”.

  18. Pavan
     December 20, 2010 at 12:03 AM

    Thank and this is working like a cake.

    Your site is very interesting.

  19. naty
     January 26, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    i like it good job!

  20. Carthagian
     March 5, 2011 at 10:35 PM

    Cool Trick Thnx!

  21. sunny
     March 20, 2011 at 10:18 PM

    hiiii Srikanth
    i like ur website but my problem is that i am not finding the info folder and even if i mAKE IT with a subfolder backgrounds in it and copy the image to its required position it is not working…please help me…

  22. R.Rahul
     April 2, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    Hi Srikanth…..This Trick really works :) …
    I’m a beginner to the world of hacking….
    It would be nice if u guide me….

  23. viswanathan
     April 11, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    wow thank you man….u r awesome…..i have a new look for my windiws 7 coz of your tweak…thanks for it

  24. SUMIT SINGH
     April 11, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    HI Srikanth
    thanks yaar…….

  25. SUMIT SINGH
     April 11, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    HI Srikanth
    i have learned many things about virus and hacking frm ur site.

    thanks yaar…….

  26. nanireddy
     April 21, 2011 at 6:33 PM

    ya
    i have tried your trick
    i am happy with that trick
    i want more information like how to hack our computers if we forgot password. Now i am working as a quality assurance engineer for most secret softwares so i need that type of information.
    I am interested on this type of activities and remember i never used some hacking activities in others information.
    I think you will be help to me
    once again thanks for your tips

  27. Gaurav
     July 5, 2011 at 6:30 PM

    Hi shrikanth.

    after reading ur so many posts, i couldn’t resist myself from telling u dat i’ve become a fan of urs.

    Well, i’ve a doubt. as d bkgrnd changes 4 win7, can u plz tell me d process 4 d same for winXP?
    plz let me know cuz i hav XP in my home’s pc.

    Am greatful 2 u.
    Thanks 1s agn.

  28. lucky
     July 11, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    i do all the steps
    but it dosn’t work
    tell me the possible failure chances…?

  29. Alanford01
     July 31, 2011 at 4:44 PM

    It works perfectly. Thanks.

  30. Sarvesh
     August 7, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    great stuff.
    follow the link provided.This app performs the same operation

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27264998/MyApp/LogonScreenChanger.exe

  31. Himanshu
     March 8, 2012 at 2:11 PM

    my windows is asking for permission to paste the image in the given source !! Please tell me what should I do for it.

  32. heart hacker
     March 13, 2012 at 2:39 PM

    itzz good …but not so good…..beaCAUSE ONLY FEY PEOLPE CAN PERFORM THIS TRICK…..!!!!!

  33. Techfreeks
     April 12, 2012 at 11:11 AM

    I liked your work, u had provided such nice information on your website. I had suddenly came across your website and liked your posts. Now i have bookmarked your page. Thanks for providing such a nice information on your website.

  34. salman
     August 13, 2012 at 11:30 PM

    sir when i replace the default file background.bmp in the system folder i.e C:\Windows\system32\oobe, it don’t over write it or delete it ??
    what should i do??

  35. rahul
     August 17, 2012 at 1:16 PM

    hkml is not found in registry

  36. Srikanth
     September 3, 2012 at 4:08 PM

    @ rahul

    It’s not hkml, it’s HKLM :)

Leave A Reply

WHO IS BEHIND GO HACKING

I am Srikanth Ramesh, a computer engineer from India.

Right from the day one I was introduced to computers, I had a passion for Hacking and Information security.

So, I started this blog in 2007 to share my views and ideas with the world. It all started as a blogspot blog and was later renamed as gohacking.com in August 2008.

You can read more or connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Copyright © 2008-2012 GoHacking.Com. This content is copyrighted to Srikanth and may not be reproduced on other websites.
↑ Scroll to top