Credits to the author of this article.

So if you run msconfig > boot and enable "no GUI boot" option, you'll see faded aurora instead of lonely green progress bar during boot process. How to substitute this aurora with an image of your own choice is described in the article above.

Here's the result of my tricks with ResHacker, imagex, PaintShopProX and mspaint, lol :

download link

Preview:

Just replace windows\system32\en-US\winload.exe.mui and don't forget to save/back-up the original file. My file is taken from RC2 (X86), but i think it'll work on RTM as well, it's only resource file. Don't forget to enable "no GUI boot".

Edited December 1, 200619 yr by AlYum

Nice Boot Screen

I was actually just going to post about this article!

someone needs to make this one and in 1024x768

I was actually just going to post about this article!

someone needs to make this one and in 1024x768

Very nice indeed. I need it at 1400x1050 resolution

dont u think that those blue progress bars look a lot like XPs.. otherwise, it's great and btw, wasnt the bootscreen 256-colors? that image looks a lot better than that.. god knows what might happen to it if converted to 256..

to DigeratiPrime:

is the picture in your post your boot screen?

could u please email me one copy

chee.chen@yahoo.com

thanks

well I am not sure of the limitations of the boot screen for vista. I believe you can only use 256 colors, in the example image above no dithering was used so it could be possible. I havent had a chance to try cracking open the boot screen files yet, but if i do i will share what i come up with.

One of the problems with a boot screen in Vista is the switch to high resolution it does by default during boot, this takes time. This is one of the reasons that MS did not put a boot screen in, because it added 6 seconds average to the boot process.

High resolution bootscreens are in true color -24bit, but it doesn't use such thing as progress-bar, just words "Starting Windows Vista". And it doesn't depend on your display resolution - it always is 1024x768, the other image (800x600) is never used. It's not like in XP at all. In XP we could modify ntoskrnl.exe to change default 16-color picture and progress-bar, but in Vista this file is digitally signed and any changes in it make it corrupted, unless someone will find a way to hack self-checking code. If this will ever happen, we will have the option to make 16-color 640x480 bootscreens with progress-bar like in Windows XP, but now - only true-color 1024x768 pictures and forget about progress-bar.

Edited December 3, 200619 yr by AlYum

Just replace windows\system32\en-US\winload.exe.mui and don't forget to save/back-up the original file. My file is taken from RC2 (X86), but i think it'll work on RTM as well, it's only resource file. Don't forget to enable "no GUI boot".

It's working on final Vista Business edition.

Hello all,

I came across this thread in my searches and it’s close to what I’m looking for, so I was wondering if anyone might be able to help.

I’m looking for the file/s in Vista that are responsible for the small green animated progress bar on the first black screen, before final graphic bootscreen appears. I would also like to know what files in XP are responsible for its white progress bar.

I’m assuming in Vista that this progress bar is loaded by winload.exe, but is it perhaps built into winload? Similarly with the XP one, is it a part of ntldr, or separate files?

Thanks folks.

To MaTavish:

to my knowledge the progress bar is a gif animation that is employed while booting, you can use resourcehacker to open ntoskrnl.exe and locate this gif, also any system animation such as the one you see when executing a "delete" command (the animation of tearing files into pieces and send them to the recycle bin) could be found in shell32.dll (also could be opened by resource hacker)

for windows oses, boot progress bar is in the kernel file or in shell32.dll

hope this would help and any corrections are welcomed

Edited December 5, 200619 yr by chee

to DigeratiPrime:

I would like to realize the picture posted as the bootscreen by you, by editing the kernel file of vista.

since i'm not good at Photoshop and I am busy with my application for PH.D study in USA, I need some time.

I'll share it with you

I've merged vista boot image into ntoskrnl.exe ntkrnlpa.exe

but, these modified files can't pass Digital Signature Verification at bootup

anyone know how to endow the modified files with the digital signature of original files?

or how to disable Digital Signature Verification at bootup?

Thanks

well I've found the certificate file ntoskrnl.exe ntkrnlpa.exe bear, but I don't know how to transfer it to the edited files with new boot image imgerged