Style your Windows 7 logon box with the unique “Longhorn”-design
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February 9th, 2011 written by Sandro Villinger in Styling
Flashback to 2004: In the early prototype stages of “Windows Longhorn” (the codename for Windows Vista) Microsoft showed off many beautiful design concepts and visuals for the new explorer, the sidebar, media player and especially the new logon:
Unfortunately, this neat little logon box never made it into the final product “Vista”. This is why, today, we’re bringing you 3 modern and transparent versions of this logon box from back in the day.
This will beef up your logon/logoff and lock screen. Trust us, we’ve had many people complement us on this new design or even ask us what kind of Windows version we’re using!
Change the logon box
To get that special Longhorn-style logon box, you’ll need to replace a system file – no worries, we’ll guide you through this very safely. If you also want to change the background picture of your logon (and not just the transparent box), we’ve also got a guide for you. Ready?
- Like with any other change to the registry or system files, it’s wise to create a system restore point before you proceed. If anything goes wrong, you could always use “System Restore” to go back easily. To create a restore point, click on the Start orb and right-click on “Computer”. Go to “Properties” and select “System protection”. Hit “Create” to create a system restore point.
- Download and install “Unlocker“. This tool is capable of renaming (or even deleting) files that are otherwise protected by Windows or blocked by other programs. In our case, we use it to replace the file that’s responsible for the logon box of Windows 7 with the modified versions you see above.
- Now here comes the fun part: You can actually choose between the following three different Longhorn-style logon boxes:
Default Windows flag
(Update: New Download Links here)
Embedded Windows flag
(32-Bit-Download 64-Bit-Download)
No Windows flag
(Update: New Download Links here) - Download the logon you favor the most, just make sure you pick the right version for your Windows platform (32-bit or 64-Bit). Before you proceed, make sure that you’re your programs are closed and all files are saved. You also need to know that, during the process, the Windows-Explorer will automatically restart, meaning that your desktop icons and the taskbar will be momentarily not visible. Next, open up the “C:\Windows\System32″ folder and look for the “authui.dll” file. Tip: After you’ve entered the folder, simply start typing in “authui.dll” – Windows will automatically select the file:
Next, right-click on it and start “Unlocker”.
Go to “No action” and select the “Rename” option. Rename the file to “authui_backup.dll”, so you’ll be able to go back to the original design using “Unlocker” the same way!
Hit “OK” and click on “Unlock All”. This will instantly rename the file.
Now here comes the important part: Copy the “authui.dll” you downloaded earlier and copy it to the “System32″ directory! Now, during this process, it’s important to know that “Windows-Explorer” now restarts.
- That’s it! You’ve backed up the old logon box with the new modified one. Want to test it out? Simply “lock” your computer (WINDOWS-Key + L) or log off.
Note: Since we’re changing an important system file here, it’s important to know that authui.dll might be replaced by the original Microsoft file during future Windows updates. In our tests, this happened after Windows 7 Service Pack was installed. If it happens on your system, just repeat the steps above to get the new Logon back. However, if you experience any kind of trouble during a future update (e.g. Windows Update or Service Pack), it’s best to revert to the original file that you backed up in Step 4.
Tell us: How do you like the new logon box? Hit the comments to tell us what you think!
February 28, 2011 at 1:50 am
Awesome….. thank you!!!!
March 2, 2011 at 7:52 pm
do not download this …VIRUS!!!!! VIRUS!!!! TROJAN VIRUS
March 2, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Hi Dee, what made you say that? I assure you that the logon box is not a virus in disguise – it is merely a customized form of the logonscreen. What virus scanner do you use? It probably did come up as a false positive. Under what (virus) name did it show up?
Hope to hear from you, soon,
Sandro
March 2, 2011 at 7:53 pm
VIRUS ….VIRUS…..VIRUS…..VIRUS….
March 2, 2011 at 8:05 pm
i use norton …. as everything was working fine and i loved the look but then virus scanner picked up the file i downloaded and removed it and i then wasnt able to log back on as i didnt have a log on screen anymore …
….had to make a repair disk on another pc and restore pc to earlier date.
