Thinkpads Forum

For a few days after my T42 was stolen and while I was waiting for my T60 I used my antique T600 and was reminded of a most excellent feature of that old machine that is sorely missing from the new ones.
You see, I use a power-on password. Without the password, the machine is not usable. It takes some expertise to get past that, but even then the HD password and the BIOS password basically mean that my T42 was a brick for the kids who stole it from my house. Now, if it had been the T600, when you turn the machine on, besides the power-on password prompt, there is a bit of custom text that gives my name, phone number, and the promise of a reward, no questions asked, for the return of the machine. If my T42 had had such a power on prompt, there is a chance it might have been returned.
I now face the same issue with my T60. If someone steals it it's a brick. Even if I install lojack on it it won't do any good, since lojack won't run or be regenerated unless the machine can get into Windows. So, please pretty please, does anyone know of a way to customize the power-on screen of the T60 like in the old ThinkPad days? Does someone know someone at Lenovo who would consider putting that feature back in an update of the BIOS?

Using the Search button at the top of the page, search using the terms: Custom Logo, and check the radio button: Search for all terms. I believe you will find what you are looking for. I know what you mean about the T600 et al, but unfortunately the newer models do not have that feature. On the T600, I believe it was called the Personalization Editor.

Thanks. Basically, it works but the result is disappointing. After wading through some useful and some less useful posts, this is a summary of what I did:
- Download the Bios Update manually from the Lenovo support web site (exe file)
- Ran the exe file which unpacks all the files in a directory under C:\DRIVERS\FLASH
- Read the readme.txt file in that directory. This file explains how to make and install a custom logo.
- Using mspaint, created a 640x480 16 bit file called logo.bmp and put a copy of it in that directory.
- Opened a command window in that directory.
- Ran the provided logo.bat, which showed 0 errors.
- Still in the command window, ran the WINUPTP.EXE file to update the BIOS.
It worked, but the result is disappointing because the new splash screen is shown for only two or three seconds before the screen blanks and the power-on prompt appears on a totally black screen. On the TP600, the custom bitmap remained displayed while waiting for the power-on password. Two or three seconds is not enough time to read let alone write down the info on the splash screen.