You don't. The only thing you can do is create a new user account with the name the way you want it to appear on the User folder. Then copy the old user account to the new one.
Copy a User Profile:
Open System in Control Panel. On the User Profiles tab, and under Profiles stored on this computer, click the user profile you want to copy, and then click Copy To.
In the Copy To dialog box, under Copy profile to, type the location for the new profile, or click Browse to select the path.
Click Change to open the Choose User dialog box, click a new user from the Names list, and then click Add. The new user name will appear in Add Name. Click OK to add the user as a new user profile on your computer.
Note: You must be logged on as an administrator to the local computer to copy user profiles. To open a Control Panel item, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the appropriate icon.
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;811151
How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile
--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
--------------------------------
Per user Group Policy Restrictions for XP Home and XP Pro
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm
--------------------------------
Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.
"Xeelee" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:A226D3EE-2850-4738-BEB1-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I am running winxp home ed with only one user (admin user). The original username name_x has since been renamed to name_y. But the userdir is still c:\Documents and Settings\name__x . How do I change the name of the userdir to reflect the correct username (c:\Documents and Settings\name_y) ?