Bootskin preview lies!!!

Just some thoughts:

Does the background image, and the progress bar have the EXACT same palette? Meaning 16 colors (4bit). All the colors have to be the EXACT same, in the EXACT same places in the palette. I find irfanview great for this task.

Is the gradient you are using part of the background, or the progress bar? I would personally make it part of the background.

Make sure that you are using .jpg (can .gifs be used??) for BOTH progress bar and background.

Make sure that neither image is using ANY transparancy what so ever (including complete transparancy).

Thats really all I can think of. The previews lie to me when I used to make bootskins also. I could have 256bit (whatever 16.7 million colours is ) backgrounds/progress bars look perfect in the previews, and look like sh!t on bootup. Clearly, this was just testing, I knew I could only use 16 color bootskins.

I hope something I meantioned above helps you out. If not, I hope someone else can help you .

Same palette/transparancy I think are the issues...

I'm afraid there's no way you can do what you want to do.

try grabbing a rectangle off the middle of the screen (below the words and above where you have the bar) and use that

I have been using bitmaps! I tried jpgs and gifs and it didn't recognize either? i dont really care abot the graident, i just want the first one to work. I will trie again now ith some minor changes i have made, oh, by the way do you prefer the graident or just plain white?

thanks guys

The colour for the progress animation background is taken from the darkest colour on the bootskin image. There's no way to change this behaviour.

The background for progress bar is slot 1 of the color palette, open screen image edit the palette so that color you want is in slot one. I do this by changing 2 colors, if color you want is slot 10 make slot 1 that color and slot 10 slot 1 color, save palette, close image without saving changes. Open screen image then progress bar image and apply edited palette to them and save.

Good tip   

Thanks Fuzzy.

I forgot to mention that during booting the image is framed by the slot 1 color, which when is the darkest color of palette is normally not noticeable. When slot 1 is changed to a lighter color the border is noticeable so choose color wisely.
Example of a boot with edited palette that border shows if you want to see how it looks WWW Link
Will only show when booting not in bootskin preview.

Thanks for that Cavan1!!!

I never knew that...*eagerly goes to make some boots*

You're welcome KiloKrash.

eagerly goes to make some boots

no dead white slot 1 on a screen image with a dead black background, that is unless you want to walk around seeing a white box everywhere for hours after booting computer up

Thanks Cavan1 ,


I had already worked out that it must be the first indexed colour that is the background, so i made the image negative then saved the palette, turns out that it looks awesome negative, even better than the origional in my opinion, i quickly finished it and i should release it soon .


I have made other alienware things and alienware still haven't got back to me about permission, does anyone have any contacts in Alienware or know how i could upload it without permission, but stating that they wuld not get back to me?


Heres a pic of the Dark AlienMorph

You're welcome Hall Dude.

You will probably have to keep this one to yourself, it cannot be accepted without permission. If Alienware choose not to respond, then you'll just have to accept that as a no 

Yea I have a feeling that they won't respond again
Come on Fuzzy Logic, being a moderator and all, surely you know of a loophole or... something?

What do you think of it by the way, any crits would be good

They're fine, as monochrome boots go, but there's no loophole...

damn. oh well. looks like you guys 'l have to miss out then

thanks anyway