Julien-Manici.com Language : French | English

Windows 7 Logon Background Changer

Windows 7 Logon Background Changer : Customize your welcome screen wallpaper

Windows 7 Logon Background Changer is a free open source software that let you change the wallpaper of the Windows 7 logon screen (also known as "welcome screen", "login screen" or LogonUI).

It has been tested successfully with the final version of Windows 7 (RTM) and Windows 7 RC 7100. It works with Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise, in x86 or x64 (32 or 64 bits). It does NOT work with Windows 7 Starter (edition sold with most netbooks). It works also on Windows Server 2008 R2 (but you are not supposed to customize a server).

On a side note, this small program is WPF based, it's a nice technical demo of Windows Presentation Foundation capabilities for those interested in WPF. It requires a decent GPU for the 3D animations to run smoothly. It runs fine with my Radeon HD 3200 on my laptop computer, but it should also work with lower end graphic cards, albeit slowly.

What does it do?

It does NOT change any system file, and the program itself does not requires admin rights to run : it will just ask you to run as admin a very simple cmd file that creates the required folder and registry key with the appropriate rights. Any user of the computer will then be able to change the Windows 7 logon screen wallpaper. You can also prevent users from being able to change the logon screen wallpaper if you don't want them to be able to modify it without administrator rights (option available by clicking on the "Settings" button).
It creates a few JPEG files based on the image you want to put as wallpaper for the Windows 7 login screen, applies the appropriate cropping and sizing and saves them using the best compression quality possible.

License terms
Source code

Change log:
Version 1.3.4 (2009-09-14) :
-fixed a bug where the user could launch the background application process multiple times when clicking on "Apply"
-fixed a bug with the sound file being truncated the first time it is played
-fixed a visual bug in the thumbnails
Version 1.3.3 (2009-09-13) :
-removed the splash screen
-added a mutex to prevent multiple instances from running at the same time
Version 1.3.2 (2009-09-11) :
Fixes the following bug
-When running the application as administrator, if the "background" folder is not created, the application can't apply the wallpaper and will ask to run "enable background change.cmd".
Adds a feature:
-Allows the user to prevent other users from changing the logon background wallpaper.

288 comments - Add a comment

Download

Support Windows 7 Logon Background Changer development :

If you like this application, you can now donate via Paypal :

Comments about Windows 7 Logon Background Changer

New

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/07/27 10:16

Update: The new features are nearly completed. I just have some basic tweaks to make to the code and it should be ready to roll. :) The features include the ability to minize the program to a tray icon in the system tray and access the options from a context menu, and the ability to use your wallpaper as your logon background. It should be ready within a week at the very most.

Posted by ludovic (LuDivX) on 2010/07/24 20:35

Merci pour ce très bon logiciel...

Fun et Simple

BRAVO

Posted by DENIS MSUSA on 2010/07/22 14:07

I like it at first i didn`t think that its possible to change the welcome screen backgroung!but nw I do!
This software is awesome!

Posted by Enigma on 2010/07/27 00:55

I keep having this problem too... It's a race to apply the image before the program closes.

Posted by sheedy on 2010/07/21 07:58

excellent program, looks great and is easy to use.
However i'm having a problem with it - it keeps crashing after about 20 seconds everytime i start it up. i'm using 64 bit windows 7 home premium.thanks for any help or insight you can give

Posted by TBomb on 2010/07/22 06:41

Is it possible that your phone/PDA is "turning off" or going into "sleep mode". What I mean is when you have lost your connection does your phone still display the screen or is it a black screen that have to hit your power button, move the slider (or whatever you do to unlock your phone) and then you can see the wifi remote screen? If so, you will need to go into the display/power saving settings and tell it not to go to sleep after 20 minutes or whatever you have it set to.

Unfortunately, by default Windows Mobile won't continue to run the program in the backround after the screen shuts off unless you use an app that keeps wifi remote running. I have one that I've been using forever and it just turns the app into a service so that even if you change to other apps it still runs. You can turn the screen off and it still runs. I use it primarily for tethering.

Posted by nic on 2010/07/14 13:57

It's a great program but i have one problem. The colors of my pictures are too green. can somebody help me ?

Posted by Marc on 2010/07/14 11:48

Works perfectly and looks very elegant too.

I have emailed you a suggestion about positioning of the logon box and the user icon

Posted by Anthony Lomeli on 2010/07/13 23:27

This is a very good program. I just wish it wouldn't crop my jpg images that are already the appropriate size. It cuts off the part of the image that I want to show.

Posted by darkedge on 2010/07/13 01:25

gracias, excelente programa, bonito y facil de usar.

Posted by Bruce Perrin on 2010/07/10 20:07

Very nice work, sir. This program is nicely executed. I enjoyed the fact that background files were included. I only wish there were more!

Posted by Mikkis on 2010/07/06 08:38

Thank you for this app. Very cool and useful. Worked with my Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.

Posted by samie on 2010/07/05 18:40

Perfect.Absolutely perfect.

Posted by ANDREA on 2010/07/14 16:38

GRANDE PROGRAMMA COMPLIMENTI A TE!!! OTTIMO !!! CI VOLEVA

GREAT PROGRAM COMPLIMENTS YOU! OPTIMAL! IT WANTED TO US

Posted by Virgil on 2010/07/03 23:49

Congratulations! A needed app for the OS.

Posted by Yeahhrr on 2010/07/02 10:49

Hey greats from Hamburg, Germany

This Program is very easy and simple but it\'s the important thing on my system (without Antivirus ect.)

;-)

Posted by Matthew Thomford on 2010/07/13 10:17

It is, for once, nice to be able to change your computer's backgrounds, without all the hassle, and the included backgrounds themselves are top knotch as well. Well done, and bravo to you for offering this with no charge. Very nice indeed:)

Posted by SpankyT on 2010/06/27 06:18

Absolutely fantastic....was just what I was looking for....who know I'd find your program on the first search. THANKS!

Posted by A different AMIT ;) on 2010/06/23 07:01

You rock buddy !! :) Thanks !

Posted by Amit on 2010/06/22 16:07

Undoubtedly extremely useful. Thanks a million.

Posted by vineeth on 2010/06/17 17:11

this is very good

Posted by Arun Sharma on 2010/06/17 13:12

it's awesome
Thanks for providing this background changer

Posted by Shivam on 2010/06/15 08:14

I love this background changer.

Posted by Paulo on 2010/06/14 22:51

Thanks for the welcome screen changer, nice work!

Posted by theLOLflashlight on 2010/06/14 04:25

this is amazing. although, i was wondering where i can find some of those wallpapers at the beginning of the default list. i can't find the files anywhere. where are they located or where can i download them? thankyou for your time :)

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/06/14 15:40

All the photos displayed by default are included in Windows 7.
Windows 7 has a set of region specific photos for several countries. Some of them are included but hidden in C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT

Posted by Tom U. on 2010/06/25 18:33

I've always wanted to change that default background and now thanks to you I can. I'm just wondering, does anyone's screen shake a little when shutting down or logging in? It moves just a bit when I use a different background.

Posted by mark777 on 2010/06/08 16:17

what an AWESOME app!!!!

Posted by Michael O. on 2010/06/06 22:25

Really great stuff!
I use this tool on my private computer. Now I want the same on my business-laptop to have a unique UI.
On my private computer I selected several images out of a huge number of images on my disk. I would be very glad to have a list of these images with their original names and path so I don\'t have to do the selection again. But unfortunately - I didn\'t find where this list is stored (didn\'t find a file or a registry-key).
So I would be great if you could tell me where I can find this list with the preselected images.
Thanks in advance
Michael

Posted by Michael O. on 2010/06/06 12:18

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/06/07 03:12

Thank you! I am sure that Julien appreciates the complements as well! He wrote the original program and I worked on adding a couple of features to it. As far as where it stores images, it actually doesn't store a list anywhere but in memory at this point. It goes by a selected folder and then creates an internal list of the images that are within that folder. Julien or I may be adding the ability to create a list of images in the near future. I am just not sure yet. The best thing to do right now is create a special folder with the images that you want and select that folder in the options. If you want us to add the image list feature, please feel free to let us know. I would be happy to take care of it if it would make things easier.

