I am using Mepis (though I'm sure this question applies to linux itself and isn't distro specific) and I want to know how I can add a nice background image while all of the intial boot screen is scrolling up it's info when linux is starting. i have the little penguin sitting at the top of the screen right now but i want to know how i can put my own image in there, and if possible, put the progress bar that usually says "Press F2 to see details" if thats doable. Also how can I customize the text that scrolls up..i.e. while it is booting it says "Welcome to Mepis Linux!"

Little things, but I am curious as to how/if it can be done.

Thanks.

bootsplash or fbfplash are what your looking for. They aren't easy to configure though, they require a kernel recompile.

thats not a problem...i've done that before...but i dont know what to look for...or how to choose the picture

does anyone know this? thanks

This is for gentoo, but it will give you the idea,for Mepis you might be able to use apt for some of the stuff. http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=49036