If you have used the Opera browser recently, you may have noticed that the browser displays a splash logo on start. It may also play sound while it is at it.
While that may look cool to some, others might feel that it slows down the start of the browser or find it outright annoying.
There is no preference in Opera to turn the splash screen off on start, at least to my knowledge.
Good news is that there is a way to disable Opera’s splash logo, but it requires manual action.
Some information:
- Opera loads the file opera_gx_splash.exe during startup to display the logo and play the sound.
- This file is used for all different editions of the browser, including Opera One, Opera GX, or development editions.
Here is how it is done:
- Load C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\Programs in File Explorer.
- Replace YOURUSERNAME with your actual username on the system.
- Open the Opera folder. If you have multiple, repeat the process for each.
- Open the subfolder with the highest version number, e.g. 114.0.5282.233, in that folder.
- Right-click on opera_gx_splash.exe and select rename from the context menu.
- Change the name, e.g. to opera_gx_splash-DISABLED.exe.
When you start Opera the next time, the browser will load immediately. The splash screen is gone.
Note: Problem is that you need to repeat the process whenever Opera updates. If it uses a new directory, it may also create a new opera_gx_splash.exe file in it. So, whenever Opera updates, make sure you repeat the process to disable the splash screen on start of the browser.
Have you tried Opera browser recently? What is your take on it and on the splash screen in particular?