Thank you!

Posted by Michael O1. on 2010/06/06 18:43

I found it by myself now. But for all who might be as helpless as I was yesterday - this is the explanation.
I created a folder where i gathered all selected images, then i offered this folder to the programm. So indeed, there is an easy way to copy everything from the old computer to the new laptop.
As I said: great stuff!

Posted by MikeeSpace on 2010/06/03 23:12

One Idea!! How hard would it be to add an option to move the logon area around? like in the corner of the top or bottom of the screen, got my girlfriend up and would be nice if the icon wasn't bang smack in the middle of her face lol, would be a nice little feature if its possible :D

Posted by halery on 2010/06/03 19:46

It cool and It doss not have a errr

Posted by Alan.C on 2010/06/02 10:57

Thank's alot. I love it.....

Posted by Vipin Vijayan on 2010/05/30 19:32

thanks a lot. i googled through so many programs but this was just the right one.

Posted by Peanut butter on 2010/05/27 17:47

good thanks

Posted by Firefeniks on 2010/05/25 14:40

dis tool is just great thanks o lot!

Posted by Darren on 2010/05/26 23:41

I am glad that you like it. Julien did an awesome job on this software. I was glad when he made it open source and I jumped at the chance to add new features. Speaking of which, there is a new feature that I am implementing right now that was suggested on the comments here. It is the ability to set your wallpaper as the logon background. :)

Thank you!

Posted by Annamir on 2010/05/23 08:19

This is awesome :)
Thanks for sharing.
www.flickr.com/annamir

Posted by jamenkells on 2010/05/20 08:28

Thank so much...It's so simple but so useful..

Posted by petr.cz on 2010/05/19 12:21

great, greta, great
and simple
thnak you very much fella

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/17 00:48

I am still waiting for Julien to upload the new version of the Logon Background Changer (Version 1.3.6), but in the meantime, you can download it from my Skydrive account here: http://tinyurl.com/win7logonbackgroundchanger

Thank you!

Posted by Jess L on 2010/05/20 01:39

Okay one odd thing so far. I went ahead and grabed the copy off the skydrive from the other post. If I right click on it and select properties it says under details for version 1.3.6.0. I launched it and its says there is a newer version and sends me back here but as best I can tell the download link is for 1.3.4. Am I misunderstanding things or is it just because the update check isn't recognizing the newer file?

Other than that it seems to be running just fine

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/21 02:34

Actually, that is just a side effect of the fact that I didn't go through the update mechanism that Julien put into the code. He didn't upload it to his site, so there really was no way that I could do so until he does. It only asks that one time. Just becuase it thinks that there is a newer version due to his upgrade checking code. :)

Thank you!

Posted by JohnJ on 2010/05/18 01:20

Good job on this version too Julien!!

Thanks Darren, I\'ll try the auto mode and freak out my family the next couple of days.

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/19 01:49

Actually, Julien and I both worked together on this feature, and the multi-core capability. You are very welcome. It should be good for a few laughs lol. I imagine they will be scratching their heads wondering why it keeps switching. :D

Thank you!

Posted by suvasis sahoo on 2010/05/26 14:28

i dnt .like this type of product
pl. send some higher of us

Posted by Bluesmoke69 on 2010/05/16 13:34

Great tool. Make paypal available to receive a donation. You deserve.

Posted by mohamed on 2010/05/16 02:06

merci sur ce travail suffisant

Posted by DIGGA on 2010/05/14 15:07

Automatic wallpaper changing every hour
with the pictures in a folder

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/14 20:30

The next release that is coming very soon does that. :) It also uses multiple cores if your computer has them to speed up the background change.

Thank you!

Posted by Garibaldi99 on 2010/05/13 18:01

Hey, thanks for this.
Very easy to use and slick interface.
I wanted to ask though, do you know a way of moving the user login box and image.
I spent a lot of time with logins in the XP days and made a few (using the stardock thingy and some trial-and-error code hacking).
I want to do something like this one I did (http://www.skinbase.org/rate.php?skins=34058) so the dialog appears in an unobtrusive part of the image.
Any ideas?

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/14 01:21

Unfortunately, this kind of change requires to modify some system files, a thing that should be avoided since it can cause serious issues with windows updates and future service pack.

There are many sites which describe the procedure to do so, but I think it's a bad idea to mess with system files...

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/14 02:44

That is very true. It is never a good thing to mess with system files. I would recommend proceeding with caution as well. :)

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/13 20:10

I am not sure if this is possible or not. I looked into it, but couldn't find any resources. Any thoughts on it Julien? :)

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/13 01:09

Just a quick update. We have now implemented multi-core functionality into the background changing feature. If you have a multi-core CPU, you should see significant performance improvement when you click to apply the background. Once I submit the final code to Julien, we should be able to upload it.

Thank you!

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/10 02:15

Great news! The new version is coming very shortly! :)

Posted by Tim on 2010/05/07 19:40

I\'ve been using this for a while, but I just reformatted my computer and noticed that the latest version will not start unless I run it as Administrator.

The window frame appears... sits there for a moment.. and then crashes without saying anything. As soon as I told the shortcut to run as Administrator, it worked perfectly.

The error could be a bit more graceful, as it took even me a few minutes to realize that it wasn\'t my fault (missing .net, etc)

Win7 x64, .Net 4.0

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/07 21:26

I guess you have installed a newer graphic driver after reformating your computer.

On my HP TX2 laptop I had the same issue because of a bug which was triggered by the use of a recent graphic driver from amd/ati AND an old BIOS version.

see this topic for more information :
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/wpf/thread/2d3ff897-41bc-457e-9ff0-59c58f9c9a2c

This issue caused every WPF-based applications to crash when they were run as limited user. When running them as administrator, they worked perfectly.
As my app is probably the only WPF-based app you use, this bug happens only in my application.

By the way, no need to worry about .net framework version, because the .NET framework 3.5 SP1 is already included in Windows 7.

Posted by PlayerJSC on 2010/05/06 06:38

The visual application that finaly changes Windows 7's fruity login screen. This application should be in a Microsoft commercial and have someone say "this is my idea but windows 7 left it out... don't worry Julien-Manici.com has the solution".

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/06 18:27

lol

actually, I would rather thank Microsoft for implementing in Windows 7 an easy way to change the logon wallpaper without altering any system file.
It's a huge step forward compared to what you had to do to change the logon wallpaper in xp or Vista...

Posted by Xyverz on 2010/05/06 06:18

Good work. Thanks!

Posted by iRajjal on 2010/05/05 22:36

great application thanks...., i have a small problem i want to share it with you
i'm using Win7 Enterprise 64bit on my laptop, after changing the logon screen to a new customized wallpaper the WinKey+L (Lock shotcut) doesn't work any more and when i restore the original windows logon screen it works again.... any idea about it???

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/06 18:31

I just tested on a computer running Windows 7 enterprise x64 joined to a domain, and I have no such issue... that's weird.
My app doesn't run in the background once the wallpaper is changed, so it can't be altering the way Windows processes keyboard shortcuts.

Posted by Random Programmer on 2010/05/03 17:03

I thank you for creating this application, however, you should keep conservative programming practices, like cache. My wallpaper folder is about a gig and every time I have to restart the application it has to load each wallpaper. This process usually takes around 45 minutes each start--if you're going to code applications for productivity purposes, please keep intricacy like this in mind. Otherwise, you're just a lazy programmer :P

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/04 05:08

I have been considering to implement thumbnail caching, but that causes two problems:

-where to cache the thumbails? people use to hate files like thumb.db that are automatically added inside each folder by Windows XP. I don't want to mess with the user's folders content.

-how to ensure user privacy? if the user deletes some pictures, he certainly doesn't want them to be stored in any other form on his hard drive (even as small thumbnails)

When I'll find an elegant solution to these issues, I will implement picture caching in Win7 Logon Background Changer and in WIFI Remote Access which also suffers from this performance issue.

