Rafael Rivera, the man who revealed Windows XP Mode to us, is back with another tweak he’s found. Microsoft allows a user to change the text shadowing of your computer name at the login screen by easily tweaking a registry key. This can be used to improve text readability with different kinds of backgrounds.

How-To (Quick Method)

If you don’t want to manually go and edit the registry, we’ve created 3 registry files for you that will do what you want. Simply download the registry file and double-click it to make the change.
Lighter Text Shadows Registry Key
Darker Text Shadows Registry Key
No Text Shadows Registry Key

How-To (Do-it-yourself Method)

1) Open the registry editor by typing regedit into the Start Menu search and pressing Enter
2) Navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI and add a DWord named Buttonset.
3) Set an integer of value of 0,1, or 2 depending on what you want:
  • 0 – Lighter text shadows, darker (more opaque) buttons (Windows default)
  • 1 – Darker text shadows, lighter (more translucent) buttons (for lighter backgrounds)
  • 2 – No text shadows, opaque buttons (for darker backgrounds)