Windows 8 Previews
An article about pre-release versions of Windows 8, including alpha, Developer Preview, Consumer Preview, and Release Preview builds.
Wallpapers
Builds 8102 and earlier
Build 7700 uses the Windows 7 RC default wallpaper, likely due to being forked from a RC build of Windows 7. Build 7746 and 7758 changed the default wallpaper back to the one featured in Windows 7's RTM release. By build 7762, this would be replaced with an infamous blue-green gradient wallpaper with the text "shhh... let's not leak our hard work" at the top. Between builds 7927 and 8064, the wallpaper changed several times, each featuring a fractured wordoku puzzle that says "Start me up", with more letters being added in each revision of the wallpaper.[1][2] By build 8064, Windows 7's leftover wallpapers (except for the regional wallpapers) were removed. By build 8095, the puzzle is no longer present, with the default wallpaper being set to Windows 7's logon background, while a panoramic lake wallpaper (which was the first Windows panoramic wallpaper; at 3840x1200) has been added as an alternate option; all of the Windows 7 regional wallpapers were also removed.
Name | Category | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
img0 (build 7700) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from Windows 7 RC | |
img0 (builds 7762 to 7779) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img0 (builds 7785 to 7899) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Leak warning removed from the wallpaper in favor of one being implemented as a watermark on the desktop | |
img0 (builds 7915 to 7978) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | Jensen Harris | ||
img0 (builds 7983 to 8002) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown (background) Jensen Harris (puzzle) |
Based on a rejected Windows 7 wallpaper | |
img0 (builds 8008 to 8032) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown (background) Jensen Harris (puzzle) |
Based on a rejected Windows 7 wallpaper | |
img0 (builds 8038 to 8064) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown (background) Jensen Harris (puzzle) |
Based on a rejected Windows 7 wallpaper | |
img0 (builds 8095 to 8220, 8277[Notes 1], 8305, 8432 to 8441, 8520, and 9200.0.fbl_eeap) | Windows | N/A | commissioned by Microsoft | Chuck Anderson and Erik Attkisson | Reused from Windows 7's logon screen, albeit with added compression | |
img1 (builds 8095 to 8140) | Extended | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Panoramic |
Builds 8118 to 8140
With the Windows 7 wallpapers being removed, new themes were added, consisting of photography taken by an unknown Microsoft employee. img0 and img1 from previous builds remained. The display names of the themes remain the same as the original Windows 7 themes despite many not correlating anymore, although there is no Nature theme, so as a result the new wallpapers start at img7. These wallpapers were not cropped, so most of them remain at 4:3 aspect ratios at 2189x1642 resolution rather than 16:10 at 1920x1200.
Name | Category | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
img7 | Landscapes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img8 | Landscapes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img9 | Landscapes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img10 | Landscapes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img8 in build 8148 | |
img11 | Landscapes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img12 | Landscapes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img13 | Architecture | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from builds 7997 to 8064's lock screen Removed in build 8148 | |
img14 | Architecture | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from builds 7997 to 8064's lock screen Removed in build 8148 | |
img15 | Architecture | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from builds 7997 to 8064's lock screen Removed in build 8148 | |
img16 | Architecture | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from builds 7997 to 8064's lock screen Removed in build 8148 | |
img17 | Architecture | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from builds 7997 to 8064's lock screen Removed in build 8148 | |
img18 | Architecture | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img2 in build 8148 | |
img19 | Characters | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img20 | Characters | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img3 in build 8148 | |
img21 | Characters | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Panoramic, at 4752x1200 Reallocated to img4 in build 8148 | |
img22 | Characters | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img5 in build 8148 | |
img23 | Characters | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Panoramic, at 4864x1168 Removed in build 8148 | |
img24 | Characters | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img25 | Scenes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img6 in build 8148 | |
img26 | Scenes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img27 | Scenes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Removed in build 8148 | |
img28 | Scenes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img11 in build 8148 | |
img29 | Scenes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | At 1824x1368 Removed in build 8148 | |
img30 | Scenes | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img12 in build 8148 |
Builds 8148 to 8161
By build 8148, the number of themes went down to just two and they were changed up; 17 wallpapers were removed (including panoramic lake wallpaper), while 4 new ones were added (1 panoramic and 3 at 4:3 aspect ratio, at 2144x1608).
