GRUB, the Grand Unified Bootoader for Linux, uses GFX as a way to show pretty background screens in the boot process.
The current release of PCLOS has the nice Longhorn logo on a blue background. This, like almost everything else in PCLOS, can be customized.
The easiest way to do it is to install a new GFX theme using Synaptic. There are themes for Gnome, LXDE and Zen that add a new touch to the current GRUB screen.
However, if you want a more personal approach, you can actually use your own image as GRUB background. Here are some simple ways to do it.
Something to keep in mind is that the images should be in jpg format, 800x600 pixels. This means that, unless you edit them appropriately, they may look distorted in wide screen monitors.
The background images reside in /usr/share/gfxboot/themes.
The default ones are in /usr/share/gfxboot/themes/PCLinuxOS/install. They are called "back.jpg" and "welcome.jpg". You can just replace this images with the ones you want.
However, in the interest of being tidy, I would suggest installing the LXDE theme from Synaptic, and making the changes in /usr/share/gfxboot/themes/lxde. You will notice that the LXDE theme consist only of these two images - you keep the original default theme intact, and you can play with the images in the lxde folder at your leisure.
If you customize the images in any of the themes, the changes are not detected immediately. In order to apply them, just open a terminal as root, and type
“grub-gfxmenu –update-theme” (no quotes)
That's it.
Now, any of these customizations may be lost whenever KDE4 is updated. The update will overwrite the custom images and revert them to the default ones.
The following method can be used to permanently keep the customizations you make to GRUB boot screens.
1- Install the LXDE GFX theme.
2- Make a copy of the lxde folder in /usr/share/gfxboot/themes, and rename it something like "custom-gfx-theme"
3- Put the images you want to use inside this folder. Name them "back.jpg" and "welcome.jpg" accordingly.
3- Inside the /usr/share/gfxboot/themes folder, there's a symbolic link named "current". This one points to the theme in use. Modify the link to point to "custom-gfx-theme"
5- Open a terminal as root, and type "grub-gfxmenu –update-theme" (no quotes).
That's it. This will apply your custom changes to GRUB boot screen, and preserve them intact when KDE is updated.
I hope this tip is useful.
Ghost.
