Changing an account

pgcharlie wrote:

> I just bought this laptop and although i have changed the name of the account
> in places it still says the previous users name. For example when the task
> manager comes up it still says user and the previous owner. How do i change
> this??

With second-hand computers, especially if acquired from a stranger
but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or friend, your wisest
course of action would definitely be to format the hard drive(s) 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,Vista, 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, and some require the information to be entered
manually (typed in) by the installing individual. Some programs will
allow you to manually change this information from within the program;
consult each application's Help Files for specifics.

The user profile folders (C:\USERS\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) and respective profile(s).


--

Bruce Chambers

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