logon studio

idiot needs help

from Stardock Forums
whats going on here?!? I've been using logon studio for a few weeks now and yesterday decided to download more logon screens. I can't get the new screens to load into the program. Nothing is working!?! I uninstalled/reinstalled the program, tried about a dozen different screens....I did have 3 old screens that all keep functioning fine?!? I'm sure it's something I'm doing but can anyone give me a surefire way to get these things fired up?! thanks!
wincustomize
2,911 views 22 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

do you get any error messages?


how are you downloading - browser, theme manager, etc - open with or save as?


 

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
no error messages at all - I'm using latest version firefox...originally I was opening the downloads with logon studio but that doesn't seem to be working anymore - the new files just wont show up in the "current" list of logon screens i already have. so then i tried downloading them to the desktop, opening logonstudio, and then importing them... they won't show up!?! i did notice that the 3 screens that did consistently work (they remained in the "current" list) were all much bigger files than the new ones that i cannot get to work, and when i checked in their folders i found many bitmap files whereas the new screens were just single "logonstudio documents"?? not sure what this all means?
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Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Try putting the files in your Logon studio folder manually..
Assumimg "C" is your root drive got to C:\Program Files\WinCustomize\LogonStudio
You should see the folders of the 3 logons that currently work, put your new ones in thee with them..

Also, check to be sure the Logons arent within another folder..
For example, when you unzip the logon you should only have to open 1 folder to see all the files that makes up the Logon..
If you have to open one folder to open another inside, it will never work that way, just drag the folder thats inside the "Parent" folder out of it and into your Logon theme folder..

Sometimes Logons get zipped incorrectly and they wont load..
People forget you have to zip the "Contents" of the folder and not the actual "Logon" folder itself.

Anyway, I tried to be actually too clear..LoL
Hope this helps..
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeah, you got it right DZ. A .logonxp file is just a .zip file that has been renamed. If the logon you download is a zip file, rename it to .logonxp and click it or try to import it. If that doesn't work, rename it back to .zip, unzip it and put that folder in your Logon Studio folder assuming that there isn't another folder inside of that one. I sounds pretty confusing, but it's the same thing as if you were to dl a Rainlendar skin or some other programs. You have to unzip it and manually put the skin folder where the others are.
It should work by the first method, but as a last resort, do as DZ and I both unclearly explained. :lol: Good luck.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
DZ - ok....what you described I had actually attempted already. i tried again anyhow and still nothing shows up in the 'available logons' list?? can't figure this out!! what file type should these be? everything i grab from wincustomize should be ready to go, right? i've tried using the buttons in the program, 'load' and 'import'...but i also get nowhere.

btw - i do appreciate the clarity!
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
just downloaded the alx alienware logon via FF 1.5.0.1 and it auto opened with logonstudio correctly.

which recent ones have not worked for you?
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
boss0190 - gotcha - tried all that already...so i have 9 logon studio documents in the logonstudio folder...all that needed unzipping were unzipped...but no go!*%@@^*
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Don't assume by any means that the files you get from WC or anywhere are ready to go. Browsers can change the extensions of programs to .zip files when they are .logonxp or .wba or whatever. People can zip a file inside of a file. And tons of them don't work at all in the first place. I've found a couple of logons that hade over 1000 downloads and the file didn't even work and nobody told the person who made it. It is up to the creator of the skin to know what he or she is doing. The WC mods can't check every file uploaded to see if it's working.
The logons should be .logonxp file type. Or, if you are going to put the folder in the Logon Studio parent folder, you should be able to open it and only see the bmps and uifile and ini file, not another folder with those inside of it.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

You should not have Logon Studio documents in the LS folder, they need to be the folder with the logon images inside. No extension, no anything, just a folder. :lol: I know it's frustrating, but one of us will hit on the key for you.
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Try Downloading and installing one of Boss's Logons, I know for a *Fact they work, if it doesnt then we know the problem is *Not with the logons...
Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top
ok - first, i truly appreciate all the responses! second, i'm sure this all stems from some mistake i'm making....so, i just tried to install boss's 'transformer' logon by opening it directly with logonstudio and got nothing. the program opened but nothing was added to the list. i also put it onto my desktop then double-clicked it which opened logonstudio and got it to show up right next to the 'Current:Transformer' indicator but not in the list underneath...no preview available, no nothin!? so i guess what i need is for someone to basically hold my hand through this (as embarrassing as this is for me) and give me step by step instructions as to how to get the job done.....
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Browsers can change the extensions of programs to .zip files when they are .logonxp or .wba or whatever

Only IE will do that....

got it to show up right next to the 'Current:Transformer' indicator but not in the list underneath...no preview available, no nothin!?