Name | Category | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
img1 | Theme1 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img2 | Theme1 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from build 8118 | |
img3 | Theme1 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from build 8118 | |
img4 | Theme1 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Panoramic, 4752x1200 Reused from build 8118 | |
img5 | Theme1 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from build 8118 | |
img6 | Theme1 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from build 8118 | |
img7 | Theme2 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img8 | Theme2 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from build 8118 | |
img9 | Theme2 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Panoramic, at 4736x1184 | |
img10 | Theme2 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img11 | Theme2 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from build 8118 | |
img12 | Theme2 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from build 8118 |
Builds 8175.5 to 8441, 8520, and 9200.0.fbl_eeap
TODO: investigate builds 8186 and 8431
By build 8175.5, Theme1 was removed and replaced with a new Nature theme. The default wallpaper was replaced with a Metro version of the Windows 7 Beta wallpaper in builds 8186 and 8250, although builds 8305, 8432 to 8441, 8520, and 9200.0.fbl_eeap feature the previous wallpaper. By build 8195 (fbl_dnt3_wireless), Theme2 was also removed, although not replaced with another theme yet, however this theme still appears in many internal builds up to 9200.0.fbl_eeap along with the previous default wallpaper, so they aren't listed here. The default wallpaper was changed to one consisting of gray eights by build 8330, and one featuring a field of red tulips by build 8375 (the color temperature and saturation are slightly lower by build 8382).
Builds 8520 and 9200.0.fbl_eeap reverted the set of wallpapers to the ones included in earlier builds but retains the display names of themes/wallpaper categories as in build 8513 as well as the final release (Theme1 as Earth and Theme2 as Flowers). This made the display names of themes/wallpaper categories and the actual wallpapers not correlated, similarly to build 8118 to 8140.
Name | Category | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
img0 (build 8186 to 8187) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Metro-ized version of Windows 7 Beta wallpaper | |
img0 (build 8233 and 8250) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | The fish is horizontally flipped from the wallpaper used in build 8186-8187 | |
img0 (builds 8330 to 8370, 8422, and 8423) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | A gray background with a lot of number eights | |
img0 (build 8375) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | Bala Sivakumar | Flipped horizontally from original, color temperature and saturation heightened | |
img0 (builds 8382, 8400, and 8431) | Windows | N/A | Microsoft | Bala Sivakumar | The color temperature and saturation are slightly lower compared to that of build 8375 | |
img1 | Nature | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Made brighter and spot moved from img105 from builds 8102 to 8161 | |
img2 | Nature | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img3 | Nature | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img4 | Nature | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | A picture of Orpheus Island | |
img5 | Nature | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Panoramic | |
img6 | Nature | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Panoramic |
Build 8513 onwards
RTM stabilization branches such as WIN8_GDR_SOC
and WIN8_RTM
include the final wallpaper set. It is not used in builds 8520 and 9200.0.fbl_eeap, which use the previous wallpapers.
Lock screen wallpapers
TODO: identify build ranges
Lock screen wallpapers were added by build 7997. None of these appear in the final release. Much like the other wallpapers, they are highly likely to have been taken by Microsoft themselves.
Builds 7927 to 8064
This wallpaper is used for the lock screen when logged off.
Name | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flight of the Feathers | N/A | commissioned by Microsoft | Red Nose Studios | Cropped version of Windows 7's img23, located in LogonUI library dependency AuthExt.dll ; used if system is redpilled. Image resources 1001 through 1013
|
Builds 7997 to 8064
Build 7997 added six lock screen wallpapers to choose from. All of them are in 2189x1642 resolution (4:3 aspect ratio) and they're created by an unknown Microsoft employee. The previous system lock screen wallpaper first included in build 7927 remained as the default background image.