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/06 01:07

How about making the image loading on launch a background process? All you would have to do then is simply show the user a message saying that the directory is big and the program needs time to load the images. It won't speed it up, but at least it will be a more elegant solution. In the meantime, I will consider how the images could be loaded faster. What do you think?

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/06 18:20

Currently, the app is useable even while the thumbnails are loading. It's not like if the window stopped responding while loading the thumbnails. (however you can't select a picture if its thumbnail is not yet displayed)

I did a slightly better job in the WPF-based picture gallery in WIFI Remote Access : when the pictures thumbnails are not yet loaded, their name is displayed instead, which allows the user to select them. However that doesn't solve the loading speed issue.

There is no way to speed it up without implementing a kind of thumbnail caching. I believe windows has no APIs allowing to retrieve the Windows Explorer pictures cache, which means I have to cache data inside my app folder.

As soon as I will have implemented this solution for Wifi Remote Access, I will backport it to Win7LogonBackgroundChanger.

Posted by Mr. F on 2010/05/05 03:57

Don't listen to that guy. If he wanted to be prefect he should had made it himself. You have a great program and it works great. :-)

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/06 18:23

Thank you :)
But don't worry, I'm always open to critics.
That fact is that this guy is right: lack of picture caching is frustrating. I need to find a solution to make this app more comfortable to use (especially for those who change their logon wallpaper frequently).

Posted by Peter Holland on 2010/04/30 01:35

Top application!
Thanks very much Julien.

Posted by wasa on 2010/04/24 11:37

excellent software thanks nice job

Posted by mk_eoin on 2010/04/22 23:11

Brilliant Application, does so little yet makes my laptop feel like a new machine, thank you!

Posted by OZIMAIDEN on 2010/04/19 06:55

EXCELLENT LOVE IT A REAL GOOD SOFTWARE

Posted by Ḿ&#601 on 2010/04/18 07:53

Thanks for chsring a great utility that makes that task so easy instead of hacking the registry. Best of all it's free.
Great job

Thanks again

Posted by Goran on 2010/04/16 23:34

Where does that default elephant picture come from ? I have searched my folders and could not find it.

Thanks for the great utility...

Posted by zaba on 2010/04/26 03:44

how to automatically change the logon screen periodically or at every startup? thanks.

Posted by chrisnvidia on 2010/04/14 21:20

bonsoir existe t'il une mise à jour car le programme s'arrte avec une erreur , je suis sous windows 7 64bits pack familiale
[url=http://www.hiboox.fr/go/images/informatique/erreur,01bdb413922696937fa0881bfca74bc0.png.html][img]http://free0.hiboox.com/images/1510/01bdb413922696937fa0881bfca74bc0.png[/img][/url]

Posted by YOU ARE THE BEST on 2010/04/14 16:40

Hi , i cant open the source code in vb 2008 ,i add you in msnger 2009 , so plz you can shared the source code in a notepad?? Plz...
And i thanks you for sharing you art with us...
Thank you.

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/02 20:19

To those that are interested, I am currently working on implementing various ideas that are presented in these comments. One feature idea that I like is the randomization of the Login Backgrounds. Therefore, I will be implementing it and submitting it to Julien for his approval. :) I also added the ability to load it automatically at startup and removed the need for it to call the external .cmd file when the oobe\info\backgrounds folder isn't present. Feel free to present other ideas as I continue to help upgrade this program.

Thank you!

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/05/04 05:39

Originally, I designed the CMD file so that users who don't trust my app can execute the CMD file as administrator manually, and run my app as a limited user.
This way, non-developer users could be sure that my app is not going to harm their computer or mess with system files, without have to look at the source code.

Anyway, thank you for making this app evolve as requested by many users ^^

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/06 01:09

Ah ok. I get what you are doing. We can stick with that solution then. :) No problem. I am glad to help out. :)

Posted by Om is Om on 2010/04/13 18:15

You are an artist, and a real creator. Your taste is great, I would not write this complement for a program for $.

But to say thank you for sharing your art with us.

Can you add what version in the About area.

May be one day you will make it to change automatically from the folder and change can take place as a choice of every day every 2 days,etc.

Many people that did not write, and will not express their gratitude, but on their behalf, and mine, Thank you.

Om

Posted by Saul on 2010/04/05 17:14

Hi! I downloaded the app, when I select the folder it didnt show any images, I try like 10 different folders but i cant see any images at all, a have win 7 ultimate 64 bits, you have any ideas?

Hope you can help! Thanks

Posted by Saul on 2010/04/05 10:18

Posted by Steinar on 2010/04/04 19:01

Don't want the shortcut in my control panel. How do I remove please?

SD

Posted by Someone on 2010/04/04 13:49

Works great. But you can also change the background with some registry tweaks, so you do not need a program like this.

Posted by Jess L on 2010/05/20 03:16

Yes, you can do it manually but seeing how the author isn't demanding you pay for it and its so dang handy why do it the harder way.

Truthfully, if the Authors were to put up a paypal donate link I would certainly be willing to donate something just for how nice it works and the convenience of not having to edit the registry and resize pics manually.

Posted by Kenneth Judy on 2010/03/31 23:09

I am running Win7x64 Pro. I launched the program and browsed to my Public picture desktop wallpaper folder that contains a lot of 1920x1200 images. The program crashed. Now it crashes every time I run it because it is pointing to the folder.

Description:
Stopped working

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: CLR20r3
Problem Signature 01: win7logonbackgroundchanger.exe
Problem Signature 02: 1.3.4.0
Problem Signature 03: 4aaea139
Problem Signature 04: PresentationCore
Problem Signature 05: 3.0.0.0
Problem Signature 06: 4a1757c0
Problem Signature 07: 42e
Problem Signature 08: b
Problem Signature 09: System.NotSupportedException
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Posted by Andrew Nunez on 2010/03/30 02:23

Thank you so much for creating the background changer. The logon screen was always a disappointment starting up an otherwise great OS (so far !!). Now I have a poop-eating grin when I start Win 7, instead of wondering if I would ever be able to change that particular background. Thanks again ! ! ! !

Posted by McFex on 2010/03/29 19:36

I love to personalize my windows, so you just gave me a tool, that was desperately needed ;)!!!
great work - something to add to your list for the next update:
an automatic function that changes the wallpapers all by it self. it could do it right when the system starts, or before it shuts down. that would be really awesome!!!
but it´s a nice tool anyway, thanks for your efforts!

@josh: got Win7Ultimate running on 64 bit, and it works like a charm...

Posted by Josh on 2010/03/28 22:41

The app crashes about 30 seconds after i launch it. I have the 64 bit version of Home Premium

Posted by Cathal on 2010/03/31 01:23

I have the 64bit version of windows 7 and i have to say that it works perfectly. Good Job :)

Posted by slyzerx on 2010/03/28 04:30

awesome~!!! this is GREAT!! you did a nice job there!!! THANK YOU!!

Posted by liuming on 2010/03/27 02:10

This software very well, thank you!

Posted by Edgar on 2010/03/25 18:32

Thank you very much for this great application. Can you make it change automatically from time to time? It would be great.

Posted by TimeLord on 2010/03/22 17:00

This is awsome!
i heard you can also do it manualy.
but this is much better!
i have a friend who likes it he is currently using vista
does this also work in vista?

thanks

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/03/22 17:22

My app is not compatible with XP/Vista.
Your friend should use Stardock Logon Studio if he wants to change his logon background on vista.

And yes, you can do it manually on Windows 7 by creating some pictures appropriately sized in a system folder, that's exactly what my app does.

On previous versions of windows, a dll file must be edited to change the logon background, that is what Stardock Logon Studio and other tools of that kind do. However on Windows 7 it's better to avoid modifying the imageres.dll file, since there is a cleaner way to change the logon background.

Posted by dafmat71 on 2010/03/22 04:27

Salut super réalisation, une petite question, si imageres n'est pas modifié, alors où se trouvent les fichiers créés?

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/03/22 17:22

Ils sont créés ici : C:\Windows\System32\oobe\Info\backgrounds

Posted by mld on 2010/03/21 06:05

Thank you!!!!!!!!!this is the best...n god bless you!!!!!!!!

