FreeBSD Splash Screen
I usually run without login managers (xdm/gdm/kdm/etc.), splash screens, etc. on my main desktop but I like to have my BSD laptops looking a bit nicer when I pull them out at work or wherever. So let’s talk about adding a splash screen to FreeBSD. The format of the picture needs to be a bmp or pcx file that’s 1024×768 or smaller and 256 color. Put the following in your /boot/loader.conf, copy splash.bmp to /boot and reboot.
splash_bmp_load="YES"
splash_pcx_load="YES"
vesa_load="YES"
bitmap_load="YES"
bitmap_name="/boot/splash.bmp"
You should see your splash screen after the bootloader hits the bitmap_load command. If you don't then more than likely it's larger than 1024x768 or more than 256 colors. If it's pcx format then you still need to have the splash_bmp_load for it to work. You can press a key to get the boot process so it doesn't have to get in the way. There's a splash screen page back from the 3.x days and I still like a couple of the splashes from there. Probably about time for someone(s) to come up with some new ones base on the new logo.
