A bootsplash, also known as a bootscreen, is a graphical representation of the

boot process In computing, booting is the process of starting a computer as initiated via hardware such as a button or by a software command. After it is switched on, a computer's central processing unit (CPU) has no software in its main memory, so so ...

of the

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

. A bootsplash can be a simple visualization of the scrolling boot messages in the

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

, but it can also present graphics or some combinations of both. Unlike

splash screen A splash screen is a graphical control element consisting of a window containing an image, a logo, and the current version of the software. A splash screen can appear while a game or program is launching. A splash page is an introduction page on a ...

s, a bootsplash is not necessarily designed for marketing purposes; it can be intended to enhance the experience of the user as eye candy, or provide the user with messages (with an added advantage of color-coding facility) to diagnose the state of the system.

Microsoft Windows

All versions of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

Windows feature a boot screen, which is loaded during the startup process. With extra, third-party utilities, it is possible to replace the default Windows boot screen with custom images, text, and/or animations.

Windows Vista

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

, the default boot screen is represented by a green indeterminate

progress indicator A progress indicator is an element of a command-line interface, a textual user interface, or a graphical user interface that is intended to inform the user that an operation is in progress, to reassure that the system is not hung or waiting for ...

. The boot screen can be changed so that it displays a static image of an

aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

with the text, "Starting Windows Vista" by enabling the "No GUI boot" option within the Windows System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe). Microsoft would update the aurora image throughout the lifecycle of the operating system, starting with the first service pack, where it was altered to match the image displayed during the operating system's

hibernation Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...

screen.

Windows 7

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

, the boot screen will initially display the "Starting Windows" text, then a Windows flag animation will appear at the center of the screen. On unsupported systems, and sometimes when booting into recovery environment, the

boot screen will be used instead as the fallback. Changes of the boot screen, although possible through third-party utilities, is extremely risky and may cause the system to be unable to boot. Also, the hidden "Aurora" boot screen was removed.

Windows 8 and later

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for downl ...

and later, the boot screen will display the Windows logo along with the loading circle. On

Legacy In law, a legacy is something held and transferred to someone as their inheritance, as by will and testament. Personal effects, family property, marriage property or collective property gained by will of real property. Legacy or legacies may refer ...

boot, the boot screen is displayed in 1024×768 resolution, and the boot screen is squished to accommodate for the 16:9 aspect ratio. On

UEFI UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a set of specifications written by the UEFI Forum. They define the architecture of the platform firmware used for booting and its interface for interaction with the operating system. Examples of ...

boot, the boot screen is displayed in highest resolution available. If the

ACPI Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is an open standard that operating systems can use to discover and configure computer hardware components, to perform power management (e.g. putting unused hardware components to sleep), auto c ...

BGRT table is present, the boot screen will display the

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

logo instead.

Linux distributions

* Bootsplash – the first and original implementation of a Linux kernel bootsplash, superseded by Splashy * fbsplash – Gentoo implementation as bootsplash program *

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

– uses Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) and KMS driver * Splashy – a graphical boot process designed to replace the aging Bootsplash program *

usplash Usplash is a software project in the Ubuntu community. Historically, scrolling text "verbose mode" has typically appeared on Linux computers during boot. Usplash replaces the scrolling-text screens with a graphical splash screen. It was designe ...

– former bootsplash program used by

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...

* XSplash – new splash program used by Ubuntu starting from 9.10 * bootanimation - a simple splash for Android OS just showing some decompressed images.

Microsoft Windows

Windows Vista

Windows 7

Windows 8 and later

Linux distributions

See also

References

Further reading