rename user folder

[jskamm]

Hi
running win xp pro on new dell d830 laptop. set up the computer name and the
user name for laptop. computer name is LAPTOPRE, same as user name. but when
i view the document and settings folder, the user folder is named "Jason" and
is the only folder listed. this is how i initially set it up. wondering if i
can rename the subfolder "Jason" to Laptop? when i login as administrator and
try to rename i get error message access is denied. when i navigate to the
control panel/user account, the user Jason is not listed, only user listed is
Laptop. is there any way i can rename the subfolder "Jason" under documents
and settings?

 

[Malke]

Hi
running win xp pro on new dell d830 laptop. set up the computer name and
the user name for laptop. computer name is LAPTOPRE, same as user name.
but when i view the document and settings folder, the user folder is named
"Jason" and is the only folder listed. this is how i initially set it up.
wondering if i can rename the subfolder "Jason" to Laptop? when i login as
administrator and try to rename i get error message access is denied. when
i navigate to the control panel/user account, the user Jason is not
listed, only user listed is Laptop. is there any way i can rename the
subfolder "Jason" under documents and settings?

1. Do not name the computer the same name as a user account.

2. You cannot rename user accounts. With XP Pro, you have the built-in
Administrator account and then any other accounts you create. As soon as
you create a user account with administrative privileges, the built-in
Administrator is hidden. This is by design.

I'm really not sure what you did from your description above. If you have a
user account called "Jason", then that's fine and what you should use. If
you simply renamed the built-in Administrator account "Jason", then create
another user account for your daily work and use that.

Malke

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi
running win xp pro on new dell d830 laptop. set up the computer name and the
user name for laptop. computer name is LAPTOPRE, same as user name. but when
i view the document and settings folder, the user folder is named "Jason" and
is the only folder listed. this is how i initially set it up. wondering if i
can rename the subfolder "Jason" to Laptop? when i login as administrator and
try to rename i get error message access is denied. when i navigate to the
control panel/user account, the user Jason is not listed, only user listed is
Laptop. is there any way i can rename the subfolder "Jason" under documents
and settings?

The user profile folders (C:\Documents and Settings\Username)
_cannot_ be renamed, without risky registry editing, 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. Once you've logged in using this
new account (and transfered any data you need to preserve, 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:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Bruce Chambers]

2. You cannot rename user accounts.

Actually, you can, although renaming the account will have no affect
upon the user profile folder.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Malke]

Actually, you can, although renaming the account will have no affect
upon the user profile folder.

Yes, of course. You know that's what I meant.

Malke

 

[Robert]

So how DO you rename user accounts? And, what's the difference as well as the
connection between user accounts/folders (under C:\Documents and
Settings\<account_name>) and user profiles (as seen in the Login screen and
under Control Panel\User Accounts)?

-Robert

 

[Bruce Chambers]

So how DO you rename user accounts?

Right-click My Computer > Manage > Local Users and Groups > Users,
re-click on the target user account and select "Rename."

And, what's the difference as well as the
connection between user accounts/folders (under C:\Documents and
Settings\<account_name>) and user profiles (as seen in the Login screen and
under Control Panel\User Accounts)?

First, a little clarification. The user-specific folders under the
Documents and Settings tree *are* the user profiles. They are not,
however, the user accounts.

Now, to answer your questions, in a simplified manner:

When a user account is created, a new entry is made in the SAM
(Security Account Manager), an encrypted database that stores teach
users' passwords and security tokens (access permissions to the
computer's resources). The actual file is a portion of the registry
stored in the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder. Each user account is
identified by a unique SID (Security IDentifier) that looks something
like "S-1-5-21-1209904113-3750233708-3148371722-1000." The actual
username that you used and will see on the logon screen is merely a
convenience for us carbon-based life-forms; it is meaningless to the
computer. Renaming a user account does not alter its SID, nor does it
name the associated user profile folders.

The user's folder (C:\Documents and Settings\Username) is created the
first time the same-named user account logs in, and is the default
storage location for that user's data and settings (his/her user
profile, iow). The profile folder is not created when the user account
is created, but rather when the user first logs in. Until that time,
there's merely an entry in the SAM noting that when that new account is
used for the first time, its unique SID will be irrevocably associated
with the new user profile folder.

To summarize: The user account is an entry in the SAM, the
corresponding folder within C:\Document and Settings is the user
profile, and the connection between them is the unique and unchangeable SID.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Right-click My Computer > Manage > Local Users and Groups > Users,
re-click on the target user account and select "Rename."

That should be "...right-click on the target user...."

When a user account is created, a new entry is made in the SAM
(Security Account Manager), an encrypted database that stores teach...

And that should be " .... stores *each* ...."





--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Robert]

OK. That explains a lot! I guess I already knew how to rename an account.
What I really should have asked was how to rename a profile? Can an SID have
more than one profile? Or, can the profile its associated with later be
changed after the initial login? And, how do you delete a profile (and its
SID)?

Thanks for your clear explanations,
-Robert

 

[Bruce Chambers]

OK. That explains a lot! I guess I already knew how to rename an account.
What I really should have asked was how to rename a profile?

That would require risky and unnecessary registry editing. It's much
simpler and safer to simply create a new account with the correct name,
and then copy the desired files from the old profile.

Can an SID have
more than one profile?

Not simultaneously, no. But, should the original user profile somehow
get irretrievably corrupted or damaged, by a RAM failure or power outage
at the wrong time, for example, a new profile may be automatically
created the next time that user logs in, and then his/her SID will link
to the newly created profile.

Or, can the profile its associated with later be
changed after the initial login?

Not that I'm aware of. Again, it would just be much simpler to create
a new account and profile.

And, how do you delete a profile (and its
SID)?

1) Right-click My Computer > Properties > Advanced > User Profiles,
Settings.

or

2) Right-click My Computer > Manage > Local Users and Groups > Users

or

3) Start > Control Panel > User Accounts > Select Target Account, Delete...



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot