Note: Only Windows XP boot screens are discussed here.
- What is boot screen?
- It is the image you see when Windows XP starts. By default you will see Windows XP logo and a progress bar. For example, if you use Windows XP Professional you will see the following:
- Where can boot screens be found?
- There are some boot screens on this site in the “Windows XP boot screens” section. There exists a lot of sites with large collections of skins, for example Belchfire.net, ThemeXP.org and others.
- How to apply boot screens?
- You should use LogonUI & Boot Randomizer or BootSkin. The first application supports “.bootscreen” skins, the latter “.bootskin” ones. The first is more robust and feature rich, the second has less limitations on boot screens and is easier to use. More detailed comparison and links. (Using BootScreenView you can change boot screen format, therefore problems are caused only by using features specific to BootSkin.)
- How to create my own boot screen?
- To create a skin supported by LogonUI & Boot Randomizer you will need BootEditor (external link). You will find instructions in the BootEditor’s help.
- To create a skin for BootSkin you can use the following instruction on creating a boot screen (external link).