How to Make Splash Screens With Windows
As Windows is booting, an image appears featuring a Windows logo and an animated progress bar. That image is called the splash screen.The splash screen is supposed to be the first sign that Windows is almost ready, but after seeing it countless times, it no longer makes the splash it used to. Fortunately, there is a way to change your splash screen in Windows XP to something you created yourself, which is more interesting. This guide will show you how to customize your splash screen using a free program called BootSkin and MS Paint.
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Instructions
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Visit StarDock.com and download BootSkin for either Windows XP or Windows Vista. This guide follows the version for Windows XP. The download link for BootSkin XP will take you to CNET.
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Install BootSkin. BootSkin is a small program, so the process will take less than a minute. Choose to launch BootSkin when the installation is complete.
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Select one of the preset splash screens and click "Apply." You will see the new splash screen when you restart your computer. BootSkin changes your splash screen without altering any system files, so your computer is safe. Now that you know how to use BootSkin, it is time to make your own splash screen.
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Open the image you want to be your splash screen in MS Paint. Press Control plus the "E" key (ctrl+e) to bring up the attributes window. Make sure your image is 640 pixels in width and 480 pixels in height (640x480), then save it as a bitmap (*.bmp). I saved my image as "splashscreen.bmp".
The splash screen appears before higher-quality graphic drivers on your computer are initiated (think Safe Mode), so the image must fit specific parameters or it will not appear at all.
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Create a new folder for your splash screen in BootSkin skins folder. The default location of the skins folder is "C:\Program Files\Stardock\WinCustomize\BootSkin\skins". Copy your splash screen image into the new folder.
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Open Notepad then copy and paste the following:
[BootSkin]
Type=0
Name = "write here"
Author = "your name"
Description = "write here"
Screen=your image -
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Fill in the name of your splash screen, your name, a description of your splash screen and the name of your image as a bitmap. This is how my file appears:
[BootSkin]
Type=0
Name = "Splash Screen"
Author = "Jon K Langdon"
Description = "A Sample Boot Screen"
Screen=splashscreen.bmp -
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Save the file as "bootskin.ini" in the folder for your splash screen. The text file you just created instructs BootSkin how to incorporate your splash screen.
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Run BootSkin, select your new splash screen and click Apply. Your new splash screen will appear the next time you restart Windows. Enjoy your new splash screen for the brief moment that it appears.
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Tips & Warnings
BootSkin is also available for Vista at StarDock.com. You can also create an animated progress bar by following the Using BootSkin tutorial listed as a reference for this guide. Splash screens are also referred to as boot screens.
BootSkin XP is no longer supported by Stardock.com and is available only on an "as is" basis. Manually changing your splash screen is possible, but a slight mistake could render your computer unable to boot.
