How to Replace the OEM Logo With a Plain Splash via UEFI on Windows 11

When you boot a Windows 11 PC from a major manufacturer like Dell, HP, Lenovo, or ASUS, the screen often shows a large OEM logo before the Windows loading animation appears. This branded splash screen is stored in the UEFI firmware and is not part of Windows itself. Some users prefer a clean, plain boot screen — either for a minimalist look or to avoid branding in a professional or shared environment. This article shows you how to replace the OEM logo with a plain black or gray splash by modifying UEFI boot resources on Windows 11.

Why the OEM Logo Appears and How UEFI Stores It

The OEM boot logo is stored in the UEFI firmware as a bitmap image embedded in the Boot Graphics Resource Table (BGRT). When the system POST completes, the UEFI firmware reads this image and displays it before handing control to the Windows Boot Manager. The image is typically a 24-bit BMP file with a resolution of 800×600 or 1024×768 pixels. The logo is not part of the Windows installation — it lives in the firmware flash chip on the motherboard.

To replace the OEM logo with a plain splash, you must extract the current UEFI firmware image, locate the logo file inside it, replace it with a plain BMP of the same size and color depth, and then flash the modified firmware back to the system. This process does not remove any other UEFI functionality. It only changes the boot screen graphic.

Prerequisites and Risks

Before you start, confirm that your motherboard or laptop supports UEFI firmware modification. Most consumer systems from ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock allow this. Dell and HP laptops often lock the firmware, making replacement impossible without a hardware programmer. Flashing modified firmware carries a small risk of bricking the system if the image is corrupted or the flash process is interrupted. Always back up the original firmware image before making any changes.

How to Replace the OEM Logo With a Plain Splash on Windows 11

This method uses UEFITool to extract and replace the logo, and H2OUVE-Windows-GUI or a motherboard vendor’s flashing tool to write the modified firmware. The steps below assume you are comfortable with command-line tools and have administrative access to Windows 11.

Step 1: Download and Prepare the Required Tools

1. Download UEFITool
   Go to the UEFITool GitHub releases page and download the latest Windows binary (UEFITool_NE_A64_v0.28.0_win64.zip or newer). Extract the ZIP file to a folder named C:\UEFITool.
2. Download a firmware flash tool
   For ASUS boards, use WinFlash or EZ Flash from the vendor website. For Gigabyte, use @BIOS. For MSI, use MSI Live Update. For laptops without vendor tools, use H2OUVE-Windows-GUI (available from the Win-Raid forum). Save the tool to C:\FlashTool.
3. Create a plain BMP image
   Open Microsoft Paint. Set the canvas size to 800×600 pixels. Fill the entire canvas with black (RGB 0,0,0) or dark gray (RGB 64,64,64). Save the file as a 24-bit BMP named plain.bmp. Place it in C:\UEFITool.

Step 2: Extract the Current UEFI Firmware Image

1. Open UEFITool
   Run UEFITool.exe as Administrator. Click File > Open and select your motherboard’s firmware file. If you do not have a standalone firmware file, use the vendor flash tool to dump the current firmware to a .rom or .bin file. On ASUS, run WinFlash and click Save to save the current BIOS to a file.
2. Locate the BGRT section
   In UEFITool, press Ctrl+F and search for “BGRT” in the text tab. Expand the search results until you see a Raw Body or Image item that contains a BMP header. The BMP header starts with the bytes “42 4D”.
3. Extract the original OEM logo
   Right-click the Raw Body or Image item and select Extract Body. Save the file as original_logo.bmp. This is your backup.

Step 3: Replace the Logo Inside the Firmware Image

1. Check the original logo dimensions
   Open original_logo.bmp in Paint. Note the width, height, and bit depth. Most OEM logos are 800×600 or 1024×768 at 24-bit color. Your plain.bmp must match exactly.
2. Replace the image in UEFITool
   Back in UEFITool, right-click the same Raw Body or Image item and select Replace Body. Browse to your plain.bmp file and confirm the replacement. The tool will update the firmware structure.
3. Save the modified firmware
   Click File > Save as and save the modified firmware as modified_bios.rom. Do not change the file extension — use the same extension as the original firmware file.

Step 4: Flash the Modified Firmware to the System

1. Open the vendor flash tool
   Run your motherboard flash tool as Administrator. For ASUS boards, open WinFlash. For Gigabyte, open @BIOS. For laptops, open H2OUVE-Windows-GUI.
2. Load the modified firmware file
   In the flash tool, click Browse or Load and select modified_bios.rom. The tool will verify the file integrity. If it reports an error, the image dimensions or format do not match — return to Step 3.
3. Start the flash process
   Click Flash, Update, or Start. Do not interrupt the process. The system may restart automatically. If it does not, restart manually after the tool confirms success.
4. Verify the new boot screen
   After the reboot, watch the screen during POST. The plain splash should appear instead of the OEM logo. If the system fails to boot, flash the original firmware backup using the same tool.

Common Issues and Things to Avoid

“Secure Flash” or “BIOS Lock” Prevents Writing

Many modern laptops and prebuilt PCs from Dell, HP, and Lenovo have a firmware lock that rejects any modified BIOS image. In this case, the flash tool will show an error like “Invalid BIOS image” or “Secure Flash violation.” The only workaround is to use a hardware SPI programmer such as CH341A to flash the chip directly, which requires disassembling the device and is not covered here. For most users, this means the OEM logo cannot be replaced on locked systems.

Boot Screen Shows Corruption or Artifacts

If the plain splash appears distorted, the replacement image had the wrong dimensions or bit depth. Extract the original logo again and verify its exact properties: width, height, and bit depth. Recreate plain.bmp to match those exact values. A common mistake is saving as 32-bit BMP instead of 24-bit.

Windows 11 Boot Animation Does Not Appear

After replacing the OEM logo, the Windows 11 boot animation (the spinning dots) may still appear normally. If the animation is missing or replaced by a black screen, the issue is unrelated to the UEFI logo change. Check Windows Boot Manager settings with the command bcdedit /set {current} bootmenupolicy standard in an elevated Command Prompt.

OEM Splash vs Plain Splash: Boot Behavior Differences

Item	OEM Logo (Default)	Plain Splash (Modified)
Display time	2–5 seconds during POST	Same duration, no branding
Image format	24-bit BMP, 800×600 or 1024×768	Same format, solid color
Impact on boot speed	None	None
Windows Boot Manager	Unaffected	Unaffected
Firmware flash tool required	No	Yes — vendor tool or H2OUVE
Risk of system failure	None	Low if image matches specs

You can now replace the OEM boot logo on your Windows 11 system with a plain black or gray splash using UEFITool and your motherboard vendor’s flash utility. Always keep a backup of the original firmware image before making changes. For locked systems, consider using a hardware SPI programmer as a last resort. The plain splash does not affect Windows boot performance or stability — it only removes the manufacturer branding from the POST screen.