Welcome Log On Text Message - Change

How to Change "Welcome" Text Message at Log On in Vista and Windows 7​

   Information

This will show you how to change the Welcome text message you get after a user logs in to Windows 7 and Vista to any text message that you want it to say instead.

You can only do this tutorial while logged on as an administrator.

   Note

If you run a sfc /scannow command, then you will lose all changes made to the system file in the tutorial below since it and all other system files will be restored back to default by the command.


For Windows 7 Only:

• This tutorial works with UAC turned on or off.
• This tutorial works in all 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 SP1 editions.
  • Download details: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932)
• For Windows 7 without SP1, you will need to turn off a Windows Feature (ex: Windows Gadget Platform), and restart the computer before this tutorial will work. Afterwards, you can turn back on the Windows Feature again.

   Warning

Making a mistake while modifying system files can render your Windows 7 installation unusable. To be safe, you should create a restore point before doing this tutorial in case you need to do a system restore at boot using the restore point to undo any mistakes that may be made.

EXAMPLE: Default and Changed "Welcome" Text Message at Log On

OPTION ONE

Change "Welcome" Text Message at Log On

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\en-US\winlogon.exe.mui. (see screenshot below)

   Note

The en-US folder is in English Windows 7 copies. If you have a non-English Windows 7 copy, then this folder will have a different name reflecting your language instead.The table below are a few of the most common ones.

Folder Name	Language
da-DK	Danish
en-GB	English-Great Britian
en-US	English-U.S.
fi-FI	Finnish
fr-FR	French
de-DE	German
el-GR	Greek
it-IT	Italian
no-NO	Norwegian
es-ES	Spanish
sv-SE	Swedish

2. Take ownership of the winlogon.exe.mui file with your user account, and set it's permissions to Allow your user account Full Control. Close Windows Explorer when finished.

3. Copy this winlogon.exe.mui file to your desktop.

4. If you have not already, download and install Resource Hacker.

5. Right click on the Resource Hacker shortcut in Start Menu - All Programs, then click on Run as administrator. (see screenshot below)

6. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes (Windows 7) or Continue (Vista).

7. In Resource Hacker, click on File and Open. (see screenshot below)

8. In Resource Hacker, select All Files (*.*) in the Files of type drop down box, navigate to and select the copied winlogon.exe.mui file on your desktop, then click on the Open button. (see screenshot below)

9. In the left pane of Resource Hacker, expand String Table, and 63, to 1033. (see screenshot below)

10. In the right pane of 1033, replace the Welcome text in quotes at both 1002 and 1005 locations with the text you want instead (ex: Hello) within quotes, then click on the Compile Script button. (see screenshot above and below)

11. Click on File and Save, then close Resource Hacker. (see screenshot below)

12. Copy the modified winlogon.exe.mui file on your Desktop, and Paste it into the C:\Windows\System32\en-US folder from step 1. (see screenshot below step 1)
NOTE: The en-US folder is in English Windows 7 copies. If you have a non-English Windows 7 copy, then this folder will have a different name reflecting your language instead.

13. Click on Copy and Replace. (see screenshot below)


14. If prompted, click on Continue (UAC) and Yes to approve.

15. Open a elevated command prompt, type mcbuilder, press Enter, then close the command prompt. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Thanks to Fimble for pointing this out.

16. Restart the computer.

17. Restart the computer and log in to see the changes made.
NOTE: If this does not work for you in Windows 7, then see the NOTE box at the top of the tutorial.

18. You can delete the winlogon.exe_original.mui that ResHacker created if you like since you can easily do OPTION TWO below to restore the default settings.

