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Walkthrough: Customize Windows Welcome

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Windows Welcome is the user's first look at the Windows Vista® operating system. To customize and to brand Windows Welcome, you must update the Oobe.xml file. The following procedure describes how to update Oobe.xml to add your customizations to Windows Welcome.

A sample of Oobe.xml is provided with the Windows OPK and the Windows AIK in the \Samples directory. This sample uses the fictitious company Fabrikam and Fabrikam graphics and offers.

To view the sample files in Windows Welcome and the Welcome Center

  1. Copy the \Info folder to \Windows\System32\Oobe, and copy the \Fabrikam folder to the root of the C: drive, where C is the letter of the drive onto which you have installed Windows Vista.

To view Windows Welcome with the sample content

  1. On the Start menu, point to All Programs, and then click Accessories.
  2. Right-click the command prompt shortcut and click Run as administrator.
  3. Accept the User Account Control dialog box.
  4. Navigate to \Windows\System32\Sysprep.
  5. Run sysprep /oobe.
  6. Start the computer.

Note

You cannot edit the Oobe.xml file by using Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM).

To customize Windows Welcome by using Oobe.xml

  1. Create a file named Oobe.xml and store this file in Windows\System32\Oobe\Info.
  2. Additionally, a sample Oobe.xml and sample graphic files are provided with the Windows OPK and the Windows AIK in the \Samples directory. This sample uses the fictitious company Fabrikam and Fabrikam graphics and offers. To use this sample in a production environment, replace the Fabrikam content with your company's content.
  3. By using a text editor or an XML editor, such as Notepad, update Oobe.xml with the appropriate files, paths, and content.
  4. Save your updated version of Oobe.xml in Windows\System32\Oobe\Info, or in the appropriate language- and locale-specific folders required for your customizations.
  5. Test Windows Welcome.

Additional Information

For information about Oobe.xml settings and the folder structure for multiple-language and multiple-region deployments of Oobe.xml, see Oobe.xml Technical Reference.

To test Windows Welcome

  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Accessories.
  2. Right-click the command prompt shortcut and click Run as administrator.
  3. Accept the User Account Control dialog box.
  4. Navigate to \Windows\System32\Sysprep.
  5. Run sysprep /oobe.
  6. Start the computer.

See Also

Concepts

Oobe.xml Technical Reference