Display machine name at logon screen

[gsk]

Hi All,

 

I was wondering if any of you had any clever tricks that would make it so that I can have the computer name in the top-corner of each screen on the desktop and before logging on?

 

Thanks,

[6Foot2]

BGInfo is your man here:

 

Link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897557.aspx

[fiza]

Can you not use BGINFO for this?

 

edit : dammit @DaveP

Edited May 13, 2015 by fiza
beaten to it!!!!

[gsk]

Thanks, has anyone else found it to be an enormous ballot to get it working at the logon screen? Any suggestions?

 

thanks,

[tmoon-mint]

Im aware of using the registry to change the logon screen background, since BGInfo just creates an image you could probably use that.

 

Reg:

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background "

Create a new 32bit Dword value here called OEMBackground and set the value to 1.

 

Finally create the following path:

C:\Windows\System32\Oobe\Backgrounds

 

In this folder place your BGInfo image and rename it "backgroundDefault"

 

There may be an easier way to do it but that is the method I am aware of, you can change the registry using group policy and probably write a script to place the folders and files in the correct places.

[AJWhite1970]

Apparently BGInfo4X BGINFO4X - BGINFO for X and for Windows! | SourceForge.net can sort of do it if you use this fudge but I've never tried so can't comment if it works or not

 

BGINFO4X - BGINFO for X and for Windows!: BGINFO4X - Displaying PRE-LOGON information on Windows

[gsk]

Reading other places suggests I would need to convert the bmp to a jpg for the Win7 logon screen. I would like this all to be automated and dynamic or not bother at all really. What's the point of the option in bginfo to change the logon screen if it doesn't change the logon screen??

[AJWhite1970]

What's the point of the option in bginfo to change the logon screen if it doesn't change the logon screen??

 

Because despite just about every geek ever asking M$ to update it, BGInfo hasn't been updated for years and that option works for Windows XP/98/95 etc but no longer works for Windows 7+

[gsk]

Cool. Sacking that off then. Anything else around that will do the job?

 

Thanks,

[Irazmus]

Im aware of using the registry to change the logon screen background, since BGInfo just creates an image you could probably use that.

 

Reg:

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background "

Create a new 32bit Dword value here called OEMBackground and set the value to 1.

 

Finally create the following path:

C:\Windows\System32\Oobe\Backgrounds

 

In this folder place your BGInfo image and rename it "backgroundDefault"

 

There may be an easier way to do it but that is the method I am aware of, you can change the registry using group policy and probably write a script to place the folders and files in the correct places.

 

This is effectively what we do, although we do it via Group Policy and create the background images with a CLI PHP script. It's in PHP because I'm familiar with the image library and have PHP on my desktop anyway, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

Example image:

 

GP Settings:

Computer Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > System > Logon > Always use custom background = Enabled

 

Computer configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Files

Name: backgroundDefault.jpg

Action: Replace

Source file(s): \\wildfire\globaldata\background\%COMPUTERNAME%-backgroundDefault.jpg

Destination File: %WINDIR%\System32\oobe\info\backgroundDefault.jpg

 

Wildfire is our file server and globaldata is a share which has global read access, for things just like this.

 

Creation Script:

