How do I change the Admistrator in XP?

[Cyril N. Alberga]

I just bought a demo laptop at Circuit City. I had already spent a day
installing data and programs when I realized that the administrative
account was named "Circuit City", using a directory

C:\Documents and Settings\Circuit City

I went into "User Accounts" on the control panel and changed the name
there, but was told I couldn't change the name of the directory. Some
programs are still picking up "Circuit City" as the user name from
somewhere. Is there anyway, short of a complete scrub and reinstall, to
fix this? Can I set up a new user (me) and make that the Computer
administrator?

Cyril N. Alberga

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

The easiest way is to create a new profile named as you want and copy the
data from the old to new profile:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811151
After the new profile is created, you must log into it at least once before
attempting to copy the data to the new profile.

BUT, since this computer is new to you, you should start over with the
recovery disks.
That will eliminate any garbage left over and help ensure you a cleaner
system.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

Create a new Administrator account and move any data files needed to
it. And after you are satisfied you are not missing anything, delete
the old administrator account from within the new account.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I just bought a demo laptop at Circuit City. I had already spent a day
installing data and programs when I realized that the administrative
account was named "Circuit City", using a directory

C:\Documents and Settings\Circuit City

I went into "User Accounts" on the control panel and changed the name
there, but was told I couldn't change the name of the directory. Some
programs are still picking up "Circuit City" as the user name from
somewhere. Is there anyway, short of a complete scrub and reinstall, to
fix this? Can I set up a new user (me) and make that the Computer
administrator?

Cyril N. Alberga

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, 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. 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

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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[David Candy]

MSAcme (setup for older MS applications) reads it ONCE period. The first program installed using MSAcme (and some Windows components used it like 98's Batch Setup) reads the RegOwner key and transfer it to a MSAcme key for subsequent installs.