In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, you can customize the color of the Start screen using the personalization options from the Settings charm. The color you choose for the Start screen will be applied to your sign-in screen, e.g. the screen you see right after you enter your credentials but before the Start screen appears. However, the screen which lists the user accounts before you sign in and after you sign out has a different color. That color comes from the registry value for the default sign-in screen, which cannot be changed by the user because no option exists inside PC Settings to change it. Let's see how we can change that color.
- Download Winaero's freeware Lock Screen Customizer.
- Run the appropriate version of the app. It has the separate versions for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 and 32-bit/64-bit.
- If you are using Windows 8, use the Color Set dropdown to set the preferred color and then check the "Apply customizations to the default Lock Screen" option.
This will set the color you choose as the background color for the "Shutting Down" screen too. - If you are using Windows 8.1, click the "Change login screen color" link. The color you choose there will be used as the "Shutting Down" screen background color.
That's it. Now you can customize these colors any time you want.
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