I had a Compaq computer at one stage, and later on I bought a PC which was made by a local shop. For both of them, when you bring up the System Properties box, they had a company logo on the main tab of System Properties, and information about the company. How do you put that information there?

I buy parts now and build my own computers, and I’d like to ‘personalise’ them a bit more and put my own picture and information in there.

Can that be done? How?

(Originally posted in September 2004)

Home Builder III, MyPlace, AUSTRALIA

What a great question! (I couldn't have done better if I'd made it up myself!) That’s one of those questions which makes me think “Why the hell didn’t I think of doing that?” You’ve built the system yourself, set it up and got it running well, so you might as well have it personalised a little, purely as an extra little ‘finishing touch’.

Well I’m pleased to tell you that you can do that quite easily, and it doesn’t matter if your copy of Windows is an OEM edition or a full retail version. The technique will work with all Windows versions, and you only need to create two simple files to do it!

The first of those files is an image file. Choose or create the image you wish to use, and ensure that it is saved as a bitmap file, with the filename “oemlogo.bmp”. You might need to experiment a bit with the size, because I wasn’t able to locate a definitive answer to the question of size restrictions. Some references said that the image should be no larger than 180 x 120 pixels, others stated it was 180 x 114 pixels, and another that it was no larger than 172 x 172 pixels. Images which are too large will be displayed cropped.

Next, create a text file (using Notepad is the easiest method) and substitute your own text for the round brackets and text in the following:

[general]

Manufacturer=(your name, nickname, or other title you wish to use)

Model=(a descriptive term to describe the PC)

[Support Information]

Line1=(First line of text)

Line2=(second line of text)

Line3=(third line of text)

That’s it, basically! You can include as many lines of text in the ‘Support Information’ section as you wish, and you can include lines and leave them blank. Be as creative with it as you wish. When you’ve finished, save the file as “oeminfo.ini” (If you are using Notepad you will need to type the full filename and extension, and also change the ‘File type’ entry in the dialogue box to “All files” when you save the file, or you will end up with a ‘.txt’ file extension.)

With both your files created and saved, you simply need to copy them to the correct location for them to be recognised and used. If your system drive is C: that will be:

Windows 2000:
C:\winnt\system32
Windows XP, 2003 Server:
C:\windows\system32
Windows 95, 98, ME:
C:\windows\system

If you have installed Windows to a different drive, then use the appropriate drive letter.

With your files created and correctly positioned, you can bring up ‘System Properties’ by right-clicking ‘My Computer’ and choosing ‘Properties’, or by using <Windows key>+<Pause/Break> and you will see the result of your handiwork. See your logo image and your custom title, and click on the new ‘Support Information’ button to see the clever text you’ve included there.

For example, you might wish to display a picture of yourself or your computer in there, and have the image edited to add your name in a fancy font above or below the picture. You might wish to use those manufacturer and model entries to add a fancy, beastly name for your rig to the system properties display. And then you might wish to add a pop-up message something like this:

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If you need support………

LEAN AGAINST THE NEAREST WALL!

(and then wait for me to get back)

Because if you let your grubby little fingers walk all over my Pride and Joy creation and stuff it up on me then you’d better not even be HERE when I get back!

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Rather cool, eh? Enjoy!

Cheers,

Terry O'Shanassy