Check to see what else may be loading at startup. Could be a drag on resources slowing down bootskin and causing, I think, a conflict between standard screen and custom bootskin. I can't be 100% sure this is the problem but it sounds like it. Also try in Impulse, if you have it, uninstalling bootskin then re-installing it. More often than not that works. Correct me if I'm wrong someone with more brains. Hope it works out for you. Peace.

BootskinXP is currently unsupported, too, so good luck on finding any help on dealing with the "strange" things.  A while back, I had a problem where it was applying skins with about 7 pixels from the left side projected onto the right side.  I uninstalled it, cleaned my computer and reinstalled...same thing.  I searched the forums, and Goggled the issue, and found a few people had experienced the same thing, but there was no answer for it.  After my last computer bork and factory reinstall, the problem cleared up.  

So much about Windows customization is a mystery with no real good sources of information/documentation.   

Sounds understandable Uvah... that MIGHT be the Reason!!! But; no SOLUTION in sight.... Thanx anyway for your thinking. Revanito

 It may well be that the original version kernel.exe (there may be four, for different types of processor cores), was modified (to find and replace out the original version of the kernel.exe file for this version of the assembly Windows)

You did not use other programs update the startup screen, - except Bootskin ??

 In addition, (partially reduces the length of time steps. Standard screen) -  install and run the program Bootvis from Microsoft.

bootskinXP

been unsupported for years

never got out a beta as far as I can tell

shows up in Impulse but errors out trying to download/install