How to Change the Windows NT Logon Screen Saver

ID: Q185348

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

When you start Windows NT, a Begin Logon dialog box is displayed prompting you to press CTRL+ALT+DEL to log on. By default, if you do not press a key for 15 minutes, the Windows NT logon screen saver (Logon.scr) starts. This article describes how to change the default Windows NT logon screen saver.


MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To change the Windows NT logon screen saver, use Registry Editor to change the "SCRNSAVE.EXE" value to the path and file name of the screen saver you want in the following registry key:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

You can also change the amount of time that elapses before the screen saver starts. To do this, change the "ScreenSaveTimeOut" value to the amount of time you want in seconds. The default is 900 seconds (15 minutes).

NOTE: Make sure that you specify the path correctly to the screen saver. If you do not specify the path correctly, you may experience not being able to log in unless you reboot.

Additional query words: prodnt picture welcome screensaver blank different login boot 


Keywords          : kbui winnt NTSrvWkst 
Version           : winnt:3.5,3.51,4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: March 19, 1999