Posted by ISSAC on 2010/03/20 17:52

Really a nice tool, and it makes my system more beautiful~ thanks a lot

Posted by Henri on 2010/03/20 16:44

I have installed your program in w7 ultimate with sis mirage m672, and cannot saw any image in the top from select. I installed in another computer with w7 professional and everything it´s ok.

Thanks

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/03/22 17:24

I suppose it's a bug in WPF hardware acceleration due to some bad graphical drivers.

Posted by Fritch on 2010/03/18 00:34

I love these types of programs from Login Studio for both XP and Vista and now this little app for 7. Ive been using this app since 7 went into RTM but noticed that it was so unstable e.g. crashing when choosing folders. I ignored this thinking that the developer has noticed this and would be fixing the bug but now i have the latest version and yet still is unstable. Please make this stable for the OS

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/03/22 17:26

Sorry for these bugs, I didn't manage to reproduce them, so I have issues fixing them.

I will probably update this app soon based on the better code I wrote in WIFI Remote Access WPF picture gallery.

Posted by cfh1030 on 2010/03/17 05:14

This is a beautiful little program, love it.
If there was one thing I wish is that It would automaticly change like once a week from a predetermined folder...Ahhhhhhhh if only I was a programer.

Posted by hosssssssssssss on 2010/03/17 01:40

i love it
so good

Posted by AGM on 2010/03/16 14:53

I love the program.

However, when I run it from inside the zip file, Zone Alarm asks if the software can connect to 217.76.132.56:http. I haven\'t installed it, so I don\'t know if it wants to connect then.

Why is this connection necessary?

Thank you.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/03/16 14:58

That's because of the update checking feature. You can deny the connection. (you can check the source code, it doesn't do anything harmful)

Posted by AGM on 2010/03/16 15:06

Ahhhh... everything works again. For some reason, when I denied the program before posting here, Firefox wasn't able to connect to the internet again until I rebooted.

I now see it had nothing to do with your program, just an apparent internet connection hiccup.

Thanks again for the great software, Julien! And for the immediate support!

Posted by Samuel Pomerantz on 2010/03/14 16:46

Muy buena la aplicacion

Posted by Daniel (France) on 2010/03/14 16:01

FORMIDABLE !
Merci beau beaucoup.
Thank you very much.

Posted by Daniel (France) on 2010/03/14 17:06

Mon commentaire précédent a été posté incomplet.

FORMIDABLE !

J'apprécie ce logiciel, d'autant plus que j'ai plusieurs comptes d'utilisateurs (sessions) sur mon PC et que le retour à l'accueil est donc relativement fréquent.

Merci beaucoup.
Thank you very much.

Posted by Jimb on 2010/03/12 20:53

Win7 64Pro - Keeps coming up with information box telling me it needs authorization to change logon screen. I hit yes and it comes back and asks again and again. I ran as admin and same thing.

Posted by pranav on 2010/03/12 16:33

hey i hvae both 7 nd XP....
i satisfied with windows 7...
bt hey can u have this same software for Xp????
if u have this type of software thn plzzz send me the download link for the software on my id.........

plzzzzz

pranav...

Posted by Kim on 2010/03/12 03:11

I have Windows 7 (32bit) installed on one partition and XP Pro installed on another. When running the software in Windows 7 (of course) it comes up saying that I cannot run the software in XP or Vista.

Any ideas?

Cheers,
K.

Posted by Carl on 2010/03/10 05:02

Hi,great program! Works but keeps crashing. I have windows 7 x64 home premium.

Thanx

Carl

Posted by Mikey on 2010/03/10 19:14

Crashes with my Win 7 Professional copy as well.

Posted by Carla on 2010/03/09 18:47

Wow this is an excellent app. Thank you very much for doing such a great job and for distrubting this freely.

Posted by Morgan on 2010/03/14 12:08

salut j\'aimerai enlever le nom de windows au début, quand l\'écran de session apparait .merci d\'avance

Posted by Eric73 on 2010/03/06 17:52

Un grand bravo pour ce programme génial.Ca manquait vraiment sur windows 7. Merci et Continue comme ça

Posted by Ray on 2010/03/02 01:21

Thank you, Julien, for an excellent program. This is just what we needed to give Windows 7 that final touch. Well done!

Posted by Admiral on 2010/02/27 23:16

Works great, now can you make a program that increases the size of the Account Picture. By not using passwords the size is very small.

Posted by Fletch on 2010/02/27 09:22

Hello, I have tried the program with no luck. I did everything correct and it shows the background image on the preview but when I hit lock and go back to the logon screen it is unchanged! I have also tried shutting down and restarting. Please Help

Posted by andrew on 2010/02/27 13:19

hi!

there\'s no need to install any utility at all.
have a look at the following blog:
http://blog.lieberlieber.com/2010/02/25/customize-your-windows-7-logon-screen/

only thing needed is a registrykey, and an image in a specific directory

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/02/27 10:49

Did you click on "apply this background"?
and did you wait until the "please wait" message disappears?

If you are using Windows 7 Starter edition, it will not work as Win7 Starter doesn't allow this customization.

Posted by Core on 2010/02/27 01:38

This is xlnt.

i want to show others my login screen.
because with your logon app it looks awesome. thx

the problem is that printscreen and fraps do not work in order to take a screenshot of the login screen.I tried screenshooting the app but the preview size of the login screen is too small.

keep up the good work

Posted by Dave72 on 2010/02/26 22:53

HI i am glad I came across this. I am downloading it rite after I write this.t please check out my page loney72.com!

Thank you all,
Dave

Posted by jerome on 2010/02/23 09:12

nice one!!!

Posted by olivier on 2010/02/21 10:16

merci beaucoup pour se progame vraiment trés facile d'utilisation et trés pratique encore merci.

Posted by LatinoBoyPT on 2010/02/18 03:38

Best software ever! keep up with the good work!

Posted by Troubleshooter on 2010/02/16 03:31

Worked fine, then all of the sudden I add a folder and the program crashes. Now when I launch the program it immediately crashes.

Posted by Juan on 2010/02/14 01:23

Muy bueno st progra. me gustaria usarlo i poder asi mejorar la apariencia d mi win.7 gracias.

Posted by Josh S. on 2010/02/13 15:47

Your the best!

Posted by Aric on 2010/02/13 07:42

Thankyou for your little program , i like it very much , and it works perfectly

Posted by sagar agarwal on 2010/02/06 19:32

your application works perfectly fine for me and iam very much pleased to say that it is better than star dock vista changer. i removed it after using ur thing.
hope i may get any other usefull app. for my pc from you.

Posted by Mark E. Thompson on 2010/02/04 00:59

How about a randomize option. It could be at every logof or log on it changes the setting... Other wise GREAT PROGRAM!!! Best one in my oppinion thats out there including the pay to use ones.

Posted by Billy E on 2010/02/03 11:55

What is the resolution it wants to change the images to? All my wallpapers look stretched and pulled?

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/02/03 15:13

It converts (and resize/crop) the images to the 12 supported resolutions + a generic image that is at the current screen resolution in case your current resolution is not included in the list of resolution supported by windows 7 logonui wallpaper ressources.

Could you tell me what is your resolution? It must be something unusual. Please take a look at the files located in C:\Windows\System32\oobe\Info\backgrounds
and tell me it they look normal.

Try to choose another logon wallpaper and tell me if the problem is still there.

Posted by Mark E. Thompson on 2010/02/03 01:17

How about a randomize option. It could be at every logof or log on it changes the setting... Other wise GREAT PROGRAM!!! Best one in my oppinion thats out there including the pay to use ones.

Posted by Guenni on 2010/02/02 21:30

Works fine, thank you very much!

