Styling Windows XP (Part 3): How to Change the Logon Screen

You log into Windows XP and always get the same old, blue screen, to select or type in your user name and password. Tired of it? So are we! Let’s bring a bit of color to the start and end of your typical, Windows XP session. Continue reading to find out how you can get rid of the default logon and give it a bit more style in Part 3 of our “Styling Windows XP” series.

Be sure to check out Part 1 to learn how to change the boot screen and Part 2 to learn how to change the visual style of your computer.

Changing the logon screen

Going from the ‘old schoo’ Windows XP logon screen to a new image is very easy.

1. Like the previous optical changes discussed on the TuneUp Blog, the only thing you need is TuneUp Styler (part of TuneUp Utilities, which you can try for 15 days). Download and install the program. See the “Customize Windows” category? Click on “All functions”, and select “Change Windows appearance”.
   
2. As soon as TuneUp Styler has started, click on “Logon screen”, and select “Add”. You can now go and download a couple of nice-looking logon screens from TuneUp Online. Or, you can add screens that you already downloaded, such as those like our personal favorites below.
   

   You can add a variety of logon files, including “tls”, “logonxp” or “exe”.
   
   Logon screens may be hidden in the downloaded files, so you may need to search a bit to find it. But, usually, it’s located inside the “Theme” or “Style” folder. Note: In some cases, you need to extract the downloaded files using a program like WinRAR.

3. TuneUp Styler automatically shows a preview of the logon screen. If you like it, hit “Apply”; if you’re not really into the new look, you can always go back by clicking on “Restore defaults” and then on “Apply” again. That’s it!

Our favorites: the top five logon screens

DeviantArt and our own TuneUp Gallery feature a huge selection of logon screens.  Here are five interesting designs we tried and loved.

Windows Vista Live V4

Ravel

Vista Reflections 2

Mario

Voitonic Blueness

We have now taken you through the most important visual changes for Windows XP. By now, you’ve learned how to replace the boot screen, the visual style and the logon screen. But, we’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to styling your operating system. Coming up, we’ll show you how to get excellent transparency effects (just like Windows Vista or 7) for Windows XP and how to get the Windows 7 Taskbar for XP.