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Are you bored of the default logon screen background image of Windows 7? You can easily change the logon screen background picture with a custom one without using third-party tools.

Windows 7 comes packed with a lot of new and exciting backgrounds. However, Windows 7 fails to include an easy way to change the background you see every single time you log in to your computer.

In previous version of Windows, user had no option but to use third-parry tools like Tune-Up-Utilities to change the logon screen background. But in Windows 7, the case is different. Windows 7 now supports custom logon screen background.

Replacing the old logon screen is as easy as changing desktop wallpaper (desktop background).

Change the Windows 7 logon screen background picture

Step 1: Download the registry file from here. Extract the file and double-click on the file to enable this feature (Alternative method: right-click, select Merge).

Step 2: Now, head over to the following folder:

C:WindowsSystem32oobe (“C” is your Windows Seven Installation drive)

Step 3: Here, create a new folder named Info. Again, create a new folder inside the Info folder and rename it as backgrounds.

Windows

Step 4: Copy your favorite image file to this folder and rename it as backgroundDefault. Note that the image must be in JPG format and the size should be less than 256KB.

Step 5: You are done. Reboot your system and see the change.

The following files (sorted by width-to-height ratio) are supported in C:WindowsSystem32oobeInfoBackgrounds folder:

* 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 users who prefer to use a third-party instead can check out free tools such as Windows 7 Logon Screen Changer and Logon Screen Rotator to set your own picture as logon screen background withe a mouse click.

Overview

This article outlines the steps required to change the background image of a computer when you are trying to log into it. Using these steps you can display an image behind the log in screen as a reminder to the users. This background can be found under C:WindowsSystem32oobebackground.bmp and is shown in the screenshot below.
Windows 7 logon change user

Default Window’s Background

Customize Your Windows 7 Login Background

  1. Open up your run command. (Fastest way to do is to do ‘Windows Key’ + r)
  2. Type in regedit.

  3. Find HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software> Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Authentication > LogonUI > Background
  4. Double-click on OEMBackground
  5. Change this value to 1.
  6. Click Okayand close out of regedit.
  7. Open up Windows Explorer or My Computer and navigate to your Windows directory.
  8. In your system32 folder in your windows directory, you’ll need to create a couple new folders. For the standard user, go to c:windowssystem32oobe and create a folder labeled info. Inside the info folder, make another folder called backgrounds.
    Your final path should look like c:windowssystem32oobeinfobackgrounds
  9. Place your image in this folder. Note 2 important things:
  10. To test if your background is working correctly, lock your computer with ‘Windows + L.’ Your image should now show up on your Windows Login screen.
  11. Alternatively, name your background to work with specific resolutions. Here are the background names:
Additional Sources Used for Step 11.: http://www.blogsdna.com/2698/you-can-customize-windows-7-logon-background-officially.htm

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