Windows 7 startup logo lost

[Robin Bignall]

I successfully transferred my system to an SSD using image
backup/restore, but instead of the W7 startup logo before the logon page
(four coloured windows drifting together above the Copyright Microsoft
sign) I get a horizontal progress bar with vertical green stripes which
must be something from Vista. Any ideas on what happened or how I can
get the right logo back?

 

[Ed Cryer]

I successfully transferred my system to an SSD using image
backup/restore, but instead of the W7 startup logo before the logon page
(four coloured windows drifting together above the Copyright Microsoft
sign) I get a horizontal progress bar with vertical green stripes which
must be something from Vista. Any ideas on what happened or how I can
get the right logo back?

It's a common problem, and there's a utility written by these guys here;
http://www.askvg.com/fix-windows-7-boot-screen-changed-to-vista-styled/


I'm heartened by your success with installing the SSD.
Did it all work? Did the new SSD go into the same place with the same
screws? Simple system image restore? No registry tweaking?

Now that you've had time to use it, what's your opinion on improved speed?

Ed

 

[Robin Bignall]

It's a common problem, and there's a utility written by these guys here;
http://www.askvg.com/fix-windows-7-boot-screen-changed-to-vista-styled/

The first bcdedit runs but changes nothing.
The second won't run. Does %WinDir% mean \Windows ?
I have forgotten how Dos-like commands work.

I'm heartened by your success with installing the SSD.

Thank you.

Did it all work? Did the new SSD go into the same place with the same
screws?

Yes; came with an adapter for a 3.5 inch drive bay but only 2 screws
secure the SSD.

Simple system image restore? No registry tweaking?

No registry tweaking, but I use ShadowProtect for backup/restore, and
according to their forum, far more experienced users than me have become
baffled by the "reserved" partition(s) in Win7. It took me a while just
to ignore restoring "reserved" and just restore "C:". Don't know if
this is where it found the Vista startup.

 

[Robin Bignall]

The first bcdedit runs but changes nothing.
The second won't run. Does %WinDir% mean \Windows ?
I have forgotten how Dos-like commands work.

Well, yes it does. The error message is "Failed to copy boot files". Is
there any way to (re)create them?

Thank you.

Yes; came with an adapter for a 3.5 inch drive bay but only 2 screws
secure the SSD.

No registry tweaking, but I use ShadowProtect for backup/restore, and
according to their forum, far more experienced users than me have become
baffled by the "reserved" partition(s) in Win7. It took me a while just
to ignore restoring "reserved" and just restore "C:". Don't know if
this is where it found the Vista startup.

Booting is about twice as fast. I don't have any i/o-bound applications
to test it on.

I realised that an update install would solve this problem: Windows 7
does think I have Vista installed. I have tried this long-winded
process 3 times. Each time it stops on step 3 -- unpacking Windows
install files -- because it wants to reboot and says it can't. You OK,
and it throws everything it's done away and you have to start from the
beginning. Apparently a very fragile process, because my hardware works
fine.

 

[Robin Bignall]

Well, yes it does. The error message is "Failed to copy boot files". Is
there any way to (re)create them?

Is there anything I can copy from the W7 installation disk?

 

[Ed Cryer]

Well, yes it does. The error message is "Failed to copy boot files". Is
there any way to (re)create them?
Booting is about twice as fast. I don't have any i/o-bound applications
to test it on.

I realised that an update install would solve this problem: Windows 7
does think I have Vista installed. I have tried this long-winded
process 3 times. Each time it stops on step 3 -- unpacking Windows
install files -- because it wants to reboot and says it can't. You OK,
and it throws everything it's done away and you have to start from the
beginning. Apparently a very fragile process, because my hardware works
fine.

Reading through the exchanges of people who tried the solution is an
education.
I've gathered three important points;
1. You must run Command prompt as Administrator.
2. Windows 7 boot screen requires at least 1024 * 768 native video
resolution, otherwise uses Vista.
3. Changes made? Especially with display settings; and most especially
with onboard memory used for video.
One person got it working after a simple BIOS update.

Another thing is that several people claim that having the Vista logo
improves boot speed!

*************

Second line of attack. There's a program here that allows you to edit
the boot screen, save it. I've downloaded and tested it, and it goes
straight into the Win7 logo.
Try it and save it as it is.
It resides in Windows/System32 winload.exe


Ed

 

[Ed Cryer]

Reading through the exchanges of people who tried the solution is an
education.
I've gathered three important points;
1. You must run Command prompt as Administrator.
2. Windows 7 boot screen requires at least 1024 * 768 native video
resolution, otherwise uses Vista.
3. Changes made? Especially with display settings; and most especially
with onboard memory used for video.
One person got it working after a simple BIOS update.

Another thing is that several people claim that having the Vista logo
improves boot speed!

