Change username under Documents and Settings

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Bob

Laptop originally belonged to my nephew. I bought it with nothing on it
other than registration info. I cchanged that info through Dell and
proceeded to install the software I needed, etc. As you can see, mu username
(Bob) is using the profile dir for Scott. I ran a utility to extract the
following:

Username : Administrator
SID : S-1-5-21-2819713430-23199179-830664976-500
Profile dir : C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator

Username : Bob
SID : S-1-5-21-2819713430-23199179-830664976-1007
Profile dir : C:\Documents and Settings\Scott

Username : Guest
SID : S-1-5-21-2819713430-23199179-830664976-501
Profile dir :

I want to change the profile dir from C:\Documents and Settings\Scott to
C:\Documents and Settings\Bob

The instructions I have found are:

Logon to an admin account that is not the account being renamed.

1. Note down the SID for your account.
2. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE\
Microsoft\ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ ProfileList
3. Select the correct SID that belongs to your user account.
4. In the right-pane, double-click the ProfileImagePath value and change the
profile path (ex: from Scott to Bob)
5. Close Registry Editor, and restart Windows. See if you're able to logon
to that user profile successfully. Additionally, to verify if the path has
been changed successfully, type SET in the Command Prompt. In case you find
any abnormal behavior when running an application, you may undo the above
procedure.

Looks simple enough...almost too simple...anyone here already done this?
Also would like to replace all of the registry entires from Scott and Scott
lastname to Bob and Bob lastname...any ideas on a good way to do that?

In the event of a major screwup, do I just restore my backed up registry
from Erunt?

Thanks
 
Bob said:
Laptop originally belonged to my nephew. I bought it with nothing on it
other than registration info. I cchanged that info through Dell and
proceeded to install the software I needed, etc. As you can see, mu username
(Bob) is using the profile dir for Scott. I ran a utility to extract the
following:

Username : Administrator
SID : S-1-5-21-2819713430-23199179-830664976-500
Profile dir : C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator

Username : Bob
SID : S-1-5-21-2819713430-23199179-830664976-1007
Profile dir : C:\Documents and Settings\Scott

Username : Guest
SID : S-1-5-21-2819713430-23199179-830664976-501
Profile dir :

I want to change the profile dir from C:\Documents and Settings\Scott to
C:\Documents and Settings\Bob

The instructions I have found are:

Logon to an admin account that is not the account being renamed.

1. Note down the SID for your account.
2. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE\
Microsoft\ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ ProfileList
3. Select the correct SID that belongs to your user account.
4. In the right-pane, double-click the ProfileImagePath value and change the
profile path (ex: from Scott to Bob)
5. Close Registry Editor, and restart Windows. See if you're able to logon
to that user profile successfully. Additionally, to verify if the path has
been changed successfully, type SET in the Command Prompt. In case you find
any abnormal behavior when running an application, you may undo the above
procedure.

Looks simple enough...almost too simple...anyone here already done this?
Also would like to replace all of the registry entires from Scott and Scott
lastname to Bob and Bob lastname...any ideas on a good way to do that?

In the event of a major screwup, do I just restore my backed up registry
from Erunt?

Thanks
Click to expand...


With second-hand computers, especially if acquired from strangers
but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or friend, your wisest
course of action would definitely be to format the hard drives and start
fresh. You don't want to get in trouble because the original owner may
have filled the hard drive with kiddie porn, or have problems because
the original owner downloaded/installed viruses or other malware.

However, to fix the "Registered to" information for WinNT/2K/XP,
you can use Start > Run > Regedit.exe to edit:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\RegisteredOwner

and:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current
Version\RegisteredOrganization

How this will affect the name displayed in previously installed
applications will vary depending upon each individual program; some read
the registered owner information dynamically, while others read it only
during installation.

The user profile folders (C:\Documents and Settings\Username)
_cannot_ be renamed, without risky registry editing, even if the
associated user account has been. So, your best course of action would
be to log on using the built-in Administrator account, create a new user
account, with the username desired. Once you've logged in using this
new account (and transfered any data you need to preserve, you can then
delete the old user account(s).

HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783

How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
Bruce,

I already have a user account named Bob (that's what I login with)... but
under Documents and Settings, there is no Bob. It still shows as Scott;
hence, my question(s). How do I create a user named Bob when that account
already exists but doesn't show under Document and Settings?

If I try to rename Scott, I get an error dialog saying it " Scott is a
Windows system folder and is required for Windows to run properly. It cannot
be moved or renamed". However, the instructions I found were for fixing this
exact scenario.

The laptop was never used at all. He registered it with Dell, boxed it up
and I bought it. I don't mind hacking the registry (been doing it since it
Win95). It appears that the steps listed below (part of which are from Msoft
KB) are simple enough.

I'm going to go ahead and give it a go...I'll wait for any other response
before I do...

Thanks
 
Bob said:
Bruce,

I already have a user account named Bob (that's what I login with)... but
under Documents and Settings, there is no Bob. It still shows as Scott;
hence, my question(s).
Click to expand...


That can only mean that you (or someone else) renamed to user from
"Scott" to "Bob."

How do I create a user named Bob when that account
already exists but doesn't show under Document and Settings?
Click to expand...


Using the built-in Administrator account, simply rename the user
account to its original name of "Scott" (or anything else, for that
matter), and then create a new user account named "Bob."

If I try to rename Scott, I get an error dialog saying it " Scott is a
Windows system folder and is required for Windows to run properly. It cannot
be moved or renamed". However, the instructions I found were for fixing this
exact scenario.
Click to expand...


Correct. As I said, the user profile folders cannot be renamed
directly, but only by using unnecessarily risky registry edits.




--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
Bob said:
I already have a user account named Bob (that's what I login with)... but
under Documents and Settings, there is no Bob. It still shows as Scott;
hence, my question(s). How do I create a user named Bob when that account
already exists but doesn't show under Document and Settings?
Click to expand...

This is what I'd do:

1. Create an entirely new userid ("Robert", say)
2. Copy everything I want from Bob/Scott to Robert
3. Remove Bob/Scott (I think there is a choice to delete the user
directory). Make sure you have everything first.
4. Create a new "Bob"
5. Copy everything from "Robert" to "Bob"
6. Discard "Robert", once you are sure you have everything.
 
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