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Customize the Manufacturer Support Info in Windows Vista

If you have a computer with pre-installed Windows Vista, most likely you'll notice the manufacturer's support information when you look in the system properties window. If you'd like to customize this information or use a picture of your own in this space, you can do so easily.

Right-click on Computer and choose Properties or use the Win+Break key combination to bring up the System properties screen:

image

Close-up view:

image 

To edit the information in this screen, you'll need to open up your registry editor and navigate down to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OEMInformation

Note: If this key does not exist, you can download the following registry file, which you will want to edit before double-clicking to add into the registry.

image

You can modify the following fields and put any values you'd like into them, with the exception of the Logo key, which you probably shouldn't change.

  • Manufacturer
  • SupportHours
  • SupportPhone
  • SupportURL
  • Logo

The last important step is to either create or modify a bitmap file stored at the location specified in the Logo key, usually set to:

C:\Windows\System32\oemlogo.bmp

For best results, you'll want to use a small logo file, preferably somewhere around 100×100 height/width. Also note that copying the file to that folder will require administrative permissions.

The Geek is the founder of How-To Geek and a geek enthusiast. When he's not coming up with great how-to articles, he's probably writing at his personal blog. This article was written on 12/4/07 and tagged with: Windows Vista, Desktop Customization

Comments (11)

  1. rothgar

    Great tip. Is there a way to do this info in XP too?

  2. The Geek

    rothgar:

    Yes, there is… I think it's a little different though. I'll be posting an article about that later this week.

  3. rzlmlchm009

    Be careful though, Dell phone technicians have been instructed, at least in the past, to look for the Dell logo before supporting the Operating System. If your Dell Logo is missing, the phone technician might be reluctant to assist you with any Windows or software issues on your Dell computer. They'll have to pull up your system info to verify that your system did come with Vista (insert edition here) before supporting it.

  4. KVG Rao

    Good Info, Thanks.

    A slight change for the path:
    C:\Windows\System32\oobe\info\XYZ.bmp

  5. FOXHOUND

    need help please i cant get the pic to work

  6. BlueShadow

    how about in XP? You said you will post it….

  7. BlueShadow

    I found it!
    It’s easy to customize Windows XP’s General tab in the System Properties dialog box with your support contact information and your company’s logo just by using Notepad. Here’s how:

    Launch Notepad and type the following text, replacing the dummy information shown here with your own:

    [General]
    Manufacturer=xxxxxxx
    Model=xxxxxxxx
    [Support Information]
    Line1=Call xxxx-xxxxx for technical support

    Save the file in the C:\Windows\System32 folder as Oeminfo.ini.
    To add your logo to the General tab, create a 256-color BMP file that is 96 by 96 pixels in size.
    SSave the file in the C:\Windows\System32 folder as Oemlogo.bmp.
    After you create the files, you can check the results immediately by pressing [Windows][Break]. This will quickly bring up the System Properties dialog box.

  8. Chris

    Thank you. acer put the wrong model number in the registry. i fixed it with this tip

  9. Vikingprincess

    Wonderful! Thanks!
    None of the other 'hack patches' for this worked.

    I simply left the path for the logo empty and no logo displays.
    If Windows doesn't like this at reboot, I'll just save a small white square as a bmp instead.

  10. Jahid

    Lots of thanks.

  11. Jahid

    Also I want to put my email address on the system property.


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