Posted by diabloescarlata on 2010/02/13 00:27

The app works flawlessly with windows 7 home premium. I just love it. It is very simple to use, and it looks nice when you turn on the computer, and people is watching (show off app :) ). Also the quality of the image displayed is EXCELLENT...full screen!!!
Thanks a lot for the app.
Where can I download cool backgrounds?
thanks

Posted by Thozi on 2010/02/02 20:54

Thank you so much! After working on registry tipps and tricks and hacks and whatnot and it just didnt do it, I finally found oyur superfine app that works like a charm. You saved my day (and a life, cause I was about to kill one of these Microsoft "§(%"§%)=(!'s for making such a basic demand so unaccessible one more time) O:-)

Posted by Emmanuel on 2010/02/01 20:41

Didn\'t work for me under 7 starter for Asus Eee PC

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/02/01 22:02

Indeed, as stated on this page:

"It works with Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise, in x86 or x64 (32 or 64 bits). It does NOT work with Windows 7 Starter (edition sold with most netbooks)."

Posted by Dom on 2010/01/30 19:56

Super ca fonctionne très bien!
Merci!
Bon boulot mec!

Posted by Dominique on 2010/01/29 20:16

Exellent.Tout a fait ce que je cherchais et en plus trés facile d'utilisation
Bravo et merci beaucoup

Posted by Nick Craver on 2010/01/28 21:31

Excellent use of WPF, I use this to quickly setup all my new 7 machines. Thanks for the great app!

Posted by Lokesh on 2010/01/28 16:07

ITS gREAT

Posted by Recep on 2010/01/27 16:19

So good app. really great job
you do it better then microsoft :D:D

Posted by malaysian on 2010/01/26 09:25

good job.very nice application. simple and easy =)

Posted by Dep Trai on 2010/01/23 23:30

Thank you so much.
Cheer

Posted by E-Dog on 2010/01/22 06:42

Great program! I am sure you are open to suggestions and I was wondering if you were able to add a feature to change the logon background automatically. Thanks

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/01/24 22:02

Many people asked me that feature, unfortunately I don't want to implement it since it would involve to add a background process running at Windows start up, and I'm against such a behavior because too many process of that kind can really slow down a computer without providing a real usefulness.

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/04 03:31

To be honest, I compromised on that one. :) I added an option in the options panel in order to give the user the choice and explained that if automatic startup is disabled, randomizing the wallpaper upon logging into windows cannot be enabled.

Posted by DaRkoTiK on 2010/01/21 18:51

Merci pour ce programme fonctionnel et gratuit

Posted by Spnxx on 2010/01/21 08:56

just want to let you know how much i appreciate this great program of yours... thank you

Posted by Rick Rickson on 2010/01/21 08:01

Awesome!! We need more programmers like you !! Thanks a million !!

Posted by nzuthu on 2010/01/24 10:34

Very good work. A simple program, usable and very practical. Very nice user interface. Congratulations. Thanks for sharing the source code. Greetings from Mexico.

Posted by kevin on 2010/01/04 10:21

been trying to figure this out for weeks now and i came accross your program thanks its just what i wanted and so easy to use again thanks
Kevin

Posted by Benjy on 2010/01/02 12:15

Excellent Programme 100% Many Thanks

Posted by Luigi on 2010/01/01 13:59

This application is very good!! Thanks

Posted by Keith on 2009/12/30 17:31

Works great! I've given the link out to all my friends and co workers. My GF already had a crazy "Twilight - New moon" theme, and this just made it worse/better >.< hehe Thanks again!!

Posted by ed on 2009/12/29 22:12

i love this logon background changer. does anyone know how to change the actual boot like when u first start up the computer. where it says windows 7 loading. i tried bootskins but didnt work for me. wish this application had that feature as well.

Posted by TEXASMADE1978 on 2010/01/19 05:13

This will tell you how to do it. Hope this helps.

http://www.sevenforums.com/customization/11930-change-boot-logo-screen.html

Posted by Klaw117 on 2009/12/29 05:47

I really love this software and I used it when I first installed Windows 7, but when I use it now, it always crashes 5 seconds after I open it. How can I get this to work?

I have a feeling this might be because I accidentally deleted the picture that was being used as the background. I noticed it after I restarted the computer and the default background was back on. Did deleting the picture somehow damage the application?

Posted by ZED on 2009/12/29 03:34

It does not work/show properly with a wide screen monitor (1920x1200).

Posted by Kakah on 2009/12/24 06:40

thks a lot..
im realy love this software..

Posted by Saikat on 2009/12/24 15:15

vary nice

Posted by Anand on 2009/12/21 20:19

Using the stardock software i.e logonscreen changer I changed the logon screen but now it is not able to retrieve the original i.e by default windows seven logon screen.
Can any one tell the solution.
The above is not working

Posted by koa on 2009/12/30 19:06

Open Stardock LogonStudio, and select the "WINDOWS DEFAULT" and APPLY.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/12/22 17:28

Stardock Logonscreen changer alters the imageres.dll system file which contain the original logon screen background.

My application uses the method introduced in Windows 7 for changing the logon screen background without altering this system file.

To restore the original background after using stardock's software, you will need to restore the original imageres.dll system file (you can take it from another windows 7 install of the same architecture). My app can't help you with this.

Posted by Vicente on 2009/12/20 20:33

love this program. thanks

Posted by William on 2009/12/19 03:16

where can i a copy of those backgrounds of that screenshot?
http://www.julien-manici.com/content/img/win7bg.jpg

Posted by qerkop on 2009/12/20 08:52

theres a link to a page with the picture you want.
or if you dont trust the link provided from me:
http://images.google.com and query "windows 7 wallpaper lake"

http://images.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://windows7wallpapers.net/wallpapers/beautiful_lake-1280x800.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.simpledesign.ch/%3Fp%3D277&usg=__EWsjZIs8dXr3o_oM200RCVLqvP8=&h=800&w=1280&sz=284&hl=de&start=9&itbs=1&tbnid=UV-lneWMNismZM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwindows%2B7%2Bwallpaper%2Blake%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Dde%26sa%3DG

qerkop

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/12/19 12:13

These are the backgrounds that are included with the english version of Windows 7.

Depending on your Windows version language, the wallpapers included are not the same.
There are many sites that allow you to download these wallpapers if you have a non-english version of Windows 7. Do a search on google, you will find them easily.

Posted by nXqd on 2009/12/19 02:46

Great software . I need to refresh my comp :D

Posted by deameat on 2009/12/18 13:25

I just installed this program on my windows 7 32 bit rtm Thanks for the kick butt program. It makes this so easy no editing registry like some other ways that have been on other sites. Again nice work

Posted by detach on 2009/12/17 02:58

love this program .have netbook with win7 start works like a champ . thanks

Posted by Azeem Tahir on 2009/12/16 13:17

Nice Work! Will check it today. Hope it will suffice! Thanks!

Posted by Blumonde on 2009/12/12 10:58

Very cool gadget, Julien! Thank you for taking away the pain of seeing the original MS borrring background everytime.

Take care buddy and keep up your fabulous work.

Posted by Leon_ID on 2009/12/11 20:39

Very sad but it won't work on my Win7 x64 ;( crashes every time i run it. Setup does the same thing too. I've tried it on 2 64 bit systems with the same result. Please help me! I love this piece of software on my x86 system!!!!

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/12/11 21:03

Is it a clean install of windows or an install from an OEM who put his own logon screen?

It works ok with every computer I tested (x86 and x64).
Try to run the program as administrator.

If it doesn't work, go to C:\Windows\System32\oobe\Info and remove the "backgrounds" folder.

If it still doesn't work, maybe it is an issue with your graphic driver/hardware. I had this issue with an HP TX2 with radeon HD3200 drivers. A driver downgrade OR a bios upgrade have solved my issue.

Posted by Leon_ID2 on 2009/12/13 16:56

I\'m talking about clean fresh installed x64 Windows7. Not the OEM version and so on....
I\'ve already tryed to run it As Administrator but it crashed one more time again ;(
At the C:\\Windows\\System32\\oobe\\Info i do not have BACKGROUNDS folder. There is only background.bmp file with the default logon wallpaper. Since first run of software i already changed 3 drivers revisions (Yes i had an ATI card HD4850). My BIOS is updated to the final relise at both of my x64 Win7 systems. (One is desktop and another one is acer 5930 Notebook).
So could be another proposals about it??? I do not lose a hope to run it on my x64bit Win7... :((((((

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/12/13 18:53

That's really weird!

try to delete this folder :
C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Local\http___www.julien-manici

I don't think it will work, but it's worth trying it...