I've seen this before, it's nothing you're doing wrong, but I don't remember what the fix is.

Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
did you click 'refresh list'?
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Is the file in "Zip" format when you try to apply it or is it in "logonxp" format?

All you may need to do is change the file extention..

First, if you dont have file extentions set to show you need to do this..

Open a folder in your root directory..any folder will do..
Go to the top menu and choose "Tools"
Click on the "View" Tab and "Un-Tic" Hide extentions of known file types
Close all that and return to the logon "Zip" file right click and rename

From >.zip to >.logonxp see if that works
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
If the logon is showing up in "Current" but not in the list, and your 3 old ones are still working, I'd have to suspect a bad install. It sounds like you are doing everything right but LS can do some strange things and a reinstall fixed it. If it was me, I'd set LS to the default Windows logon, uninstall, reboot, reinstall it, and reboot again and see if that does it. Make sure to set it to the default Windows logon before uninstalling.
Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top
I've tried the refresh button to no avail....

boss - i did exactly what you recommended. with the new install, 3 preloaded welcome screens are visible in the "available" list and all function properly. but again, when i try to apply new screens (including some of yours) nothing loads. so again i noticed that in the logonstudio folder, the 3 preloaded screen folders include about 2 dozen .bmp files each, along with a few other files. all the new screens that i tried to load were located right beside these 3 functioning folders but were just single .logonxp files....seems this difference might be where the problem is?
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
That is the problem. They should not be .logonxp files. A .logonxp file ia a renamed .zip file. You shoule be able to doubleclick a logonxp file and it will unzip itself to the Logon Studio folder and appear in the list of available logons. If that doesn't work, they you need to rename the file....say Transformer.logonxp, to Transformer.zip. Then unzip it into a folder named Transformer. When you click on the Transformer folder, you should find the bmps and the uifile and ini file inside. That Transformer folder is the one that should be in the same folder as the ones that work. Logon Studio needs to access the .ini file to show up in the list and apply the logon, and if it is inside a .logonxp file or a .zip file, it won't work. I really don't know why when you doubleclick on a .logonxp file it doesn't apply, but I've seen other people with the same problem, and usually reinstalling worked. But when that didn't work, doing as I just suggested alway did work. If the 3 logons that come with LS work, then you know that Logon Studio will work on your computer, but for some reason, it doesn't want to install new ones in the normal way.
Good luck. That's about as simple as I can make it, and please post here if it DOES work also, just so I know.
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
all the new screens that i tried to load were located right beside these 3 functioning folders but were just single...logonxp files


I think that perhaps we arent understanding what exactly your "seeing"
From that statement I think your saying that you have ".Logonxp" files in your Logon folder, if this is true, they wont work that way..

You need to click on the logonxp file, that will bring up the logonxp program with a preview of the logon within the .logonxp file

when that happens you then need to click "Apply" to load the logon screen

if you do not see a preview then you need to change the .logonxp extention to .zip and unzip the contents into a folder, name the folder the same as the themes name...
look inside and make sure all you see when you open it are the BMPs and preview JPG UIFILE and Theme Ini.

If when you open the folder there is another inside with the contents, then that is where the problem is, I know this is not the case with Boss's logons, so I am beginning to think that you arent hitting the "Apply" button..

Try that and tell us if it worked..
Reply #19 from Stardock Forums Top
boss and DZ - you guys rock!!! that worked! I was putting the .logonxp files right into the logonstudio folder....i had no idea they were actually .zip files - told you i was doing something stupid! well ya learn something everyday i guess. thanks again for all your help!
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yayyyyyyyyyy!!!! I knew between the 2 of us we'd make some kind of sense. Glad you got it figured out. Now you have to try making a few.
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Cool!!..Now go..Go forth and DOWNLOAD...LoL
Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top
I had the same trub...tried alsorts, including what you lot are on about.  In the end I just reinstalled logonstudio and everything suddenly works....go figure.