Customize the System Properties box

Customize the System Properties box

Two Images (sysdm.cpl and oemlogo.bmp) and Text (oeminfo.ini)

This is a minor customization, and frankly . . . who cares?? But for some of us, well . . . we just love to tinker.

To get to the systems properties box, go to Control Panel and double-click on System or right-click on My Computer and select Properties. You will see one or two images on the left, and a bunch of text on the right.

the upper left default picture is an image of the XP logo inside a computer monitor
the lower left picture, by default does not exist - but you may have one there, since companies that manufacture PC's often put their OEM logo there (Original Equipment Manufacturer). That is the purpose of that space. But you can use your own image by creating a bitmap file called oemlogo.bmp
the text references the file oeminfo.ini - which is easily editable in Notepad

Before

After

See also www.virtualplastic.net is a fantastic site that explains many Windows modifications for all sorts of default images and other tweaks.

IMPORTANT - many sites that describe this process insist that your image must be 8-bit indexed bmp (256 colors) - but you can use full 24-bit color for the two bmp images !!! However, you will need 8-bit (256 color) images if you want to use transparency. In all cases, use BMP files, not GIF's.

Important: You must have the text file oeminfo.ini or else the bitmap will not be displayed !!

The text that you can customize is under the headings "Registered To" and "Computer" (you cannot modify the "System" text.

After customizing you may need to reboot before the new image and text shows up.

To add custom manufacturer and support information you need to create two new files and store them in the following folders:

Win95-98-ME - "windows\system"

WinNT-2000-XP - either "windows\system32" or "winnt\system32"

You are customizing the OEM text, and the OEM image of the System Properties box.

Customization Tools

For automatic customization, get Tweak XP Pro or OEM Logo Manager - but these work with the lower left image and the text only. They do not customize the upper left bitmap in sysdm.cpl !!

Tweak XP Pro is not free but it is a must for any serious XP user !!!

Manual Customization

The Text - OEMinfo.ini

The first file is a text file called "OEMINFO.INI" - and it can be edited to change the OEM text info on the right. To create the file open notepad and copy the template below, make any changes and save the file in the System directory.

25 characters max per line

OEMINFO.INI Template

[General] (*** additional text is placed in the box by your system in a few lines after this text)
Manufacturer=Your Company, Inc.
Model=Your Computer Model
SupportURL=http://your.support.site/
LocalFile=c:\your\local\support\file.htm

[Support Information] (NOTE - you will only see this text if you click the "Support Info" button)
Line1=first line of support information
Line2=second line
Line3=third line
Line4=fourth line
...
LineN=nth line - up to 10 lines
; Create as many lines as you need by incrementing the Line numberIt must strictly conform to the following requirements:

Here is a typical oeminfo.ini file :

[General]
Manufacturer=PC Doc
Model=Dell XPS 450R (1.4 MHz)
[Support Information]
Line1=John Doe
Line2=200 Main St.
Line3=Sterling, MN 20987

*** Changing the info on the processor, underneath model/manufacturer, can be done at this registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Hardware\Description\System\CentralProcessor\0\ProcessorNameString.

The Lower Left Image - OEMlogo.bmp

The file is a bitmap named Oemlogo.bmp - again, you must also have the text file oeminfo.ini or else the bitmap will not be displayed !!

Display Size - this can vary and there are several settings listed for this file on the web - all seem to work. But the limit is no larger than 180 pixels wide and 120 pixels high. If you use OEM Logo Manager the limit is 180x114 !!

180x120 is a common size (OEM Logo Manager help file says the max is 180x114 - but I have used 180x120)
Microsoft recommends a square - 172x172 for Normal fonts, which greatly exceeds the OEM Logo Manager help file's height limit of 114

Palette - for transparent images use 256-color (8 bit) - for non-transparent use millions of colors (24-bit)

Transparency and the Palette - use the Windows 256-color system palette - create a .bmp with 256 colors (tested with system and IE browser palette), and the transparent color will default to either the pixel color used in the bottom left or top left corner of the image (I have seen both quoted from several sources) !!! If you create a .bmp with the standard VGA palette (16 predefined colors), the transparent color is the pixel just to the right of the bottom left pixel !! Either way, you can simply add a border around your image and the color of the border will be the transparent color since that includes bottom left, top left, and the pixel next to bottom left. If you have a background colour that you do not want to be transparent put another colour at pixel (0,0), preferably 1 that doesn't appear in the rest of the image.

Caution - I have personally used 256-color Windows system palette with Photoshop and the result was horrible !!! Not sure what palette is actually needed to make it look good. You ca open any of the image in the Samples folder of OEM Logo Manager and use the same palette - since all of those image palettes work. But they are simple palettes with only a few colors.

NOTE1: If your bitmap image is smaller than this specification, it appears centered in the rectangle. If it is larger than this specification, part of it may appear to be cropped under certain font and screen resolutions, or it may not appear at all.

NOTE2: you can use TweakXP Pro and can use filenames other than "OEMlogo.bmp". Open the utility and goto Windows Tweaks II / Specify OEM info on Systems Properties Page". The files for this are stored in "Program Files\TweakXP Pro\OEMlogo" folder, but you can browse and select any you like so long as they are approx 176x120, 256 colors.

