If you’re looking to downgrade your Windows XP computer to Vista, there’s a good chance that you’ll have to make some changes to the way your logon screen looks. Here are a few tips on how to do this:
- Disable Aero Glass Aero Glass is a feature of Windows XP that makes the login screen look like a version of Vista. By disabling Aero Glass, you’ll likely have less trouble seeing what’s going on on your computer and will be able to login more easily.
- Change the Default Login Screen Image If you want Vista-style login screens for all of your computers, you can change the default login screen image for each one of them using the Windows Update tool or by using an online tool like System Preferences. You can also find images for different versions of Vista at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/.
- Use Another Desktop Background Image or Picture You can also use another desktop background image or picture if you don’t want Aero Glass on your logon screen. This will help keep your computer looking more like Vista without having to disable it completely.
You’ll have to download and install the free LogonStudio application and make sure that it is set as the default logon handler, which is easy since it will prompt you when you first open it. (Note that this is the same application you can use to customize Windows Vista’s logon screen.)
The three default welcome screens aren’t very impressive, but there’s a ton of great ones on the wincustomize site, including the Vista one you see here.
Next, download and open the Windows Vista Ultimate Logon screen for XP, and select it in LogonStudio as shown above. Once you hit the Apply button, you’ll see your Vista-style logon screen for XP:
Note that this will not work if you are logging into a domain, or if you use the classic style logon with Ctrl+Alt+Del. There’s a way to customize that background image, which I’ll cover in another article.
Download LogonStudio for XP from stardock.com
Download Windows Vista Ultimate Logon Screen for XP
