linux startup pictures - where they reside and how can I change them?

thank you

What startup pictures, and in which distribution?

If you are referring to the little penguins in the framebuffer console, they are built into the kernel, and can be located in the sourcecode. I'm not sure what is involved in replacing them, though surely it can be done somehow.

As for the full screen images, like for example when Ubuntu boots, they are often located in /boot somewhere, but the image itself could really be stored anywhere one chose to store it. It gets put on the screen by means of an 'initrd' or 'Initial Ramdisk' which is something of a preloader which loads the kernel and some basic other stuff of the initrd creators choice, before proceeding with the rest of the boot process.

what would be the typical boot script that is dealing with pictures?
thnx again.

It wouldn't/necessarily be a script. It is the bootloader (LILO/GRUB or whatever) which loads the initrd.

Look up some stuff about LILO, GRUB, and/or initial ramdisk or initrd.gz to see what's involved in making or changing your initrd.

(That is, IF it is the full screen images you are referring to. If it's the penguins, then like I said, that's compiled into the kernel.)

You might find this helpful. It says that it is being superceded but I guess that your distro is still using it.

Be careful about messing with your initrd. It may contain essential stuff for your computer to boot.

Thanks. That helped a lot.