How to change name of user account 2

[haysdb]

I installed XP Pro on a new machine. During all the setup, I thought I was in one account when I was actually in another. I thought, no problem, I will just rename the accounts. But changing the name of an account doesn't seem to really change the name of the account.

The account name was originally Paul. I changed it to David. But now, even when I log in as David, Task Manager still shows my processes as being owned by Paul, and the folder name in Documents and Settings still says Paul, and the folder names for the Paul account are Paul_2. This is going to be confusing and lead to errors.

How do I get everything back in synch, where the account name matches the process names which matches the folder names? I haven't invested so much time in the configuration that I couldn't just delete both user accounts and create new ones, if that's the only way to get things straightened out.

David

 

[linney]

Copy user profile to a new user then delete the old user.

811151 - How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=...F-8&q=%22Change+a+User+Name%22%2Bwindows%2Bxp

 

[bcastner]

Copy a User Profile:

Open System in Control Panel. On the User Profiles tab, and under Profiles stored on this computer, click the user profile you want to copy, and then click Copy To.

In the Copy To dialog box, under Copy profile to, type the location for the new profile, or click Browse to select the path.
Click Change to open the Choose User dialog box, click a new user from the Names list, and then click Add. The new user name will appear in Add Name. Click OK to add the user as a new user profile on your computer.

Note: You must be logged on as an administrator to the local computer to copy user profiles. To open a Control Panel item, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the appropriate icon.

Note 2: You cannot copy the account you are currently logged in on. You must log into another account.

Note 3: If you create a new account, you must logon once before you copy another account over top of it. Windows creates the user profile at logon, not at account creation, and it will not use the copy you created before that first logon, it will create a user.COMPUTERNAME folder instead.

Note 4: To resolve this issue, verify that the user account is not logged on before you try to copy its profile. If you are currently logged on as this user, log off, log on again by using a different user account, and then copy the profile. If you are not logged on as the user account that you are trying to copy, that account may be logged on in a different session (using Fast User Switching).

To force that account to be logged off, start Task Manager, click the Users tab, click the user account, and then click Logoff.

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_abc.htm

 

[user9876]

Will this copy all the settings such as e-mail settings in Microsoft Outlook and program settings. This could save me a lot of time as well. Thanks

 

[bcastner]

No it does not. I requires a second step after you have done the earlier steps in MS KB 811151 - How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile

Note: The method that is described in this article may not transfer the Outlook Express e-mail messages and address user data that are associated with the user profile where you are transferring data from. When you delete the old profile, you may delete that data if it you do not first transfer it by using other methods. For additional information about transferring Outlook Express user data, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
313055 OLEXP: Mail Folders, Address Book, and E-mail Messages Are Missing After You Upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313055

 

[bcastner]

Sorry, your question was about Outlook. Same general answer, no it does not. But different link:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=287070

 

[linney]

Can you make any use of the Files and Settings Transfer program?

293118 - HOW TO: Use Files and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;293118&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH#2

Using the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/crawford_november12.mspx