username set to 'default' not my real, admin name...

[Guest]

Hi,
I just got a new comp at work (XP Pro) after having used XP Home on my old
desktop for years. Anyway, I only just noticed that, even though I'm the
administrator & sole user on both computers, my XP Pro comp automatically
registered my homepath as '=Documents and Settings\MyName' whereas my XP Home
comp has only ever used '=Documents and Settings\default' which has always
been rather confusing. When I check SET, via the Command Prompt on my old
machine, I can see that none of the user-specific entries are correct. And
yet I know that I set up my administrator user profile as soon as I got that
comp and that I've never changed it.
I've read replies to similar problems that recommend creating a new user
profile & shifting over all the settings & documents before deleting the
first, but I worry that I'd be foolish to try it on my old comp since I'm the
administrator & not just some random user...

I'm not a fool or a computer noobie, but I know that I've clearly missed a
step somewhere - most likely b/c I've set up my systems intuitively & as the
need arises, instead of by following a million steps from a book.

So I hope someone can help me b/c this is driving me crazy & making
networking harder than necessary. Thx!!

 

[Guest]

I like to learn new things every day so I would have set up 2 or 3 more
admin accounts to test the configurations.

Now I am curious about your thinking? Why would you not have added more
admin accounts then used explorer to view the default path names /
locations?
=======================================
Best regards with your searching, Gary 'Doc' Adams
New Orleans, Louisiana - USA
Lsu @ msn.com
http://searchingforfamily.org
~ Read to Learn - Write to Think ~
=======================================

 

[Sharon F]

Hi,
I just got a new comp at work (XP Pro) after having used XP Home on my old
desktop for years. Anyway, I only just noticed that, even though I'm the
administrator & sole user on both computers, my XP Pro comp automatically
registered my homepath as '=Documents and Settings\MyName' whereas my XP Home
comp has only ever used '=Documents and Settings\default' which has always
been rather confusing. When I check SET, via the Command Prompt on my old
machine, I can see that none of the user-specific entries are correct. And
yet I know that I set up my administrator user profile as soon as I got that
comp and that I've never changed it.
I've read replies to similar problems that recommend creating a new user
profile & shifting over all the settings & documents before deleting the
first, but I worry that I'd be foolish to try it on my old comp since I'm the
administrator & not just some random user...

I'm not a fool or a computer noobie, but I know that I've clearly missed a
step somewhere - most likely b/c I've set up my systems intuitively & as the
need arises, instead of by following a million steps from a book.

So I hope someone can help me b/c this is driving me crazy & making
networking harder than necessary. Thx!!

Normally there are two situations where a "default" account comes into play
in WinXP:

- the "Default User" is the template account used for creating new
accounts.
- the account "default" shows up when a user's regular account cannot be
loaded usually due to corruption in the registry.

So either you (or someone) created an account named "Default" and later
renamed it. Perhaps the folks that set up your computer did this and when
you first started up the computer and filled in the blanks, that's where
the account was renamed. When an account is renamed, the original name of
the account's folders remains.

Or you've been working in a temporary user account on your home PC for
quite a while. Going by your description of the system, this scenario is
unlikely

Since you don't complain of any problems using the home PC, I'm going to
guess that the first scenario is what you're dealing with: an account with
the user name Default was created and then renamed to something else.

Result: On the welcome screen, on the start menu and in various other
places of XP, you see the current "friendly" name for the account. When
when you trace the path to the account's folders, you end up at \Documents
and Settings\Default\.

If this is the case, what you're seeing is normal for XP.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

Yes, I think that Sharon is right - the account was probably set up in haste
without a proper user profile, and then someone (likely me) went back in &
renamed the profile "MyName" at a later date. And yes, "MyName" is used on
the start menu etc etc, but the path (& command>SET settings) still say
"default".

Now, you say that:

If this is the case, what you're seeing is normal for XP

which is reassuring, but I'd still like to switch the whole profile,
settings & folders over to a full-fledged "MyName" account. I tried setting
up two new accounts, "Admin" & "MyName2", and then using either
MyComputer>Properties>>>UserProfiles>Settings (to copy between profiles) or
Windows Explorer (to copy the various files etc from "Default" to "MyName2")
to move the log-in profile &/or files between accounts. The first of those
methods only moved the folders but not their contents or the display settings
etc I'd laborously set up for "MyName"/"Default". The second method was much
better but didn't move my desktop display settings (although all the other
folders & paths still looked & worked the same). I suppose I could have
simply fixed those few display issues in "MyName2" and then deleted the
"Default" account (crossing my fingers that I'd moved everything over), but I
didn't feel confident doing all that until I had some reassurance (from
someone here) that everything would be ok

Anyway, if you can suggest some way for me to actually change the paths &
references that still say "Default" over to "MyName", without having to
juggle accounts & lose at least some of my settings etc, then I'd be most
grateful. If not, then I guess I'd just like to know that I won't be doing
something disasterous if I proceed with my plans to copy everything over to
"MyName2".

Thanks so much for the help, F

 

[Sharon F]

Hi,

Yes, I think that Sharon is right - the account was probably set up in haste
without a proper user profile, and then someone (likely me) went back in &
renamed the profile "MyName" at a later date. And yes, "MyName" is used on
the start menu etc etc, but the path (& command>SET settings) still say
"default".

Now, you say that:
which is reassuring, but I'd still like to switch the whole profile,
settings & folders over to a full-fledged "MyName" account. I tried setting
up two new accounts, "Admin" & "MyName2", and then using either
MyComputer>Properties>>>UserProfiles>Settings (to copy between profiles) or
Windows Explorer (to copy the various files etc from "Default" to "MyName2")
to move the log-in profile &/or files between accounts. The first of those
methods only moved the folders but not their contents or the display settings
etc I'd laborously set up for "MyName"/"Default". The second method was much
better but didn't move my desktop display settings (although all the other
folders & paths still looked & worked the same). I suppose I could have
simply fixed those few display issues in "MyName2" and then deleted the
"Default" account (crossing my fingers that I'd moved everything over), but I
didn't feel confident doing all that until I had some reassurance (from
someone here) that everything would be ok

Anyway, if you can suggest some way for me to actually change the paths &
references that still say "Default" over to "MyName", without having to
juggle accounts & lose at least some of my settings etc, then I'd be most
grateful. If not, then I guess I'd just like to know that I won't be doing
something disasterous if I proceed with my plans to copy everything over to
"MyName2".

Thanks so much for the help, F

The only way to change this account over to one that has matching names for
user and the folders is to create a new one. Your decision not to delete
your current account is right on the money. As you've discovered it's a bit
of work getting everything transferred to the new account. Until you're
sure all has been transferred, do not delete that account. Here is a link
to an MS Knowledge Base article that outlines the process:

How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151

As the article mentions, there will be some items that you have to transfer
manually using a different method and reset some preferences.