Have you ever wondered how to change the default Windows XP logon screen? Today I got the crazy idea to figure out how to make it look like Windows Vista instead, so I’m writing that up for you.
You’ll have to download and install the free LogonStudio application and make sure that it is set as the default logon handler, which is easy since it will prompt you when you first open it. (Note that this is the same application you can use to customize Windows Vista’s logon screen.)
The three default welcome screens aren’t very impressive, but there’s a ton of great ones on the wincustomize site, including the Vista one you see here.
Next, download and open the Windows Vista Ultimate Logon screen for XP, and select it in LogonStudio as shown above. Once you hit the Apply button, you’ll see your Vista-style logon screen for XP:
Note that this will not work if you are logging into a domain, or if you use the classic style logon with Ctrl+Alt+Del. There’s a way to customize that background image, which I’ll cover in another article.
Download LogonStudio for XP from stardock.com
Download Windows Vista Ultimate Logon Screen for XP
It's unique, at least.
It’s no desktop, but it’s a decent stand-in.
Everyone else making Android phones should be a little worried.
But depending on your home’s layout, you may miss the remote sensor support.
NOTE: You shouldn’t disable your page file unless you really really know what you are doing.
Normally we try and focus on articles about how to customize your computer, but today we’ll take a break from that and do a book review. This is something I’ve not done before, so any suggestions or questions will be welcomed in the comments.
If you want to test an explorer shell plugin or registry hack without having to log off, more technical users will usually just kill the explorer.exe process in Task Manager. Windows Vista has another way to do the same thing that you might not be aware of.
If you are a Microsoft Outlook user that regularly uses iGoogle as your dashboard, have you ever thought about combining the two? It’s nearly trivial to add your iGoogle page to Outlook and make it the startup page.
If you like the look and feel of Vista but don’t want to deal with the headache of swapping Operating Systems, Vista Inspirat from the folks at Crystal XP might be worth considering. Unlike an application such as Window Blinds … Vista Inspirat is completely free (although they do encourage
If you are the type of person that never uses any applications in the system tray, you might be interested in this registry hack to turn it off entirely. I can’t imagine using my own system this way, but we’re all about providing information.