/*
* Copyright (C) 2014-2015 Alex Kitching 
*
* This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
* the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
* along with this program. If not, see .
*/
# - START CONFIG - #
$prefix = Array(# {{{
   Array(# OFFICE {{{
       'prefix'    => 'OFFICE-0',
       'min'       => 1,
       'max'       => 3,
       'x'         => 1280,
       'y'         => 1024,
   ),# }}}
   Array(# S-LT {{{
       'prefix'    => 'S-LT-0',
       'min'       => 1,
       'max'       => 33,
       'x'         => 1024,
       'y'         => 768,
   ),# }}}
   Array(# S-LT {{{
       'prefix'    => 'S-LT-0',
       'min'       => 34,
       'max'       => 57,
       'x'         => 1280,
       'y'         => 800,
   ),# }}}
);# }}}
$pcs = Array(# {{{
   '4535676764',
   '6486090090',
);# }}}
$font_path_mono = '/home/ak/.fonts/LinLibertine_Mah.ttf';
$font_path = '/home/ak/.fonts/LinLibertine_Rah.ttf';
# - END CONFIG - #
$num = 0;
$logo = imagecreatefrompng('logo.png');
foreach ($prefix as $p) {
   for ($i = $p['min']; $i <= $p['max']; $i++) {
       $num++;
       $image = imagecreatetruecolor($p['x'], $p['y']);
       $font_color = imagecolorallocate($image, 0, 162, 0);
       $bg_color = imagecolorallocate($image, 0, 0, 0);
       imagecopy($image, $logo, $p['x'] - 300, 45, 0, 0, 255, 300);
       imagettftext($image, 36, 0, 35, 65, $font_color, $font_path, 'Stowmarket Middle School');
       imagettftext($image, 36, 0, 35, $p['y'] - 118, $font_color, $font_path_mono, $p['prefix'] . ($i < 10 ? '0' . $i : $i));
       imagejpeg($image, 'background/' . $p['prefix'] . ($i < 10 ? '0' . $i : $i) . '-backgroundDefault.jpg', 100);
       imagedestroy($image);
   }
}

foreach ($pcs as $pc) {
   $num++;
   $image = imagecreatetruecolor(1280, 1024);
   $font_color = imagecolorallocate($image, 0, 162, 0);
   $bg_color = imagecolorallocate($image, 0, 0, 0);
   imagecopy($image, $logo, 1280 - 300, 45, 0, 0, 255, 300);
   imagettftext($image, 36, 0, 35, 65, $font_color, $font_path, 'Stowmarket Middle School');
   imagettftext($image, 36, 0, 35, 1024 - 118, $font_color, $font_path_mono, $pc);
   imagejpeg($image, 'background/' . $pc . '-backgroundDefault.jpg', 100);
   imagedestroy($image);
}

imagedestroy($logo);
echo $num . ' images created.';

 

The $prefix array holds details for our computers which are named sequentially following their location, with min and max being the bounds of the numbering, and x and y defining the image resolution.

The $pcs array is a list of all computers which don't follow the above convention, which for us are all the same model, and thus have the same required resolution.

 

The script creates all the images in the backgrounds subdirectory, which must already exist. Just copy the contents from there to the path used in the GP snippet above, and Bob's your scutter.

[Scorpio]

It has been updated, my version says 4.20 2013 ? Surely thats fine for all currently Windows versions ?

[jamwatn]

It would be my dream to not only have the machine name, but a notification that 'this computer is not connected to the network' on the logon screen.

Such a simple thing would make life 100 times easier!!

[southhamster]

RM have managed to do that with CC4 and its very useful. We've trained most people to look for the connected text before thay try to login. Not sure how RM have done it -project for a rainy day?

[jamwatn]

They are sneaky know-it-all's aren't they!?

[ITGuyWestMidlands]

There is a eay to launch an app over the login screen. I was tinkering with the idea myself. Network connection / strength and computer name could ne very useful here

[jamwatn]

Eay? I tried scheduling a program to run. The exe began working however, nothing actually appeared on the screen.

[6Foot2]

Eay? I tried scheduling a program to run. The exe began working however, nothing actually appeared on the screen.

 

To get BGInfo to display the text you want on the desktop you specify the BGI file you want to use and add some switches after the command:

 

c:\windows\BGINFO\bginfo.exe C:\windows\BGINFO\companyinfo.bgi /nolicprompt /all /timer0

 

Link: Use BGInfo to Build a Database of System Information of Your Network Computers

Edited June 19, 2015 by 6Foot2

[sonofsanta]

As a low-tech, stood-at-the-machine solution, typing .\ into the username box will show you the computer name underneath - it'll change from Logging into [Domain] to Logging into [Computer]