Foreword

While it was still something special five years ago with a private computer, is today the only part of the vast majority. To stand still by the Gro to out, hobbyists will modify their PCs to true works of art by Miss him a decent paint job or even a Plexiglas window with neon tube. But it must be not just always machine violence to make his computer to something unique. Let’s take for example the Windows startup screen. Admittedly, the Windows logo looks Yes verily not bad from, but in the long run here some more variety and personality in must. In Windows 9 x this thing was still fast and done simply with the change of the logo.sys with a graphics program, Windows 2000, whose Beliebtheit is increasingly rising, the thing looks entirely different. Therefore, in the following article, we want to explain how to still get on Windows 2000 to his own home screen. The whole procedure can be incidentally applied with small exceptions on Windows XP, that we will not go into below however.

General

The change in a system file of the operating system is necessary to change the boot logo of Windows 2000. We take no responsibility for any damage or loss of file, that can occur when the manipulation of the file. Error in the to avoid, you should check twice every step, to reduce to a minimum so the problem areas.

Overview

As in Windows 2000, the logo files for the home screen of the files are outsourced, we must make us in the source code of Windows to look after the coveted pictures. Fündig, you are also very quickly when you immediately starts searching with the file, which is processed as the very first file on the Windows 2000 startup. There is talk of the ntoskrnl.exe, which receives our full attention the following. To read and edit the images present in the file, we use a tool that is available for free as shareware on the Internet available. The program is called resource hacker and can output in 32 bit hidden resources such as cursors, icons, graphics, menus and dialog boxes open files. For us, of course the graphics are interesting in this case, if you but more detail with the program and the Windows system files, you can change even more than just the home screen. However when Windows starts to get to our own logo, we must process these steps to quick overview. 

• It has a 640 x 460 image with 16 colors (4 bit) in the *.BMP format will be created.
• Image with which are exchanged in the ntoskrnl.exe on first position available image.
• The system file protection Windows 2000 must be bypassed or levered.
• The original ntoskrnl.exe must be replaced with our modified version.

Step by step

To simplify something with the thing, we assume the following installed Windows in the default location c: WinNT. Some time for the following steps, you should take you to really make any mistakes.

Step 1:Before we change only a system file, you should create a backup copy of the ntoskrnl.exe, which finds her on the Windowsfestplatte in the Windowspfad under System32 toskrnl.exe. Copies this file but not on your Windows desktop, because you have no access to the path from the recovery console in the event of a case. Instead, you should save the file directly on C: under the name ntoskrnl_kopie.exe. And according to the motto, double holds better, it is also advisable to place the file again under C: WinNTSystem32 with the name ntoskrnl_kopie2.exe.

Step 2:The previously mentioned program resource you download hacker, unzipped it and carries out the “ResHacker.exe”. With the resource hacker we now open the file ntoskrnl.exe in the path c: WinNTSystem32, what is done with “File” and “Open” at lightning speed.

Step 3:If this is done, we see a tree structure with the resources of ntoskrnl.exe on the right side of the program. The file responsible for the opening image can be found resources under the number “1″ with the name “1031″ under the bitmap. In other points, including the graphics for the shutdown, the Windowslogin, or ScanDisk, when a broken shut down run, are kept.

Step 4:At this point you can the resource hacker once minimize and start a graphics program. Because we however not can turn off the Ladestreifen by changing the logo, it is not bad to have so precisely the position of the progress bar and the Strip a template and the template would be better than the Windows boot image itself? Before her so sets the resource hacker for a while in the background, you should still with “Action” and then “save bitmap: 1″ save the image on the hard disk.

Step 5:Now, the artistically gifted part in you is needed at this point. As a graphics program, you can use your Microsoft Paint, Photoshop, Fireworks or Paintshop Pro. I recommend which version, or Microsoft Paint off, because Fireworks no 4Bit can store images and paint not palletized colors however Fireworks, no matter. Thus, only the very expensive Adobe Photoshop or Paintshop Pro available for free as shareware are left over. So you have the choice between these two programs, who has none of the two applications so far, should download the shareware version of Paintshop Pro download.

For starters, is advisable, to work only in the white so upper part of the boot logo, with some more experience, but also the bottom should be no obstacle.

For experienced: This should be noted that the loading of Windows in the launch file is embedded and not be bypassed or moved can. The overlying blue strip running at boot time of Windows on the screen, is created by simple moving pixels in this area. Should be in these 10 pixels wide strip across the entire width of the image of the same color so you can see no movement on booting of Windows.

As a first, you must now use a 640 x 480 image in the BMP format with no more than 16 colors, so a 4-bit color depth, create! There are more, so you can see at boot sometimes not more than one black screen. Especially for Paint Shop Pro, this thing makes very easy. There there is a feature that reduces the color depth. So you can create your boot logo in e.g. 256 colors and then later on the 16-color down computing (colors > decrease color depth). I’m sure that even Photoshop provides such a feature, I have not find however it. After you have designed your boot logo, you must save it in 16 colors in the BMP format for Windows with RLE (run length encoding). The RLE compression is reduced although not absolutely necessary but the image significantly and also the Microsoft create boot logo is so compressed. The colors you are restricted by the way not on the color palette, which exists in the Windows 2000 boot logo. Here’s a package with sample files that can help you somewhat in the endeavor is to help.

Step 6:If you have created your own image, we need to bring it anymore in the ntoskrnl.exe. We use our resource hacker again. We now choose “Action” and then “replace bitmap”. In the following dialog, we select the image with the name “1″ and select our newly created image with “Open File with new Bitmap” and press “Replace”. The image should now be stored in the file. I would stress once again that the image may have no more than 16 colors.

Step 7:Next, we must save the file. Because the system file protection but prevents overwriting the old ntoskrnl.exe. We save our new * .exe preferably to C: under the name ntoskrnl_neu.exe off.

Step 8:Next, we now have to outsmart the system file protection. Because I would not personally make the file protection, we take a small detour. Because all important files are stored, we restart the system now. We however press F8 at the beginning and boot only into safe mode with command prompt. Once done, look like the classic command prompt. Because the system file protection at this point not enabled is, our new file with the old, we can now overridden. To do this we type in the command line copy c: oskrnl_neu.exe c: winntsystem32 a oskrnl.exe. On the question of whether to overwrite the existing file, we type in a “J” hopefully.

Step 9:On the subsequent restart, we should see our own logo now. If Windows now no longer start for some reason, we can boot with the Windows 2000 installation CD-ROM in the recovery console. We have two originals of the ntoskrnl.exe and c: oskrnl_kopie.exe and c: winntsystem32 oskrnl_kopie2.exe, with Windows itself in the path c: winntservicepackfilesi386 oskrnl.exe, in the event that a service pack is installed.

Conclusion

By a few small tricks, we have now come relatively easily to our own boot logo. If there any questions or problems with the upper described procedures, so you can create them like in an extra for this article write a forum post. You will find also some other startup logos, that other readers have kindly provided there. For specific questions on this article, the Forum should be used.