Getting Windows 8 LogonUI to work without DWM
Jun 30, 2023 9:03:11 GMT -8
Post by Ingan121 on Jun 30, 2023 9:03:11 GMT -8
After finding out that Windows Server 2012/R2 Core and Windows PE have a fully working LogonUI without DWM, I messed around with a Server 2012 R2 VM and found that you can get LogonUI working without DWM by renaming C:\Windows\system32\d3d10warp.dll.
Please make sure that you have a proper graphics driver installed, not the Microsoft Basic Display/Render Driver. Otherwise, Direct3D acceleration will be completely disabled and break a lot of stuff, including the Explorer shell. (In 8.0, the desktop and taskbar are broken, and in 8.1, it simply won't start.)
Also, please disable the lock screen using gpedit/regedit or enable the Ctrl+Alt+Del requirement with netplwiz. The lock screen is kinda broken, you can't completely dismiss it with click, drag, enter, or even Ctrl+Alt+Del.
After doing this, LogonUI will now be broken when DWM is enabled, only showing the background color. Rename d3d10warp.dll back if you're going to enable DWM.
The background color of LogonUI will be missing when doing this, even in the high contrast mode. I think it has to do with the above background color thing when running with DWM. It might be fixable, as it works fine in Server Core / PE. I don't know how yet.
It seems that on Windows Server 2012 R2, the Explorer shell doesn't start with d3d10warp.dll renamed, even though a proper graphics driver (VMware SVGA 3D) was installed. Maybe we should find a better way to disable D3D acceleration only for LogonUI.
Confirmed it working fine on Windows 8.0. You can even rename C:\Windows\Resources to get a permanent classic theme.
Please make sure that you have a proper graphics driver installed, not the Microsoft Basic Display/Render Driver. Otherwise, Direct3D acceleration will be completely disabled and break a lot of stuff, including the Explorer shell. (In 8.0, the desktop and taskbar are broken, and in 8.1, it simply won't start.)
Also, please disable the lock screen using gpedit/regedit or enable the Ctrl+Alt+Del requirement with netplwiz. The lock screen is kinda broken, you can't completely dismiss it with click, drag, enter, or even Ctrl+Alt+Del.
After doing this, LogonUI will now be broken when DWM is enabled, only showing the background color. Rename d3d10warp.dll back if you're going to enable DWM.
The background color of LogonUI will be missing when doing this, even in the high contrast mode. I think it has to do with the above background color thing when running with DWM. It might be fixable, as it works fine in Server Core / PE. I don't know how yet.
It seems that on Windows Server 2012 R2, the Explorer shell doesn't start with d3d10warp.dll renamed, even though a proper graphics driver (VMware SVGA 3D) was installed. Maybe we should find a better way to disable D3D acceleration only for LogonUI.
Confirmed it working fine on Windows 8.0. You can even rename C:\Windows\Resources to get a permanent classic theme.
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