OPTION TWO

Restore Default "Welcome" Text Message at Log On

1. Repeat OPTION ONE above, but type Welcome in both locations at step 10 instead.

That's it,
Shawn Brink

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Display a Log on Screen Title and Text Message in Vista and Windows 7
• How to Display Information About Previous Logons During User Logon in Vista and Windows 7
• How to Change the Windows 7 Log On Screen Text Shadow
• How to Change the Windows 7 Log On Screen Background
• How to Change the Windows 7 Startup Sound
• How to Change the "Logging off..." Text Message at Shut Down in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Change the "Shutting down..." Text Message at Shut Down in Windows 7 and Vista
• How to Change the Logon Screen Text Color in Vista and Windows 7

 

[EzioAuditore]

Don't know how but it suddenly started to work. I switched to another user and I could see it working, I was so delighted but after a restart, it disappeared.

 

[Brink]

Hello Ezio,

Yeah, it may not always work properly anymore in Ultimate without the SP1 installed now.

 

[abu46]

its working on my system after installing the internet explorer 9 RC

so i guess no need to wait for sp1

 

[EzioAuditore]

That's really strange and weird.
What does IE9 has to do with it?

 

[abu46]

i guess it has some files/updates common with sp1

 

[debugged]

Since jasluv showed us how to do this back in May 2010, I've been using this tweak on many varieties of Windows 7 - RC, RTM, SP1, Pro and Ultimate, and when the change doesn't take effect at first I do this, and it always works then: http://www.sevenforums.com/customization/107683-getting-windows-recognize-login-text-changes.html YMMV.

 

[abu46]

hey guys

help me

i cannot open\copy the winlogon.exe.mui file on my system

resourcehacker\restorator cannot open it saying file does not exists

dont have a backup of the file either

 

[EzioAuditore]

Try copying the file to desktop and then open it. Alternatively, run resource hacker as admin and then try opening it.

 

[abu46]

^^
i couldnt copy the file to dsktop

so i zipped the file and then extracted it to another location which was successful

thnx

moral-always backup the files before editing

 

[EzioAuditore]

its working on my system after installing the internet explorer 9 RC

so i guess no need to wait for sp1

Well, surprisingly, it worked for me too..

 

[Brink]

That's great news Ezio.

 

[EzioAuditore]

Indeed. It's back, so glad I am.

 

[bigdonkilla]

i can not do it

Ur suppose to copy the file to your desktop,... not take it from C:

 

[RyuB]

the file you mention, winlogon, doesn't even exist in that location, and i did a search and had no results.

yes, i have 'show hidden files' option set.

i've found and edited the file for the logging off message, but not this one.

please and thank you.

 

[Brink]

Hello RyuB,

It's the winlogon.exe.mui file instead inside the C:\Windows\System32\en-US folder. Double check, it's there.

 

[RyuB]

nope, it's definitely not there, i have on the list, wininit.exe.mui and the next file down is winload.efi.mui

seriously, i've even used the search and it wasn't found.

i'm thinking possibly i deleted it by mistake when i meant to delete the original wininit.exe.mui when i was editing it to change the logon message.

i'm hoping the place i got my puter from is willing to just email me the file (they're 53 km from here so it's kinda a nuisance to drop in) as they will have it on record that i have genuine windows and not a pirated copy.

 

[Brink]

If you are browsing in Resource Hacker looking for the file, then use Windows Explorer instead to see if the file is there instead.

If not, then run a sfc /scannow command to see if it may be able to replace it since it's a system file.

 

[TheKooster]

Hi Guys - please help. Ive followed all the steps and initially it worked BEFORE I rebooted. Then after reboot sadly my customised logon messaged disappeared. I went thru all the steps again but was suprised to see the winlogon.mui.exe still had the customised messaged in. I have SP1.
So . . . why did it initially work and then stopped working even tho the file shows the message . . . . but most importantly I guess I do I fix it?
Thx to all in advance.

 

[Brink]

Hello TheKooster, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Did you make any changes, install anything, or run anything before this happened?

 

[TheKooster]

Hello TheKooster, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Did you make any changes, install anything, or run anything before this happened?

Nope - I just followed the instructions, then logged of and logged on and it worked. Then without doing anything else I rebooted and logged on and then nothing.