pre-set User icons

[prathapml]

How to pre-set user icons:

The icon (avatar) you see at the Welcome login screen, and in the new Start Menu is nothing but a bmp in "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures" with the relevant user's name. I have 2 users (named "Normal Usage" and "Vaidh") created by using oobeinfo.ini before doing this. So to set the avatar in unattended mode, here's what I do through a cmd from GUIrunonce:

copy "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures\lift-off.bmp" to "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Normal Usage.bmp"


copy "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures\astronaut.bmp" to "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Vaidh.bmp"

(The above isn't a CMD script - deliberately. Customize the idea to your own needs.) I hope this helped somebody. If anyone among you (MSFN'ers) was trying to get this done, and now got it - do post here.

[enuffsaid]

Thanks Prathapml, I'm gonna use this with custom images!

[mmarable]

Nice find, prathapml.

You can also put these paths into $Docs and it'll work as well.

[prathapml]

You can also put these paths into $Docs and it'll work as well.

Maybe not, bcos the user avatars are generated during OOBE (at first-boot), so your manipulation of the .bmp has to be *AFTER* that point in time.

[mmarable]

I plug them into $Docs\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures and it works.

[MichaelF]

I'm kind of a noob at this, but could I put a custom .bmp file (with the right size and everything) into $OEM$\$Docs\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\username.bmp and that would be the image for the corresponding user?

[prathapml]

I suppose it works that way too ('coz mmarable above says it does).

But, personally, this is what I would do:

1. Keep the bmp at "$OEM$\$1\install\" path

2. and copy over the files to the right location using a command (below) from any .cmd which runs at first-logon

3. This would be the command:

copy "%SystemDrive%\install\user1.bmp"  "%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\user1.bmp"

[MichaelF]

Ok, I didn't really care about doing it from the Documents, whichever way worked . Would that overwrite the default file that is already there?

Edit: The reason I'm asking is cuz I can't try it yet on this computer. I don't want to reformat at the moment (there are other users) and I don't have enough ram (128MB) to run a virtual PC.

[prathapml]

No, it wouldn't - if such a file existed, the "copy" command will ask for confirmation to overwrite. If you did want to overwrite, you'd use the /Y switch along with copy, which will do things silently without prompting the user (which is how we basically want our uA installs to be).

Eg:

copy /Y "source_file_location" "destination_file_location"

[WotC]

Has anyone tried to delete the \%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures\ folder? could i do this during T-12/T-13?Delete *.bmp, add bmps of my own and let windows randomly pick one of these? Can i use the %AllUsersProfile% variable during T-12?