Documents and Settings Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter shapiro
  • Start date Start date
S

shapiro

Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
Hi,

You can't change the user name. Create your new user name, then copy over
the desired documents. The owner account is only there as a default until
you create your user accounts.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 
As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
Yeah, on the home screen it says my name. That points to the owner folder.
so you say to create a whole new user or just a new folder in the C: drive?
 
Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
As suspected, it can either be the default Administrator account or an Admin-level user account.

Here is a method from MVP Doug Knox to test it:

<quote>
The Owner is an Admitrator level account, that is usually created on an OEM system by default. This may be the name that the OEM gave to the built in Administrator account, as well. The way to test this is:

XP Pro:

Press CTRL-ALT-DEL twice at the welcome screen, with no users logged on. You will see the older Win2K style logon. Type in Administrator and leave the password box blank.

For XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode (See Help and Support). You should now see Administrator listed on the Welcome Screen as well.

If neither of these applies, then your OEM has probably renamed the built-in Administrator Account.
</quote>


If the OWNER account is not the Administrator (built-in), you may go ahead and delete it. Otherwise, please don't.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
thanks for your speedy information. I tried to delete the account but
windows wouldnt let me, which is good.
I am discovering that managing users can be very tricky and frustrating. I
kept logging on to my name to find that my documents were still in the
"owner" folder.

As suspected, it can either be the default Administrator account or an
Admin-level user account.

Here is a method from MVP Doug Knox to test it:

<quote>
The Owner is an Admitrator level account, that is usually created on an OEM
system by default. This may be the name that the OEM gave to the built in
Administrator account, as well. The way to test this is:

XP Pro:

Press CTRL-ALT-DEL twice at the welcome screen, with no users logged on. You
will see the older Win2K style logon. Type in Administrator and leave the
password box blank.

For XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode (See Help and Support). You
should now see Administrator listed on the Welcome Screen as well.

If neither of these applies, then your OEM has probably renamed the built-in
Administrator Account.
</quote>


If the OWNER account is not the Administrator (built-in), you may go ahead
and delete it. Otherwise, please don't.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this
account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a
admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may
straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created
account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
After all this I will just keep my folder name as "owner" and on the home
screen have it as my name.

Too damn frustrating otherwise



As suspected, it can either be the default Administrator account or an
Admin-level user account.

Here is a method from MVP Doug Knox to test it:

<quote>
The Owner is an Admitrator level account, that is usually created on an OEM
system by default. This may be the name that the OEM gave to the built in
Administrator account, as well. The way to test this is:

XP Pro:

Press CTRL-ALT-DEL twice at the welcome screen, with no users logged on. You
will see the older Win2K style logon. Type in Administrator and leave the
password box blank.

For XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode (See Help and Support). You
should now see Administrator listed on the Welcome Screen as well.

If neither of these applies, then your OEM has probably renamed the built-in
Administrator Account.
</quote>


If the OWNER account is not the Administrator (built-in), you may go ahead
and delete it. Otherwise, please don't.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this
account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a
admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may
straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created
account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
but if the owner account already has documents stored in it (mp3's etc) will
it be hidden? or forever to be in the folder. I guess I could delete the
files, but there are bound to be hidden ones


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this
account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a
admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may
straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created
account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
:-)

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


After all this I will just keep my folder name as "owner" and on the home
screen have it as my name.

Too damn frustrating otherwise



As suspected, it can either be the default Administrator account or an
Admin-level user account.

Here is a method from MVP Doug Knox to test it:

<quote>
The Owner is an Admitrator level account, that is usually created on an OEM
system by default. This may be the name that the OEM gave to the built in
Administrator account, as well. The way to test this is:

XP Pro:

Press CTRL-ALT-DEL twice at the welcome screen, with no users logged on. You
will see the older Win2K style logon. Type in Administrator and leave the
password box blank.

For XP Home, boot the computer into Safe Mode (See Help and Support). You
should now see Administrator listed on the Welcome Screen as well.

If neither of these applies, then your OEM has probably renamed the built-in
Administrator Account.
</quote>


If the OWNER account is not the Administrator (built-in), you may go ahead
and delete it. Otherwise, please don't.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this
account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a
admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may
straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created
account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
It will be forever to be in the folder.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


but if the owner account already has documents stored in it (mp3's etc) will
it be hidden? or forever to be in the folder. I guess I could delete the
files, but there are bound to be hidden ones


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this
account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a
admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may
straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created
account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
Could this be another option to rename the folder?

Run<
- type 'control userpasswords2'

Change the username there.



It will be forever to be in the folder.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


but if the owner account already has documents stored in it (mp3's etc) will
it be hidden? or forever to be in the folder. I guess I could delete the
files, but there are bound to be hidden ones


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this
account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a
admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may
straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created
account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
I don't see any safe method to rename a user profile folder, as this may cause problems for that particular user account. Again, if 'Owner' is a built-in Admin account, don't delete it. If Owner is just an user account with Admin-level privileges, you may delete the account by logging in as built-in Administrator.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Could this be another option to rename the folder?

Run<
- type 'control userpasswords2'

Change the username there.



It will be forever to be in the folder.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


but if the owner account already has documents stored in it (mp3's etc) will
it be hidden? or forever to be in the folder. I guess I could delete the
files, but there are bound to be hidden ones


Apologies! I suspect Owner is the default Administrator. DO NOT delete this
account. The built-in administrator account will hide itself once a
admin-level account is created. And, please wait for Rick's answer, he may
straighten this up for you. Sorry.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Yes, you can. But wait for sometime; if all is OK with the newly created
account, delete the old one.

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Thanks, but once that is done, can the owner folder be deleted safely? I do
not want a redundant icon on the home screen



As Rick said, create new user profile and transfer the data to new profile.

Create a duplicate user profile with a different name - Windows XP:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/dupprofile.htm

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k


Hi,

I have been having some problems with the naming of users folders. A few
days ago I installed XPhome onto a new machine. I kept the default "owner"
name. I created two other users also. Now I would like to change the "owner"
to my name on the C: drive.
I did this, and it created a whole new user, and when I logged on I didnt
have my documents, they were still in the owner folder, which I thought I
had renamed.
I had to do a system restore to fix this. What is the proper way to change
the folder name, without stuffing up all my logon and document navigation.

Thanks
 
Hi,

That's because you cannot delete the last administrator account. It's a
built-in safeguard.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 
Do not attempt to rename the user folder. You can create other usernames,
and even change yours, but you can't rename a user folder.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 

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