March 2, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Got ya! Sorry to hear that. I’ve been using the design on all my PCs now – one of them is running Norton Internet Security 2011. It didn’t come up with anything. I’ll run a full scan and get back to you.
March 3, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Tried it last night on all my machines – I perfomed a full scan and even a custom scan of the System32 folder (where authui.dll is located) using NIS 2011. Nothing came up.
Do you remember the name of the “virus” that Norton detected in your case? It sounds weird to me that your Norton didn’t interfere while you were performing the logon replacement!
March 3, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Hey Dee,
It was really a bad hearing your experience. May I recommend something? Why don’t you send me that specific file you used that Norton detected as malware? Better still, do you have the file? Upload it to one of the several online virus scanners and check it, if it was really a virus or a false positive ! And Sandro and Dee, what was the day you last updated your security suites? It may have been detected falsely in one update and may have been added as an false positive in other.
Best, Jeet.
April 2, 2011 at 12:54 am
I installed unlocker, and found the .DLL file, but when I right-click on it, theres no Unlocker option on the menu bar..
This does work in Windows 7 64-bit right?
April 2, 2011 at 6:58 am
Sorry Ben, but I could not correspond with you. Will you please re-convey your problems? Please take my apology if you had already wrote about it elsewhere, but a re-explanation never hurts !
Best, Jeet.
April 2, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Hi Ben, can you head over to http://www.softexia.com/302-unlocker.html, download the x64-version and tell me if that works? Also, make sure to check the entry where it says “Explorer exention” – maybe you unchecked that by accident?
Hope I could help you
Best, Sandro
April 2, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Ok, I installed the 64-bit version, and now the Unlocker option appears in the right-click menu, I right click on the .DLL, and click unlocker, UAC pops up asking for permission, I click yes, and then nothing happens, Unlocker doesnt open.
I tried opening Unlocker manually, again, UAC pops up asking for permission, I allow it, but nothing opens.
April 2, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Interesting – altough UAC shouldn’t interfere with Unlocker, can you try disabling UAC for this step and tell me if that worked out for you?
If all fails, I suggest the Unlocker alternative: LockHunter. http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/08/21/lockhunter-is-unlocker-alternative-that-works-on-windows-x64/. Note, this article was written before x64 Unlocker appeared! I have tried the steps using LockHunter and it worked out perfectly.
April 2, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Bit of a weird one, but I uninstalled all of the Unlocker versions from my computer, (For some reason there was both the 32 and 64-bit versions) And then re-downloaded the 64-bit version, and it all worked perfectly.
Thank you for the amazing lockscreen design, I love it!
April 2, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Let’s file this under the “unsolved” cases, whistle the X-files main theme and be happy that it works
Glad I could be of help
Have a nice weekend!
May 21, 2011 at 10:41 pm
How can I copy to the system 32 directive?
May 22, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Nm. I got it now! Thanks!
June 5, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Unlocker is not a virus.
Its for your virusscanner a virus, it change windows settings.
But it’s save
and it work, very nice brow!
June 28, 2011 at 7:48 am
Did everything in the tutorial, but my login screen remain unchanged…
Running window 7 64-bit.
June 28, 2011 at 11:04 am
Hey Jordan, just recently I tried it out on my main Windows 7 x64 machine – I used the Windows embedded flag: http://www.mediafire.com/?e494ls717km77iw. Worked fine, even with all the latest updates and service packs installed (which sometimes might interfere with this file).
So you did rename your authui.dll (with Unlocker) and then copied the new one to your system32 folder? Did it give you any error messages while you did that?
August 24, 2011 at 11:11 am
Hey aaa, I just re-downloaded all three files and checked them using MSE, F-Secure and a Cloud Antivirus, but it didn’t come up with anything – false positive?
April 15, 2012 at 5:12 pm
please send me this file, the file have been removed from mediafire.
My email id is rockonrahul90@gmail.com.
May 2, 2012 at 7:42 pm
Hi Rahul, These files should work: http://dejco.deviantart.com/art/Longhorn-Reloaded-Logon-W7-SP1-208170430 ! Can you confirm?