Steve Reeves King of all that I survey

Grub Splash Screen Tutorial

In order to create a Grub splash screen you must be in a Linux environment. If you're working in a Windows environment you will not be able to create a Grub splash screen, I'm not sure why, but there is something about the Windows environment that renders Grub splash screens useless. In order to create a Grub splash screen in Windows you'll need to install Linux on a virtual machine. I recommend Ubuntu on VMPlayer or VirtualBox.

Boot into your Linux environment.

Install the latest version of GIMP.

Your image must be 640x480. If you're using a preexisting image simply use the image resizing tool and adjust the resolution to 640x480.

You image must be 14 colors. You can set the number of colors in GIMP by navigating to IMAGE->MODE->INDEXED and choosing "Generate Optimum Palette".

After you've created your image, choose SAVE AS and save it as a .XPM file.

Simply GZIP your .XPM file into a .GZ file and you've successfully created a Grub splash screen.

GZIP by using this command in the console: gzip image.xpm