You can also try to start windows in safe mode. (press F8 just before windows startup)
If it doesn't crash in safe mode, then the problem must be linked to a graphic driver incompatibility with WPF based applications.

I'm sorry I can't help more. It has been working fine on every x64 based computer on which I installed it (except the HP which had a driver/bios issue), thus I don't know where the issue could come from.

Posted by Mike M on 2010/02/15 20:10

I had this same problem, tried all those things and it still crashed. I found though that moving the picture I wanted to use to a different folder (like the Desktop) and changing the directory; that didn't cause the program to crash. Perhaps there were too many images in the folder or as a whole their size in bytes was too much?

Great program! I use it a couple times a month because I don't like keeping the same background. The other program out there doesn't work at all, so keep up the good work!

Posted by holley2583 on 2009/12/22 22:53

I had this installed on my brand new W7 64-bit and worked perfectly with Intell Graphics chip, no delay or anything. Then i had to do an entire Recovery for several reasons, one being my Intel Graphics Chip being Non responsive, but we never figured out why, so ive redownloaded the program, and lets hope this isnt the reason and i'll have to remove it cuz the default lockscreen image stinks to high heaven!

Posted by Rob S on 2009/12/16 13:48

I just tried it on my clean x64 install and it worked like a charm. Thanks for making this so easy.

Posted by Chuck Z on 2009/12/18 20:18

We need more pics, tho

Posted by aextrym on 2009/12/09 02:14

Very good program. Simply amazing. Thanks

Posted by Aris Setiadi on 2009/12/01 23:57

Thanks for sharing information...,
try it now....!!!!

Posted by Jerome Henry on 2009/11/27 15:26

Amazing program!
Efficient, light and free. Thanks a ton Julien!
Jerome - RTP USA

Posted by Brad on 2009/12/13 08:31

Works great on my win 7 64 bit, great gadget

Posted by V (my name is V) on 2009/11/26 17:47

Amazing!

Thanks for the wonderful software you\'ve made ;)

.-

Posted by Erik on 2009/12/12 09:07

Thanks for "backgrounds folder" tip.

Posted by stephaie1 on 2009/11/24 19:23

i was wondering if your program will work on windows 7 starter versions on my Hp NETBOOK ???? ... OR ELSE my only alternative is to go buy the home premium version??? HELPPP

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/11/25 12:31

Sorry, it won't work with Windows 7 Starter.

Microsoft wants you to buy Home Premium to be able to customize your Windows 7.
Maybe there are some workarounds available with other applications (that would edit some .exe or .dll system files) ...

Posted by John on 2009/11/22 14:37

Hey Julien,

very nice tool!

Could you make an option which changes the Logon Background every new or after 5 logons or a change it every day automatically?

Thx

John

Posted by Darren Tebo on 2010/05/06 07:06

John, I have the initial version of your requested feature completed and I am submitting it to Julien for approval tomorrow. It doesn't allow the user to set the timeframe yet, but it does allow you to enable random backgrounds that will change every hour.

Thank you.

Posted by aydin ozdemir on 2009/12/05 11:46

sagol dostum

Posted by Guru Prasad . k on 2009/12/07 10:29

Could you can make the option to change logon Backgroud for every login.........Thanks

Posted by JohnJ on 2009/12/07 15:53

Great work Julien.
I knew I wasn't the only one that hated those lines with the curly-q's. My log-on still looks like msft though, the pdc08 graphic.
V1.3.4 on my Win7x64pro didn't make the background folder for the admin. UAC was on default. I tried putting it in your folder first then in my pics folder, the latter worked.

Posted by Jens on 2009/11/21 16:14

Hi,
it doesn't work with my W7 Ultimate 64 Bit. I always get the message "This programm needs the authorization ... click yes". I am clicking "yes" and this window repeatedly opens. The picture is not applied and nothing changes. Any idea why it does not work?

Thx

Jens

Posted by Simon on 2009/11/23 15:38

i've got that problem to with the dreamscene

Posted by Taylor Miller 1 on 2009/11/23 09:53

Dear Jens; to fix your problem with it not working with your Win 7 x64 computer, please try this method of mine.
1. Fist of all please right click on the program or program shortcut.
2. On right click menu please click Troubleshoot Compatibility, then the Troubleshoot Program Compatibility window should appear.
3. Then Click on the next window, which has four options on it, pick:worked on earlier versions, requires additional permissions, Then click next.
4.Then pick the Vista SP 2, next button
5.Click on start program,if that works or goes wrong, then click next.
6. You\'ll be given three options, they are:if it worked click Yes save these settings, No try different settings, no report the problem to Microsoft and check online for a solution.
That is the end, and I hope that my method works for you and maybe for others.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/11/21 18:01

Are you using it on a clean install of windows, or the windows setup from your computer manufacturer (i.e: HP, Acer, ...) ?

Maybe your computer manufacturer has already put a custom wallpaper and this mess with what my program tries to do.

Try running directly my application as administrator (right click on the executable, "Run as administrator"). This should work.
If it still doesn't work please go to C:\Windows\System32\oobe\Info and remove the "backgrounds" folder.

Please tell me if it solves your problem or not.

Posted by Jens on 2009/11/29 22:21

Hi Julien,

I am using a windows setup from the computer store - a chain of stores that put their own wallpapers.

I removed the backgrounds folder and then it worked. Thanks a lot for your help!

Posted by Cesar Luna on 2009/11/21 05:22

Julien,Congratulations!Good job!Spectacular customize in windows 7!Bravo!!!
Cesar Luna
Rio de Janeiro
Brasil

Posted by PJH on 2009/11/19 23:29

Brilliant tool! thankyou for this it works a treat.....

Posted by diabless6 on 2009/11/12 18:57

Excellent ce petit logiciel !

Le seul hic c'est que le WPF est beaucoup trop gourmand... Même le sp1 du net 3.5 ça n'a pas changer grand chose.

Mais tes réalisations sont sympatique ;)

Posted by Jmx34 on 2009/11/09 09:56

Génial ce programme, le meilleur qui soit pour modifier les écrans de démarrage depuis bien longtemps.

Par contre, j'ai un écran en 1440x900 et il est dur de trouver des images de cette taille. Celle que j'utilise est en 1280x1024. Le problème, c'est qu'une fois que le redimensionnement et le cadrage sont fait, il me manque une partie importante de l'image. J'ai essayé de retoucher l'image mais rien n'y change.

Serait-il possible d'avoir d'autres options permettant d'autres types de cadrage de l'image (comme Étirer, Mosaïque, Centrer ou encore Ajuster) comme ceux qu'on trouve pour l'affichage du fond d'écran du bureau?

Ça donnerait plus de flexibilité pour ceux qui comme moi ont un écran large ou des photos pas du tout adaptées.

Encore un grand merci pour ce programme.

Posted by CracKBoum on 2009/11/03 22:31

J'en ai rêvé, tu l'as fait !
Et encore mieux que dans mes rêves. Quelle fluidité, quelle richesse. Je ne m'attendais pas à voir autant de fonds d'écran !
Et tout ça gratuit et légal...
Bravo pour ce superbe programme !

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/11/04 18:41

Merci, par contre les fonds d'écran sont ceux livrés avec Windows 7 (je n'en ai rajouté aucun). Je me contente juste d'afficher ceux qui sont cachés dans C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT (ils varient selon la langue du windows installé et sont destinés aux autres régions/pays de la même langue, ex: france, canada...)

Posted by moune on 2009/11/01 15:13

super
a quand le meme pour le son de demarrage?
merci

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/11/02 16:18

ça c'est un peu plus délicat... ça implique de modifier une dll du systeme, et je suis assez opposé à ce principe, pour des raisons de stabilité (une maj windows update ou un service pack pourraient poser probleme dans un tel cas)
Si ce son te déplait vraiment, tu peux toujours le désactiver via la case à cocher "lire le son de démarrage" dans les options de sons de windows vista/7.

