DOS outside of Windows

[Paul J. Perillo]

I have a Dell laptop with WIN XP with Svc Pk 2. My problem is the name
under the Documents and settings folder was pre-set when I got the machine
(I received it from a friend). Rhe folder is named JOSEPH. When I tried to
change that name, Windows said it was a system folder and may not be
changed. I really want to change that folder name. Do i have to find a way
out to DOS in order to do it?

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have a Dell laptop with WIN XP with Svc Pk 2. My problem is the name
under the Documents and settings folder was pre-set when I got the machine
(I received it from a friend). Rhe folder is named JOSEPH. When I tried
to
change that name, Windows said it was a system folder and may not be
changed. I really want to change that folder name. Do i have to find a
way
out to DOS in order to do it?

No, that method will actually break it pretty seriously.

What you should do is create a new account, migrate *all* of your data and
settings to that new account and its folder structure.

The information here should help:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811151

Then, when you are absolutely 100% positive that you have moved all data you
wish to keep, you can delete the old account. You have to do this from
another accoun; you can't delete the account you are in.

HTH
-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have a Dell laptop with WIN XP with Svc Pk 2. My problem is the name
under the Documents and settings folder was pre-set when I got the machine
(I received it from a friend). Rhe folder is named JOSEPH. When I tried to
change that name, Windows said it was a system folder and may not be
changed. I really want to change that folder name. Do i have to find a way
out to DOS in order to do it?

Patrick answered your question, but I wanted to add another comment:

If I acquired a used computer, even from a friend, the first thing I
would do with it would be to reinstall the operating system cleanly.
You have no idea how the computer has been maintained, what has been
installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and spyware there
may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody else's mistakes and
problems, possibility of kiddie porn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend
that anyone else do either.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a Dell laptop with WIN XP with Svc Pk 2. My problem is the name
under the Documents and settings folder was pre-set when I got the machine
(I received it from a friend). Rhe folder is named JOSEPH. When I tried to
change that name, Windows said it was a system folder and may not be
changed. I really want to change that folder name. Do i have to find a way
out to DOS in order to do it?

There is no way to reboot a WinXP PC into Real Mode DOS unless
you've set up a dual-boot system, or use a bootable MS-DOS diskette or
CD. And even then, you'd likely have no access to the hard drive's
contents, if using the NTFS file system. The WinNT family of 32-bit
graphical operating systems, of which WinXP is the latest generation,
has never used, included, or "ridden upon" MS-DOS. The Recovery
Console's CLI (Command Line Interface) is the closest you can come to
the old "DOS mode."

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.

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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