Name | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
img100 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Later re-added in build 8118 as a desktop wallpaper, img13 | |
img101 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Later re-added in build 8118 as a desktop wallpaper, img14 | |
img102 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Later re-added in build 8118 as a desktop wallpaper, img16 | |
img103 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img104 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Later re-added in build 8118 as a desktop wallpaper, img15 | |
img105 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Later re-added in build 8118 as a desktop wallpaper, img17 |
Builds 8102 to 8441, 8520 and 9200.0.fbl_eeap
Name | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
img100 (builds 8102 to 8161) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reallocated to img105 in build 8175.5 | |
img100 (builds 8175.5 to 8220, 8277[Notes 1], 8305 to 8331, 8422 to 8441, 8520 and 9200.0.fbl_eeap) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img100 (build 8250)
img106 (builds 83xx) |
Getty Images | Getty Images | Reinhard Dirscherl | Fish removed, in later builds reallocated to img106 and removed in build 83xx | |
img100 (builds 8375, and 8400) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img101 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img102 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img103 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img104 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img105 (builds 8102 to 8161) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | A version with the spot moved and made brighter from this image is used as desktop wallpaper (img1) in builds 8175.5 to 8441, 8520, and 9200.0.fbl_eeap | |
img105 (builds 8175.5 to 8441, 8520 and 9200.0.fbl_eeap) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | A saturated version of img100 from previous builds 8102 to 8161 Replaced with the original by build 8xxx Only exist as the thumbnail for img100 in several builds in PC Settings → Personalize → Lock screen, as the actual file in %SystemRoot%\Web\Screen is the aforementioned version.
|
Build 8513
Most of the placeholder wallpapers were replaced with the wallpapers that appears in the final release; a new img105 was added.
Name | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
img100 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img101 | SuperStock | Mauritius | Mark Jonsson | ||
img102 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
img103 | Getty Images | Getty Images | Celine Ramoni Lee | ||
img104 | Getty Images | Getty Images | Kaz Chiba | ||
img105 | N/A | Microsoft | unknown |
Builds 8888 onwards
By build 8888, img100 and img105 were replaced with the ones that appear in the final release.
User account pictures
Windows 8 came with the same selection of pre-loaded user account pictures as Windows 7 up to build 80xx (the new default user account picture was added by build 7899). By build 80xx, the number of user account pictures went down to just two; with the exception of guest, all of Windows 7's user account pictures were removed. By build 8161, 2 absolutely identical user account pictures were used for default accounts and guest account respectively. By build 8195, the default user account picture was replaced with the one that appears in the final release.
Name | Licensed from | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
guest (builds 7700 to 8148) | N/A | Microsoft/Iconfactory | unknown | Reused from Windows Vista and 7 | |
user (builds 7899 to 8061) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Reused from Windows Live Messenger | |
user (build 8064) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | ||
user (builds 8102 to 8155) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Recolored to green from build 8064's | |
user (builds 8161 to 8176) | N/A | Microsoft | unknown | Similar to the Bill Gates' mugshot |
OOBE and logon backgrounds
Redpill was introduced in build 7779 and is disabled by default up to build 8056 and in build 8118.[Notes 2] While the unredpilled OOBE and logon screen in builds 8118 and earlier used the same backgrounds as Windows 7, a new background was introduced for both:
- Metro OOBE in builds 7899 to 7963;
- Metro logon screen in builds 7899 to 8002.
The Metro OOBE and logon background were replaced by a gradient of the accent color in builds 7973 to 8045 and in builds 8008 to 8045 respectively, and the solid accent color for both from build 8056 onwards.
Build 8128 onwards no longer use Redpill; all the Metro features are now available out of the box.
Setup backgrounds
All builds of Windows 8 prior to build 8045 use the same setup background as Windows 7, although builds 8002 through 8014 also include an unused WinPE background image merely consisting of a simple teal-green gradient. Builds 8045 through 8161 use simply consists of #2D5980
color, and builds 8175.5 to 8438 use simply consists of #004050
color. By build 8441, the setup background was changed to a purple background (#180052
), which is identical to the default Metro accent color in the final release.
-
Default WinPE background in builds 8002 to 8014
-
The setup background in builds 8045 to 8161.
-
The setup background in builds 8175.5 to 8438.
Picture Password
Picture Password was introduced in build 8xxx.
You can see these images in the Picture Password setup tutorial when setting it for the first time:
Name | Resolution | Originates from | Photographer/artist | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
17577 (builds 8102 to 8305) | 579x388 | Microsoft | unknown | ||
Jellyfish (builds 8330 to 8432) | 1024x768 | Microsoft | Hang Quan | Reused Windows 7's sample picture |
By build 8438, the default Picture Password image was replaced with the one that appears in the final release.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Compiled February 8, 2012, before 8250
- ↑ Builds released to Microsoft partners via the Ecosystem Engineering Access Program (EEAP), including build 8064 (fbl_eeap) and 8102 (winmain_win8m3_eeap) have all forms of Redpill removed at compile time.