Today in class you´ll learn to make a bootscreen!!!

First you will need ResEdit found at Tgtsoft.com or ResHacker

1) Open your new program.

2) Open the original ntoskrnl.exe file, found usually in C:\\Windows\system32\. You will see a tree, but the only branch we are interested is "Bitmap".

3) Expand "Bitmaps" tree and you will see 12 bitmaps to edit (If you have SP1 you will see 18 bmps to edit). If you click each one you'll just see Black images, that indicates to us that we must load the color palette. Bitmaps 1, 8 and 10 are for Windows XP Professional, and 1, 7 and 11 are for Home Edition. In this case I'm using Professional.

4) Click number 1 and click Action--Save [Bitmap : 1 : 1033], save it in a safe place, for example C:\\My bootscreen\, and do the samething with bitmap 8 and 10.

5) We now need to create the color palette to load for the images in black, to do this open NotePad and copy this:

JASC-PAL
0100
16
0 0 0
32 26 21
70 70 70
45 62 210
83 101 1
178 53 5
126 126 126
137 146 0
94 127 252
247 107 32
141 166 255
142 220 4
243 188 27
188 188 188
252 252 252
255 255 255

Save it in a safe place, for example C:\\psp palette\, but remember you must write at the end of the name of the file .pal format, for example palette.pal.

6) Open your graphics program (I use Paint Shop Pro 8) and open the 3 images. They are supposed to be whole black. When they are opened select number 1 and click Image/Palette/Load Palette and select the folder where the palette you created is, and please be sure to select "Mantain indexes", click Load and the image should now show up well. Load the palette for the other two bitmaps and then edit your images.

7) When the images are edited save them, and open ResHack again. Open the original ntoskrnl file, and expand the "Bitmap" tree. Click at number 1 and click Action--Replace Bitmap, open the edited image and click Replace. Do the same thing with bitmap 8 and 10. The number 8 bitmap is the progress bar, so you must replace also the number 9 bitmap, because that's the one that home edition uses, and if you don´t replace it the same way you replace the 8, it will look wrong for users with XP home edition.

NOTE: If your new bootscreen will not use the number 10 bitmap (number 10 is the Professional text on the bootscreen), then right-click resource 10 and click Delete Bitmap. (If you delete number 10, you must delete number 11 too, because 11 is the Home Edition text on the bootscreen).

When you are done, click File--Save As and select a name for your new bootscreen, most likely ntoskrnl.exe. Remember to add the ".exe" to the end of the filename.

If you are working with the SP1 bootscreen you must delete bitmaps: 12, 13, 16, 17 and 18, and maybe 10 and 11 because 10 is the Professional text and 11 is Home Edition text (Maybe you won´t use them) and then save it again with a different name. This file should be for non-SP1 systems.

Kinda confusing eh? I had to learn the hard way muhahahaha.......hope you enjoy!!