How to change your Windows Logon Screen

In this article we are going to show you how to customize the Windows 7/8 login screen. There are various methods to accomplish this, with and without third-party software. I understand many people might not want to rely on a third-party application, while others would appreciate a quicker, safer route. First method is the more hands-on approach, and then the third-party utility.

Method1 - Hands-on approach

This method will require you to modify the registry, and if that puts a knot in your stomach, you should move on to the next section.

Open the Windows Start menu and enter regedit into the search bar.

Right click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and select Find.

Search for OEMBackground, which should be in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Authentication/LogonUI/Background. If the key does not exist, add a new
DWORD value with the name OEMBackground.





Double click on the entry OEMBackground, and change the value from 0 to 1.

Open Windows Explorer and go to the following path: %windir%system32oobe.

Create a new folder named info, and open it.

Create a new folder within info named backgrounds.

Rename your desired wallpaper as backgroundDefault.jpg and place it inside the folder backgrounds (images must be less than 245KB in size).

Method2 - Third-party software

If you are uncomfortable with manually tinkering with the registry -- or simply have better things to be doing with your time -- we understand. Various third-party applications can change Windows 7's default logon wallpaper, but our personal favorite is TuneUp Styler.

The software is ridiculously easy to use, and it even has built-in tools to automatically resize and recompress your images while leaving the original file untouched. The TuneUp Styler also lets you quickly change your logon wallpaper back to the Windows 7 default.

Start by downloading the app here, and then unzip the executable. Run the program and it should present you with a preview of your logon screen along with a few self-explanatory options: "Change Logon Screen" lets you create new logon screen, "Test" will bring up your logon screen, "Revert to Default Logon Screen" reapplies Windows 7's original wallpaper.