so i tried searching for similar topics and couldnt find any that match my questions exactly. so.

1. i downloaded the logon screen i wanted. now i dont know what to do with it. i tried a couple things. they didnt work.
2. same with boot screen, i dont know what to do with it. and i cant find instructions anywhere.

3. are there shut down screen as well?

4. i added my theme manually, as well as icons, and some other little tweeks all manually using no outside programs. that being said, is there a way to get a logon screen, boot screen, or shut down screen (if there is such a beast) to work manually, with out having to run extra programs??

the following is what iv managed to pull off on my own.

While it is possible to change your XP logon and bootscreen manually, it is NOT recommended. Way too easy to bugger your system or make it completely unbootable, requiring a full restore.

Best to use a program to do it. There are many. Commercially, there's TuneUp Styler, part of TuneUp Utilities 2008. Or free there's LogonLoader or LogonUIBootRandomizer.

All three do not run in the background, so don't take up any resources. And they provide a safe way of loading and managing bootscreens and logons, plus easy recovery in event of an error.

I don't know of any program to change the shut down screen. It's pretty ugly to do manually as requires hacking a dll file. Not worth the effort if you ask me. I NEVER reboot - what's the point ;)