Posted by Olive on 2009/10/27 17:47

Bonjour,

Je n' ai rien à redire, juste merci beaucoup!!!

Posted by Myster on 2009/10/26 19:09

Super programme.
Petite suggestion néanmoins : ajouter une case à cocher dans les paramètres pour désactiver le son lors des transitions...
J'ai parcouru mon répertoire de wallpaper (quelques centaines) et j'ai fini par couper le son de mon PC :).

En tout cas, super boulot !

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/11/02 16:29

J'y penserai si je publie une nouvelle version!
c'est vrai que ce son devient rapidement très désagréable ;)
je l'ai d'ailleurs retiré de mes autres projets reprenant la base de windows 7 logon background changer...

Posted by Diddle on 2009/11/12 19:02

Thanks...

It works great...

Posted by Undun Some on 2009/10/26 16:38

Great Program, no problems for me at all. Thanks so much for providing it for FREE!! Thanks Undun

Posted by LatinoBoyPT on 2009/10/22 02:25

Best Win7 app ever!!!!

Posted by anon on 2009/10/14 20:52

hi,

i dont know if anybody else is getting this, but starting today, whenever i launch the program it crashes within seconds. It says that Windows 7 Logon background changer has stopped working :( This is bad because now im stuck with this screen.

Posted by NosTraDomus on 2009/11/28 06:37

i got the same issue, when i used a Different folder for my backgrounds, "C:\Windows\System32\oobe\info\Backgrounds "
some reason it crashes-it hasnt interested me enough to stop and wonder why...but deleting the Backgrounds Folder will solve it

DO wish theres an update that allows for it to do RANDOM pictures every customizable timer.
though a simple edit with notepad, looks like you can do it yourself...looks interesting..

windows 7- Extreme Edition (x86)
quad core
4gigmem
1gig vid mem

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/10/21 23:18

try to delete this folder :
C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Local\http___www.julien-manici
It contains the configuration file created by the application.

If this does not solve your problem, then it may come from your graphic driver. If you updated it recently, try to rollback to the previous driver. Some buggy graphic drivers make WPF apps crash instantly...

Please tell me if any of these steps solves your problem.

Posted by Siebe on 2009/10/13 22:13

Hi,

Thanks for this program.
Was going to try it manually by tweaking the registry and such, but this made it so much easier. :D

Greetz

Posted by ribot on 2009/10/09 19:42

Wow!!!!.... great program... Thanks

Posted by Idontknow on 2009/10/04 00:57

Un grand merci pour cette application. Je l'utilise aur Win7 x64 Ultimate et ça fonctionne a merveille.
Le layout et l'animation de l'interface sont spécialement bien réussi. Bravo!

Posted by El Bori123 on 2009/10/01 22:47

thanks for the post, will trying this on my system tonight....

Posted by Yirm on 2009/09/26 21:33

Wonderful.

I installed with the setup file. It created an "fr" directory on my D: drive. Any way to configure where that directory is located?

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/26 23:30

That's weird...

when installing the program, did you choose to install it in a folder other than the default folder? (c:\program files\...)

did you install it in D:\ directly?

anyway, you can safely remove the "fr" directory, it just contains french translation for the application.

Posted by Pete on 2009/09/25 18:19

Great application! Good job with WPF :)

Posted by Arvind on 2009/09/23 19:36

Nice application, I was searching for something like this.

Thank you sir.

Plus: nice UI, though I won't mind the picture and the scrollbar being a little bigger :)

Posted by Aurelio on 2009/09/21 11:00

Hey!, Cannot download background changer, the "Download" link just reloads the page!!

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/21 20:16

The download page checks the http referer.
You are probably using some browser extension/add on or security program that blocks the referer transmission, and breaks websites relying on it.

Here is the direct download link :
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/Windows-7-Logon-Background-Changer.shtml

Posted by Pelly on 2009/09/18 03:50

Hi,

Just wondering if you are considering adding the ability to change the logon screen background for multiple monitors. I currently use an application to manage separate backgrounds across multiple monitors which works great, but unfortunately on the logon screen it only shows the background on the primary monitor and the second monitor is just black :( Even simple tiling would be better than a black second screen.

People (like me) that use background that scale across both monitors would love this feature if you were able to add it.

Cheers

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/18 05:50

Hello,

I'm sorry, I'm just using an official feature in Windows 7 to customize the logon wallpaper, and it looks like there is no more way to change the login screen wallpaper like in windows 2000 :(

My app doesn't mess with the process showing the logon screen, thus I have no control over what it draws on the screen...

Maybe there are (or will be) apps that somehow interact with LogonUI.exe, but I think it is a bad idea to use such tools which mess with system processes ...

Posted by Martin on 2009/09/16 15:51

Hi Julien, excellent program. I'm the IT Manager at a college in Western Australia and I an thinking about puting the program on about 1000 student computers next January and I was wondering just how your program works and would the following work.

If I set the folder to a network folder that is available at login and then set all student computers to " prevent other users from changing the background", would one of my staff on an administration computer be able to change the wallpaper and have this change reflected on all student computers.

if it is not possible is this something that I could suggest for a future development, we could then use it to convey information to students at different times of the year ie term breaks, enrollments etc.

Thanks for the program

Martin

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/18 06:29

Hi Martin,

It's a pretty clever idea to hijack the logon screen to display useful informations for students!
Unfortunately, the scenario you described won't work with my program, as it reads the picture supplied by the user once, and creates copies of it in %windir%\System32\oobe\Info\backgrounds

The solution would be to create the background images with my background changer app on an administration computer, and go to %windir%\System32\oobe\Info\backgrounds to get the generated pictures (they are truncated and compressed as needed by my application so that they match the supported resolutions ratio and so that they are not bigger than 256kb, otherwise the windows logon screen will not load them).

Once you got these pictures, you must deploy them in %windir%\System32\oobe\Info\backgrounds on each computer. I suppose you can do this with Active Directory. I believe that on windows server 2008 you can easily deploy files at a specified location. Otherwise you may need to create MSI packages.
There is also a group policy that you have to enable to make windows load the customized login screen wallpaper. I don't remember the exact name, it's something like "welcome screen : enable oem background".

Another solution would be to create a command line version of my app (with no UI) that would be run at startup with an argument pointing to a picture stored on the network. I don't know if it is possible to execute something as administrator in the background without opening a session... If it is, I can do the command line version of my app and that would solve your problem easily.

But be aware that once windows has loaded the login screen, a session must be opened and then closed (or locked), or the computer must be restarted for the user to see the new wallpaper (but that should not be an issue if the wallpaper is not updated hourly).

An alternative solution would be to use a RSS feed screen saver for the Default user, so that it displays informations when no session is open.

Keep me informed about what you consider would be the best solution.

Julien

Posted by Myster on 2009/10/26 19:11

Hi Martin,

To complete Julien's answer, you can find how to deploy logon wallpaper through GPO very simply here :
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/windows-7-lets-you-change-the-logon-background-image/

Step 1 : prepare your wallpaper as Julien described
Step 2 : deploy them through GPO

Have fun !

Posted by G.S. on 2009/09/14 12:01

Hi,

The license agreement doc supplied with the software refers you to this site for confirmation of the license agreement, but I caanot find it here? is the software Open Souce (GPL), freeware, or????

Thanks in advance
G.S.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/14 23:57

Sorry, I forgot to put the link to the licence.
Here it is:
http://www.julien-manici.com/windows_7_logon_background_changer/license/

Posted by nicol on 2009/09/13 23:45

Excellent work! Thanks
< Lavoro eccellente > GRAZIE !

Posted by TechFan on 2009/09/12 05:29

Hi Julian,

I just bookmarked your site for future reference when I get my new Windows 7 PC.

Thanks for taking into consideration my suggestions.

Posted by j-23 on 2009/09/11 13:16

Julien, perfectly works windows 7 RTM. Very Thanks.