The Upper Left Image (monitor image) - sysdm.cpl

For this image, you've got to modify "sysdm.cpl", bitmap 1, in your windows\system32 directory and save the file to a new cpl.

Do not replace the original sysdm.cpl while in Windows !!! It is a WFP (Windows File Protecion) File, and this can cause problems !!!

FAT32 drive - create a new sysdm2.cpl file, boot with w Win98 boot disk and copy the new file to sysdm.cpl

NTFS drive - can't access NTFS with a boot disk - so create a new sysdm.cpl with a different name, and use TweakUI to hide the old icon.

The Bitmap - the default XP bitmap is 118x113, 256 colors (8-bit). The size can vary - use a max of 200x200.

You will need Tweak UI and Resource Hacker to do this !! For Win95-98-ME you will also need eXeScope because the image is 16-bit. The bitmap is 16-bit with Win95-98 and 32-bit with WinXP-2000.

WinXP-2000 with FAT32 Drive

backup (copy) the file \windows\system32\sysdm.cpl to another folder on your hard drive
start Resource Hacker
open sysdm.cpl and immediately save it to sysdm2.cpl
select Bitmap/1/1033 - you will see the monitor picture
click Action/Save {Bitmap . . .] - and save it to a temporary bmp file such as orig.bmp
either open the file in Photoshop and edit, or create a new one, or use an existing image. Save the file to a new name such as new.bmp The size is flexible - I have used up to 200x200.
Non-Transparent - you can use full 24-bit color
Transparent - open any full-color image in Photoshop and select Mode/Indexed and use a 256 color palette - preferably load the same palette used by the default XP image (download here). DO NOT USE the Windows System Palette !! It does not include the transparent color index for magenta (255, 1, 255). Here is the 200x166 bitmap with magenta 255,1,255 for the transparent area. I used this for the "after" example at the top.
click Action/Replace Bitmap . . . and select new.bmp
save the file as sysdm2.cpl (or any name, so long as it ends in cpl)
reboot using Win98 boot disk
enter the following commands while in DOS mode:
cd \windows\system32
copy sysdm2.cpl sysdm.cpl
remove the floppy and reboot normally - test by opening the System Properties box
if successful, delete windows\system32\sysdm2.cpl
Done

This method will work with both the System Properties box launched from Control Panel - and from the right-click option from My Computer.

NOTE: if you get WFP (Windows File Protection) messages upon final reboot or other odd problems - reboot with the Win98 floppy, copy the backup sysdm.cpl file you saved in Step 1 to windows\system32\sysdm.cpl, remove the floppy, reboot, and finally - use the NTFS method below, which will leave sysdm.cpl alone, and instead use the Control Panel icon that points to the copy, "sysdm2.cpl"

WinXP-2000 with NTFS Drive

start Resource Hacker
open sysdm.cpl and immediately save it to sysdm2.cpl
open Control Panel and hit F5 - you should see two System Properties Icons - close Control Panel
select Bitmap/1/1033 - you will see the monitor picture
click Action/Save {Bitmap . . .] - and save it to a temporary bmp file such as orig.bmp
either open the file in Photoshop and edit, or create a new one, or use an existing image. Save the file to a new name such as new.bmp
Non-Transparent - you can use full 24-bit color
Transparent - open any full-color image in Photoshop and select Mode/Indexed and use 256 colors, preferably load the same palette used by the default XP image (download here). The transparent color must be magenta (255, 1, 255). The size is flexible - I have used up to 200x200. See the "after" example at the top where I used traparency.
click Action/Replace Bitmap . . . and select new.bmp
save the file as sysdm2.cpl (or any name, so long as it ends in cpl)
go to Windows Explorer, and remove the backup CPL File "sysdm2_original.cpl" (when you change a cpl file, XP will create a backup of the original).
start Control Panel and hit F5 to refresh - you should again see the two System Properties Icons - the first one will open the defauly box, and the second one will open your customized box
run TweakUI, click Control Panel, and uncheck sysdm.cpl - this leaves only the customized version, sysdm2.cpl visible in Control Panel
Done

NOTE: if you do not see the 2nd icon, hit F5. If that does not show it - then logoff and log back on.

This method will work with the System Properties box launched from Control Panel - but not from the right-click option from My Computer, since that defaults to the protected file, sysdm.cpl

Win95-98-ME - use basically the same method, but the bitmap is a 16-bit file, so you will the eXeScope resource hacker (the freeware alternative doesn't do 16-bit files). Photoshop does work with 16-bit images but Resource Hacker cannot open the sysdm.cpl (says it is not a valid Win32 file). Also, the file sysdm.cpl is in windows\system

If you mess things up - here is the original default XP monitor image:

use Resource Hacker to replace the bitmap and go back to normal - then save the file sysdm.cpl

A nice feature of eXeScope is, it lets you modify all text items inside the .cpl too, and lots of dialog properties (like a renamed, resized and repositioned "support information" button in the example above).