The default logon screen in Windows 7 looks as good as any other screen, but if you don’t like it for some reason, you can change it. Unlike Windows 10, the procedure for changing the background of the login screen in Windows 7 is slightly different and requires a few more steps to complete the task.
There are several ways to change the background image of the login screen, and you can use any of them to set your favorite image as the background for the login page.
Modify a value to change the background of the Windows 7 login screen
Before you can assign a new image as your Windows 7 login screen background, you will need to change the value using Registry Editor or Local Group Policy Editor.
To do this, use one of the following methods.
Use Registry Editor to enable Windows 7 login screen changes
If you are using a Windows 7 edition that does not have a Local Group Policy Editor, your only recourse is to use the Registry Editor to make changes. It’s a little more complicated than the other method, but it gets the job done anyway.
- Press the Windows + R keys at the same time, type regedit in the box on the screen, and press Enter.
- When it opens, navigate to the next directory by clicking items in the left sidebar.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Authentication LogonUI Background
- If you see an entry named OEMBackground in the right sidebar, go to the step below who is editing it. Otherwise, right-click an empty area, select New, and select DWORD (32-bit) Value to create a new entry.
- Type OEMBackground as the entry name and press Enter.
- Double click on the entry and you can edit it. In the edit box, change the existing value of the Value field to 1 and click OK.
- Close the registry editor as you no longer need it.
Use Local Group Policy Editor to enable changing the background of the Windows 7 logon screen
Some editions of the Windows 7 operating system come with a Local Group Policy Editor. It allows you to change many of the settings and values ??on your computer much easier than the Registry Editor. This also includes the ability to change the background of the Windows 7 login screen.
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If you have access to the tool, you can use it as follows to enable the background image option.
- Press the Windows + R keys at the same time, type gpedit.msc in the field, and press Enter.
- At startup, expand the directories on the left and navigate to the next path.
Computer Configuration Administrative Templates System Logon
- When you get there, you will find an option that says Always use custom background for login in the right pane You want to double-click this option to open it.
- When the option opens, select “Enabled” at the top to enable it. Then click the Apply button and then click OK at the bottom to save your changes.
- Close the tool when done.
Set a new image as the login screen wallpaper
Here is a part of the procedure that you will really enjoy. Now that you’ve enabled the option that allows you to change the background image of the Windows 7 login screen, it’s time to choose an image to use as your background.
Windows offers you the flexibility to use any image as a background. You can choose one of them on your computer, download your favorite from the Internet, or ask a friend to send you his. Just make sure the image is under 256KB and in JPG format and you should be fine.
Then you will need to put the image in a specific folder so that Windows will recognize it as the background image of the login screen and use it accordingly.
- Right-click the image and choose Rename.
- Enter backgroundDefault as the name of the image. It is necessary. Then copy the image.
- Open an explorer window and navigate to the following path.
C: Windows System32 oobe
- Create a new folder named Information. Then create a new folder inside it and name it “Background”.
- Open the backgrounds folder, right-click anywhere on an empty spot and choose Paste. Your chosen background image will be copied here.
That’s all.
From now on, you will see the selected image as the background on the Windows 7 login screen.
Use a third-party app to change your Windows 7 login background
Anyone who has never used the Registry Editor or Local Group Policy Editor will find the above methods a little tricky and might even avoid using them. This is completely understandable, and there is an easier way to change the background image of the Windows 7 login screen without interfering with these tools.
There is a free app called Windows 7 Logon Background Changer that lets you change your current background image to whatever you like with the click of a button. All it takes is to select a new image to use as the background and apply it to your system.
- Go to the Windows 7 Logon Background Changer website and download the application to your computer.
- Unzip the application archive and double-click the executable to run it.
- You will see several images that can be used as a background when it starts up. Select the one you want to use and click “Apply” at the top.
- If you want to use your own image, click “Select Folder” at the top and select the folder containing your image.
It’s good to be able to replace the background you don’t like with what you like. Let us know what made you change your background in the comments below.
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