Windows 10: Console Logon Screen

works fine maybe we could get a better Windows.UI.Logon.dll win2000 style if it can be ported to x64 or use reactos mod_?

MAybe port msgina.dll from x64 server 2003?

most of the gui only files are digitally signed we need a logonui thats not signed so we could do some classic theming

Been trying to figure this out, didn't realize you had to rename or remove a .dll. I originally thought that taking LogonUI.exe from a Server Core version of Windows Server and placing it in a regular GUI version of Windows would work (it didn't, since the LogonUI executable was the exact same). Thanks for this. Works on Windows Server 2016 (full, with the GUI - not Server Core).

Might test this out by enabling the console logon window and renaming dwm (to prevent it from running) in a VM to see what happens.
Okay, nothing really happens. Just leaves it at a black screen of nothing.

EDIT: Tried it again with replacing the DWM executable from forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=383450 and it works fine. You'll lose out on features that utilize Immersive features though. (a.k.a. things like the taskbar clock, keyboard layout flyout and network icons, notifications, Open With menus, settings and start menu items). Since the console logon (which is used in Server Core) doesn't rely on DWM, the logon window will work fine. For Chrome-based browsers, you have to use --disable-gpu in a shortcut to launch them as hardware acceleration doesn't work with DWM not running.

The only 'benefit' I guess, is that you will no longer have annoying transparent titlebars in things like Microsoft Word and the troubleshooting menus and will act as if you simply disabled desktop composition in Windows 7. You can also run ClassicThemeA and you'll essentially be running the Classic Theme without DWM, just don't kill the Explorer or else it'll be broken when you run it again unless you re-login. It's also better than the suspending winlogon method as you cannot log out, have the User Account Control popup displayed on the secure desktop or have your system automatically sleep while it's paused.

Sorry if I'm not getting it clear enough. If you're referring to how it's possible to partially run Windows 10 without the DWM, you can use the 'dwm dummy' in the forum I mentioned. It should be on this page, in the post mentioned by mbk1969 with the dwm.zip file. Make sure you backup your DWM executable and do not resume the winlogon process until you've finished replacing the DWM executable. Otherwise, you'll have to boot into recovery to rename the files back to its defaults (had to do this today).

Also, I recommend that you use the Registry tweak method of running the console logon window as some Windows Updates may add the Windows.UI.Logon.dll again, making you have to replace the DWM executable with the original one through the recovery partition. Try it in a Virtual Machine first if you're not sure if you'll mess up.

Just like mentioned in that forum thread, a lot of things will break. Here's some of them - there may be things I may have missed out:

• UAC with Secure Desktop while winlogon is paused will NOT work, so if you are changing those files, you might as well turn off the secure desktop in the Security Policy (secpol.msc) for the User Account Control and set it so it only 'Prompts for Credentials' and disable 'Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation'. Or turn UAC completely off temporarily when you edit the files and switch it back to the max when you're done.
  
• Immersive features won't work, some of these include the Settings app, Start Menu, task view, search/Cortana, notification prompts (although you can invisibly type a BitLocker drive's password), Open With menu, jumplists, and many of the taskbar flyouts (network and keyboard layout changer)
• You won't be able to easily manage Windows Updates, since it relies on the new immersive Settings app. Sometimes you have to manually click 'Install' for it to work.
• Internet Explorer won't work - the page area is essentially bugged and displays whatever window you had before in that area (possibly relies on hardware acceleration)
• Sometimes upon re-logging in you'll get a black empty Explorer window and you must restart Explorer.exe to get rid of it.
• Sometimes the Explorer may restart - not sure of the exact circumstances, but usually when something's not responding. It'll break the taskbar if you have the Classic Theme running. Logging off and logging back in is a temporarily fix.
• You'll get broken thumbnails and a big border area in previews with the default theme. It's less bad with the Aero Lite theme.
• You can use the legacy-style tray popups for some tray icons, like the battery and volume icons instead of the immersive ones.
• You will get the Windows Vista/7 Basic Theme with the default theme enabled. Or a plain blue Aero Lite theme with smaller window buttons (square and not horizontal, like the Classic Theme) - It also is a temporarily fix for that Aero Lite black text bug that they still haven't fixed yet. Any of these shouldn't matter if you like using the Classic Theme.
• Chromium based browsers like Google Chrome, Opera and Vivaldi will only work without hardware acceleration enabled. You can switch it off with the --disable-gpu argument by placing it in its shortcut.
• Alt-Tabbing is broken and it'll be invisible. It's possible to default to the Classic style app switcher.
• You get those XP-like title bar animations if you choose to force DWM off and have window animations enabled.

I've tested this on Windows Server 2016, x64 and also tested this on regular Windows 10 and is stable to some extent. It may also log you out if you're at the Switch User screen while you try to log back in to your existing session. So ensure you always save your progress on any work you're doing. Again, it may not be very advantageous as it breaks a lot of features. Like said previously, the only benefit really is that you won't have any of those transparency graphical issues and you'll have to seek alternative programs that substitutes for some features that don't work with DWM not being able to run. Switch the original DWM back in its place and your Windows should be back in its fully working state.

If you were referring to the LogonUI executable, then there's nothing to worry about since it's the exact same in Server Core and Windows 10 / Server 2016. It didn't end up doing anything useful.

Oh okay, it's 2,628 KB so it won't let me upload it here. Here's a Mediafire upload to it: www.mediafire.com/file/3ez30pdrzzdws9k/Windows.UI.Logon.dll
It's from Windows 10, 64-bit.

The .dlls are the exact same for Windows Server 2016 (the server version of Windows 10) and regular Windows since the file sizes are the exact same (someone else check again if it's wrong). There's only Windows Server 2016 Datacenter and Standard, then there's Core variants of those editions. Only non-Server Windows 10 has an Enterprise edition, I'm assuming you want the Windows.UI.Logon.dll from some x64 version of Windows 10 / Server 2016, right? Can you be more specific? I've already placed it in that Mediafire link. Again, those dll files are the exact same with other editions of Windows, I've checked it myself.

Also, that dll in particular is from a latest copy of Windows with the anniversary edition and is also the same across Server editions as well (should make no difference). Here's a comparison with the attachment, the hashes are the exact same, left is the one I attached previously (from regular Windows) and the right is the one on the Windows Server 2016 Datacenter I'm using right now. I'm not sure why it would matter, since there's dlls that are shared across different editions of Windows. 


 

In build 15063, explorer doesn't even work as the shell. You have use cmd as the shell.

But explorer launches fine from the command line. It just requires one file, dwmapi.dll.    

It's still possible to get the console window log on screen by renaming that file, but the registry tweak doesn't appear to be working on Windows version 1709. It also shows the immersive lock screen with the clock before 'swiping up' to show the actual console window. It temporarily breaks the picture password authentication method and the window title bar is improperly scaled on HiDPI displays.

Addition: It also works with version 1803.