Filed under: TUAW Tips
TUAW Tips: Replace login screen background
Are you tired of the standard background for the login window? Well, if you are running Tiger or Leopard, you can easily change this picture to anything you wish. This is handy for schools or organizations who want a static background showing off their spiffy logo. For Leopard Users
To change the background, just replace the picture file located here:
/System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg
Be sure to keep the original file in case you want to change it back to the original picture. We suggest changing the original to "DefaultDesktopOriginal.jpg" or something similar.For Tiger Users
Tiger users don't have it as easy. You have to replace the picture by editing a login window preference file. Open Terminal and type in the following command, replacing "path_to_picture.jpg" with the actual path to the picture you want as the background:
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow DesktopPicture 'path_to_picture.jpg'Since this is a sudo command, you will be required to authenticate as an administrator before the command will be run. Once you enter the command and logout, you should see the changes.
Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's TUAW Tips and Terminal Tips sections.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Drew said 12:20PM on 9-22-2008
Anyone know if there is a way for the login screen background to always match the desktop picture of the administrator's account? Any replies appreciated.
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masternave said 12:22PM on 9-22-2008
Didn't work for me... didn't have permission to edit the file's name (Leopard.)
Then again, I'm no l337 mac haxx0r. :P
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Condor said 11:21AM on 9-23-2008
I had to enable the root account, masternave. Then disable after you are done.
hobbster said 12:30PM on 9-22-2008
Actually, it's even easier in Tiger. Simply name whatever image you want to use as the login screen background "Aqua Blue.jpg" (or "Aqua Graphite.jpg" if you're using the Graphite Appearance) and put it in /Library/DesktopPictures/. Rename the image(s) already there so if you want to revert later.
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brandon said 12:33PM on 9-22-2008
Why not use a free utility - and not have to hack from the command line?
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/icons_screensavers/desktop2login.html
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corbs132 said 1:00PM on 9-22-2008
and now I ask you, why use a program when you can do it via the terminal?
Justin said 4:20PM on 9-22-2008
Because for some people using an app is just easier.
Simon Arch said 5:02PM on 9-22-2008
And for some people using the command line is preferable. Isn't it great we've got all these options?
Fernando said 12:37PM on 9-22-2008
I have a picture I want to set as the login window background, but it has to be titled to work, any leet h4xes to do that?
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corbs132 said 12:53PM on 9-22-2008
@masternave: try this in the terminal
sudo mv /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktopOriginal.jpg
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SmileyDude said 12:56PM on 9-22-2008
Actually, the Tiger method works just fine in Leopard -- it certainly is a cleaner solution than replacing files in /System .
If you do want to replace the image with a new image that isn't already installed, I would recommend dropping the image file into /Library/CoreServices and then doing the defaults write method to point to that image.
Notice I said /Library/CoreServices and not /System/Library/CoreServices -- /System/Library is Apple's area while /Library is the machine administrator's area. Local changes belong in /Library.
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Jash Sayani said 1:04PM on 9-22-2008
Nice tip. But CoreServices gets updated every time OS X version is updated (eg. from 1.5.4 to 10.5.5) and all the mods are lost. I lost all my mods after 10.5.5 update.
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ianlive said 5:37PM on 9-22-2008
This wasn't true for me Jash. I modded my Dock in Cores Services way back at 10.5.0 and it has stuck through the updates.
Rick Lobrecht said 1:15PM on 9-22-2008
I too like the defaults write command as a cleaner solution. I've implemented this as Reward if found type screen.
Does anyone know of a way to have my user wallpaper show up at the unlock screen?
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Sabi said 1:25PM on 9-22-2008
now if someone can successfully change the skin of the login window to transparent, or completeely change the way it looks i will be impressed...
ofcourse I tried twice and both times i ended up failing miserably...(couldn't boot into login screen, but i had backups so w/e)
there was a forum post on macthemes2.0 a while ago...
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Brian said 1:52PM on 9-22-2008
SuperDocker does it easy without the mucking about in system files and Terminal. I think it's 10.5 only.
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kj said 2:35PM on 9-22-2008
I too use Desktop2Login for this. I'm scared of the terminal.
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Doc said 3:15PM on 9-22-2008
same with leopard (.../water.jpg is an example):
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow DesktopPicture -string "/Library/Desktop Pictures/Nature/Water.jpg"
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cowboy_k said 3:20PM on 9-22-2008
Neat trick - I don't suppose there's any way to have different images for each monitor on a dual-(or multi-)monitor setup?
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supergrover said 6:11PM on 9-22-2008
um...i love codes and all that, but you have to be really careful, and i don't think it's a great idea to risk something happening to change something you only see for 2 1/2 seconds. just my 5 cents (figuring for inflation-- :) )
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