Create a Logon Message in Windows 7

In Windows 7, click on the Start button and type regedit in the search box. Click on the regedit.exe file in the list of items and answer the UAC prompt. Once in the registry editor (Figure A), navigate to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\System

Figure A

Find the legalnoticecaption key in the right-hand pane and double-click it. Enter a heading for your message in the Value Data field, as shown in Figure B, and then click OK.

Figure B

To enter the actual message, double-click the legalnoticetext key in the right-hand pane and enter your message, as shown in Figure C; when you are done, click OK.

Figure C

A couple of caveats: the message has to be text-only and there is a character limit, and in order for this tweak to take effect, you will have to reboot your PC.

When you are happy with your message, close regedit and reboot — you should see your message displayed before you get to the official Windows logon screen.

If you decide you don’t want the message anymore, just delete the Value Data field for each of the keys.