*************

Second line of attack. There's a program here that allows you to edit
the boot screen, save it. I've downloaded and tested it, and it goes
straight into the Win7 logo.
Try it and save it as it is.
It resides in Windows/System32 winload.exe


Ed

Oops! I forgot to post the URL.
http://www.coderforlife.com/projects/win7boot/

Ed

 

[Robin Bignall]

Oops! I forgot to post the URL.
http://www.coderforlife.com/projects/win7boot/

Ed, thanks for all this. It occurred to me after several hours (and
many senior moments) that it might be a good idea to boot from my W7
install disk, choose 'repair, select the command prompt and run your
commands from there. It didn't like bcdedit for some reason, but
bcdboot ran without comment.
When I rebooted there was the W7 logo! Yes, it's probably a little
slower than the Vista one, but it's prettier.
I went into admin tools, system and boot, and there were the two boots:
W7 and Vista. I deleted the Vista one and the W7 became the default.
Voila. Thanks again for the help. I downloaded that program, just to
have it around.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Does %WinDir% mean \Windows ?
I have forgotten how Dos-like commands work.

I can't contribute to solving your real problem, but I can answer this
one

%Windir% almost certainly means C:\Windows, but you can verify it.

Open a cmd window and run the command echo %windir%.

Or else run the command %set% to see all.

It's also visible in Computer Properties if you figure out where to look
(Advanced, Change Environment variables, but DON'T change anything,
please!).

BTW, environment variables seem to be case independent.

 

[Robin Bignall]

I can't contribute to solving your real problem, but I can answer this
one

%Windir% almost certainly means C:\Windows, but you can verify it.

Open a cmd window and run the command echo %windir%.

Or else run the command %set% to see all.

It's also visible in Computer Properties if you figure out where to look
(Advanced, Change Environment variables, but DON'T change anything,
please!).

BTW, environment variables seem to be case independent.

I wish M$ could be consistent, Gene. In one set of cmd windows (in my
installed W7) to get help one has to enter "help /?". In the cmd window
opened if you boot the install disk, select "repair my computer" and
select cmd, one enters just "help".
Anyway, I used the bcdboot command in the latter command window and
picked up the W7 startup as easy as pie.

 

[SC Tom]

I can't contribute to solving your real problem, but I can answer this
one

%Windir% almost certainly means C:\Windows, but you can verify it.

Open a cmd window and run the command echo %windir%.

Or else run the command %set% to see all.

It's just SET and press enter. The % aren't necessary (in fact, they throw
an error on my Win7 HP 32-bit).

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I wish M$ could be consistent, Gene. In one set of cmd windows (in my
installed W7) to get help one has to enter "help /?". In the cmd window
opened if you boot the install disk, select "repair my computer" and
select cmd, one enters just "help".
Anyway, I used the bcdboot command in the latter command window and
picked up the W7 startup as easy as pie.

Sorry, I don't know what M$ means.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

It's just SET and press enter. The % aren't necessary (in fact, they throw
an error on my Win7 HP 32-bit).

Aagh!

I obviously didn't read what I typed.

Thanks for catching that.

 

[Char Jackson]

Sorry, I don't know what M$ means.

I think it's a Regex expression.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I think it's a Regex expression.

Watch that stuff - there's always the danger that I'll splatter coffee
all over my system...

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Watch that stuff - there's always the danger that I'll splatter coffee
all over my system...

BTW, right after I stopped laughing at your post (which was *after* I
replied to it!), just for fun I opened a cmd window in my W7
installation and typed help without an argument and got a long list of
help on various commands. When I typed help /? I got help on how to use
help.

The above is 100% consistent and 100% as I expected.

I think I know the reason, though. I am running MS software obtained
from reputable sources, not M$ software.

 

[Robin Bignall]

Sorry, I don't know what M$ means.

You've stumbled onto the short name for Microsoft. M$

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

You've stumbled onto the short name for Microsoft. M$

No, I've criticized your attitude (apparently I was too subtle).

 

[SC Tom]

Aagh!

I obviously didn't read what I typed.

Thanks for catching that.

You're welcome, no problem

After doing it, I was surprised at the number of entries. I don't recall
near that many in XP or earlier Windows.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

You're welcome, no problem

After doing it, I was surprised at the number of entries. I don't recall
near that many in XP or earlier Windows.

The one that bugs me is the path. It's huge. (I don't recall how big the
whole set of environment variables was in the older versions.)

Because the method given by MS in the properties box is so bad[1], when
I have to edit the path, I have gotten into the habit of copying the
path variable, pasting it into a text editor, and making the changes
there. After significant amounts of proofreading I finally paste it over
the value in the properties screen's edit box.

[1] You get to do it in a one-line edit box which is 35 characters long.
Maybe there's a way to change it somewhere or somehow else, but I do it
so rarely I haven't bothered to look.