Changing Owner Registration in XP

[Guest]

I recently purchased a used Dell desktop for my son. I was able to change him to system administrator in the log-on area, but the previous owner's name is still in the registration properties, as well as in the info such as "c:\Documents and Settings\Previous Owner\My Documents\My Music". How is this information changed? I have a legal copy of an XP Pro upgrade. Would that allow the change to be made (and would I lose any data currently on the machine)? I would prefer to just change something in the registry, or whatever it takes. Please help!!!

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Try the following link to MVP Doug Knox's web page:

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_change_owner.htm

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups


| I recently purchased a used Dell desktop for my son. I was able to change
him to system administrator in the log-on area, but the previous owner's
name is still in the registration properties, as well as in the info such as
"c:\Documents and Settings\Previous Owner\My Documents\My Music". How is
this information changed? I have a legal copy of an XP Pro upgrade. Would
that allow the change to be made (and would I lose any data currently on the
machine)? I would prefer to just change something in the registry, or
whatever it takes. Please help!!!

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I recently purchased a used Dell desktop for my son. I was able to
change him to system administrator in the log-on area, but the
previous owner's name is still in the registration properties, as
well as in the info such as "c:\Documents and Settings\Previous
Owner\My Documents\My Music". How is this information changed? I have
a legal copy of an XP Pro upgrade. Would that allow the change to be
made (and would I lose any data currently on the machine)? I would
prefer to just change something in the registry, or whatever it
takes. Please help!!!

Still shocks me that this cosmetic change means so much to people.

In any case - a Google search ( http://www.google.com/ ) led me to the
following:

http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/32
or
http://www.techsupportforum.com/computer/topic/17473-1.html
or
http://www.techsupportforum.com/computer/topic/17473-1.html

To do the search yourself, click here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=change+registered+information+windows+xp
or
http://snipurl.com/719h

Enjoy!

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Go here:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Line 7 Right column"Change registered owner..."
That will change it for Computer Properties.

For the rest, it is easier to create a new profile, copy the data from
the old to new profile:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811151

The old profile can be safely deleted once you are sure you have all
necessary data.

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/

I recently purchased a used Dell desktop for my son. I was able to

change him to system administrator in the log-on area, but the
previous owner's name is still in the registration properties, as well
as in the info such as "c:\Documents and Settings\Previous Owner\My
Documents\My Music". How is this information changed? I have a legal
copy of an XP Pro upgrade. Would that allow the change to be made (and
would I lose any data currently on the machine)? I would prefer to
just change something in the registry, or whatever it takes. Please
help!!!

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

With second-hand computers, particularly if acquired from
strangers, your wisest course of action would probably 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. Some unscrupulous people could even sell a
used computer preconfigured with the necessary key-loggers and spyware
to collect your personal information for future use.

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 C:\Documents and Settings\Username folders _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
--
Help us help you:



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

I recently purchased a used Dell desktop for my son. I was able to

change him to system administrator in the log-on area, but the
previous owner's name is still in the registration properties, as well
as in the info such as "c:\Documents and Settings\Previous Owner\My
Documents\My Music". How is this information changed? I have a legal
copy of an XP Pro upgrade. Would that allow the change to be made (and
would I lose any data currently on the machine)? I would prefer to
just change something in the registry, or whatever it takes. Please
help!!!