Most of Vista can be customized. The one thing that feels very limited though is the logon screen. Here are some of the tweaks that I've discovered.

 

 

Most of these Logon screen configuration screen changes could easily be made with a few registry tweaks. Changing the Logon screen wallpaper, however, requires a separate but free program.

Getting started

Before you begin editing, keep in mind that the Windows Registry is vital to the operating system. Before editing the Windows Registry, you should take a few moments to back it up for safekeeping.

To begin, click the Start button, type Regedit in the Start Search box, and then press [Enter]. When you do, you’ll encounter a UAC and will need to respond accordingly.

Once the Registry Editor launches, locate the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

From this key, you’ll be able to make all the following changes to the Logon screen.

Removing the shutdown button

When you are viewing the Vista Logon screen, you’ll notice that there is a red shutdown button on the lower right part of the screen.

To remove the shutdown button from the Logon screen, locate and double-click the shutdownwithoutlogon value. When the Edit DWORD dialog box appears, simply type 0 in the Value Data text box.

The next time you see the Logon screen you’ll notice that the red shutdown button is gone.

Adding a legal notice to the Logon screen

If you want to back up the Vista Logon security system, you may want to add a warning message to the screen that is designed to act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of attempting unauthorized access. While this type of measure doesn’t add any real protection to the system, it might be all that’s needed to prevent an unauthorized user from proceeding.

To add a title to the warning message, locate and double-click the legalnoticecaption value. When the Edit DWORD dialog box appears, type the title in the Value Data text box, and click OK.

To add the warning message, locate and double-click the legalnoticetext value. When the Edit DWORD dialog box appears, type the warning message in the Value Data text box, and click OK.

Now when you access the Logon screen, you’ll see your warning message. Just click OK and you’ll see your user icon and can continue with the logon operation.

Tracking logons

If you want to be able to keep track of logons that were made on your system, you can configure the Logon screen to display logon statistics. Right-click anywhere inside the System key and select New | DWORD (32-bit) Value. When the new value appears, type DisplayLastLogonInfo and then press Enter twice. When the Edit DWORD dialog box appears, simply type 1 in the Value Data text box, and click OK.

Now when you select your user icon on the Logon screen, you’ll see the logon statistics. Just click OK to complete the logon operation.

Changing the Logon screen wallpaper

In the old days, I remember having to delve into the registry to change the Logon screen wallpaper. Now, there’s a really nice GUI program for performing this operations called LogonStudio from the folks at Stardock. There are two version of LogonStudio: one for XP and one for Vista. Make sure that you download the correct version.

When you run LogonStudio, you’ll, of course, encounter a User Account Control dialog box and will need to respond accordingly. You’ll then see the straightforward user interface, and from there you can easily create your own Logon screen wallpaper.

Happy customizing...