diff --git a/shell/shellMain.c b/shell/shellMain.c
index 65e9a7b..0870ea8 100644
--- a/shell/shellMain.c
+++ b/shell/shellMain.c
@@ -29,6 +29,9 @@
 #include "shellApp.h"
 #include "shellInfo.h"
 #include "dvxDialog.h"
+#include "dvxDraw.h"
+#include "dvxVideo.h"
+#include "dvxComp.h"
 #include "dvxPrefs.h"
 #include "dvxPlatform.h"
 #include "stb_ds.h"
@@ -60,6 +63,8 @@ static DesktopUpdateFnT *sDesktopUpdateFns = NULL;
 
 static void idleYield(void *ctx);
 static void logVideoMode(int32_t w, int32_t h, int32_t bpp, void *userData);
+static void showSplash(AppContextT *ctx);
+static void hideSplash(AppContextT *ctx);
 
 // ============================================================
 // shellDesktopUpdate  -- notify desktop app of state change
@@ -118,6 +123,62 @@ static void logVideoMode(int32_t w, int32_t h, int32_t bpp, void *userData) {
 }
 
 
+// ============================================================
+// showSplash / hideSplash
+// ============================================================
+//
+// Draws a centered splash screen directly to the backbuffer before
+// any windows exist. Flushed immediately so it's visible during the
+// loading pause (DXE loading, widget registration, app init).
+
+static void showSplash(AppContextT *ctx) {
+    DisplayT *d             = &ctx->display;
+    const BlitOpsT *ops     = &ctx->blitOps;
+    const BitmapFontT *font = &ctx->font;
+    const ColorSchemeT *col = &ctx->colors;
+
+    // Dark background
+    uint32_t bgColor = packColor(d, 0, 0, 64);
+    rectFill(d, ops, 0, 0, d->width, d->height, bgColor);
+
+    // Center text
+    const char *title   = "DVX - DOS Visual eXecutive";
+    const char *version = "Loading...";
+
+    int32_t titleW   = textWidth(font, title);
+    int32_t versionW = textWidth(font, version);
+    int32_t titleX   = (d->width - titleW) / 2;
+    int32_t versionX = (d->width - versionW) / 2;
+    int32_t centerY  = d->height / 2 - font->charHeight;
+
+    uint32_t titleFg = packColor(d, 255, 255, 255);
+    uint32_t verFg   = packColor(d, 180, 180, 220);
+
+    drawText(d, ops, font, titleX, centerY, title, titleFg, bgColor, true);
+    drawText(d, ops, font, versionX, centerY + font->charHeight + 4, version, verFg, bgColor, true);
+
+    // Flush the entire screen
+    RectT fullScreen = {0, 0, d->width, d->height};
+    platformFlushRect(d, &fullScreen);
+}
+
+
+static void hideSplash(AppContextT *ctx) {
+    DisplayT *d         = &ctx->display;
+    const BlitOpsT *ops = &ctx->blitOps;
+
+    // Clear to desktop background -- the first dvxUpdate will paint
+    // the wallpaper and windows over this.
+    rectFill(d, ops, 0, 0, d->width, d->height, ctx->colors.desktop);
+
+    RectT fullScreen = {0, 0, d->width, d->height};
+    platformFlushRect(d, &fullScreen);
+
+    // Mark entire screen dirty so the compositor repaints everything
+    dirtyListAdd(&ctx->dirty, 0, 0, d->width, d->height);
+}
+
+
 // ============================================================
 // shellRegisterDesktopUpdate
 // ============================================================
@@ -242,6 +303,9 @@ int shellMain(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     platformVideoEnumModes(logVideoMode, NULL);
     dvxLog("Selected: %ldx%ld %ldbpp (pitch %ld)", (long)sCtx.display.width, (long)sCtx.display.height, (long)sCtx.display.format.bitsPerPixel, (long)sCtx.display.pitch);
 
+    // Show splash screen while the rest of initialization runs
+    showSplash(&sCtx);
+
     // Initialize task system
     if (tsInit() != TS_OK) {
         dvxLog("Failed to initialize task system");
@@ -291,6 +355,9 @@ int shellMain(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         return 1;
     }
 
+    // Dismiss splash -- desktop app is loaded, ready for interaction
+    hideSplash(&sCtx);
+
     dvxLog("DVX Shell ready.");
 
     // Set recovery point for crash handler. setjmp returns 0 on initial