Posted by Batavian on 2009/09/12 01:32

Heard about this on Windows Weekly. Great little program. Thanks so much.

Posted by Andreas J. on 2009/09/10 21:58

Wow, this is a great program! It's also the first time I've seen WPF in action, and boy is it great! Thanks!

Posted by EZED on 2009/09/10 01:39

Great program... great!!!!

Posted by anon on 2009/09/09 18:29

thank you very much for this little program, i dont usually write these sort of things but i just had to do it here. This is absolutely amazing!

Just one question, i changed the folder that is displayed by default to one of my own but now i cant seem to get to the original..

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/09 19:15

Just click on the "?" button on the top right of the window, then click on "Reset to default folder" and voila :)

Posted by dave on 2009/09/09 13:29

thankyou this great i will really enjoy this prog

cheers

Posted by anen on 2009/09/09 13:07

Is there any possoabilty to see the source ;)
You mantiend it on the deviantart page ;)

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/09 18:09

Sorry I forgot to update the page ^^
here it is:
http://www.julien-manici.com/download/?id=14

Posted by Eric Quaranta on 2009/09/07 19:19

Merci................Julien

Je n'en pouvais plus de cet oiseau sur la branche tellement ringuard !

Bonne soirée

EQ

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/09/09 18:38

Jérémy m'a en effet fait part des troubles que vous causait ce petit oiseau!
Personnellement je le trouve très tendance ^^

Et c'est tout de même plus gracieux qu'un troupeau de gnous ou qu'un pingouin obèse!

Posted by RiKA on 2009/09/01 20:24

Salut Julien,

Merci pour ce programme. Très simple et agréable à utiliser.
Inutile d'aller s'embêter à modifier le registre avec ça!

Merci.

Posted by switch625 on 2009/08/14 20:21

Any chance of adding an option to rotate through different images on startup?

Posted by american in asia on 2009/08/10 14:14

it is awesome! i love it. and looking forward new software in coming soon.

thanks.

Posted by Camilo on 2009/08/06 16:55

Hombre muchas gracias! Yo no entiendo por que Microsoft trata de hacernos sufrir con esas imagenes tan horribles... Pero gracias a usted ahora puedo disfrutar de un mejor logon screen!!!

Posted by Cowtoon on 2009/08/02 21:48

Thank you. Very nice ... nice addition of photos as well.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/08/03 04:19

I didn't add any photo.
All the photos displayed by default are included in Windows 7.
Windows 7 has a set of region specific photos for several countries. Some of them are included but hidden in C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT

Posted by Garada on 2009/07/27 05:48

Where do I download version 1.1? All I see is 1.0

Thanks

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/07/27 22:57

Sorry, there is a little mess with the versions number. The current version is 1.1, but I forgot to increment the subversion number in my source code. Thus, it still shows version 1.0 in the executable properties.

Posted by TehSuigi on 2009/07/26 00:19

What a great little piece of software! How does it do the auto-cropping, by the way?

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/07/27 23:08

The auto cropping is done in the application code (written in C#), by using WPF to load the image, cropping and scaling it according to the image and screen ratio.
i.e: if the screen is wider than the image, the top and the bottom of the image are removed.
I don't know if this answers your question...

Posted by mickey megabyte on 2009/07/22 18:34

WOW! well done!

Posted by Cerealfreak on 2009/06/29 18:05

I love this program defintely in the top 10 of my favourite 3rd party applications, is used on all my Windows 7 systems I love it!!!! Thank you

Posted by james sunderland on 2009/06/16 22:25

I´m very grateful to use this little "big" software. Congratulations to help us change the appearance of windows seven.

Posted by stevAe on 2009/06/15 19:50

you are soooooooo the man!!!!! thanks very much. with all of these other really nice screens, why would ms have used that terrible blue crappy screen? anyway, you have save me from having to suffer through that other screen. thanks again.

Posted by Lexx on 2009/06/05 13:40

Програмка просто супер... большое спасибо :)

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/06/05 15:55

Thank you :)

and thanks to google translate for the translation ^^
("Programka simply super ... Thank you very much:) ")

Posted by Lexx on 2009/09/29 12:45

Google translate: Files of just super ... Thank you very much :)

Posted by Ron on 2009/06/04 22:48

While some people think the out-of-focus, in-focus effect is cccccooooollllll for this website, I think it's highly annoying.

Just my opinion.

Thank you for the program.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/06/05 15:38

You're right, this is annoying, but some users like this kind of things! That's a matter of taste...
in fact, my Windows 7 Logon Background Changer program is also annoying for users who thinks good user interfaces and animations are useless!

Nevertheless, I heard your advice and I just removed the pixelate effect from the page to page transition.

Posted by Olli on 2009/08/02 23:43

I love this programm, it´s really nice. I just wanted to ask how wide the image is allowed be so that the top and bottom aren´t removed.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/08/03 04:30

This program crops the image so that the ratio is the same as the screen resolution.
There is no limit in the size of the original image, since it is scaled and cropped if needed.

You can scale and crop the image yourself with a picture editing program if you want to control which part of the image will be discarded. You just have to create an image which has the same resolution as your screen.

Posted by ThreeTrains on 2009/06/04 12:40

A most excellent piece of work. Perfect on build 7100. Wishing you the BEST on other projects.

Posted by Peter on 2009/05/30 16:08

Excellent work! Would be nice if one could search within a chosen folder to select only 1 item in it though.

What I've done in the meanwhile is set up a separate folder specifically for this purpose.

By the way it works just fine on my ancient Pentium 4 with an Nvidia 7600GS.

Posted by asdf on 2009/05/26 22:56

wow très impressionant !! o0

Je cherchais un log simple pour ça, et j'ai trouvé le programme parfait, hyper léger.

Pour ma part, aucun problème. Je mets la meme image en fond d'écran que en Logon, ça donne très bien.

Merci !

Posted by nexus on 2009/05/22 02:52

i tried another logon changer and kept giving me access denied but it did work well in other beta versions of windows 7 but in win 7 7127 seems to be a issue with registy changes and will not change for me but after i tried this it worked like a charm thanks.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/05/22 03:10

Hi,

I tested my application under windows 7 RC build 7100 only. But it should work OK with other builds (if it doesn't work in a future build, try running it as admin).

You said that you are using the last build (7127), but I advise everyone NOT to use leaked builds of Windows 7 as the risk that they may contain a trojan is VERY high. Also, there will be no security updates from Microsoft for these unsupported releases.

Windows 7 7100 is stable enough and feature complete. You should stick with it.

Anyway, glad you liked my small app.

Posted by danish on 2009/05/27 18:19

First of all, great work! Just one question, if I use your application to change the logon background, how can I revert it back to the default? I don't see any options.

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/05/27 18:32

I will add an option to revert back to the default wallpaper in the next release.

In the meantime, you can go to C:\Windows\System32\oobe\Info\backgrounds and delete the 13 jpg files created by my program, this will force windows to use the default wallpaper instead.

Posted by danish on 2009/05/27 18:48

thanks for the quick reply. The folder you mentioned, that will only be created if I actually change the background right? Currently I have your application installed and I ran it without applying any changes and I don't see the folder yet.

I wish MS had included this app in Win7, maybe you can sell it to them :)

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2009/05/27 19:00

"The folder you mentioned, that will only be created if I actually change the background right?"

yes!

Posted by Greg Inventor on 2010/01/24 20:22

User Profile Service Failed the logon setting up win 7 1st time I ever set up admin and users

installed the background changer 1st pic ok but changed it and got error did not wait log enough got another error etc

so tried to reset in regedit but only found logon 0 for vista
not the same desktop reset key in win 7 do you know what the rededit key is to reset for the logon screen background?

thanks

Posted by Julien MANICI on 2010/01/24 21:58

I don't understand what you mean.

Why are you speaking about Vista, since my app is compatible with windows 7 only?

If what you're asking is "how to restore the default windows 7 wallpaper", juste delete the "backgrounds" folder located in C:\Windows\System32\oobe\Info

Concerning your user profile error, my app can't be the origin of this issue, since it doesn't change anything that could cause this problem.

New