Ridding XP of previous owner's name

noahdfear

PMFJI

Debbie

When you changed the name via Control Panel > User Accounts > User > Change my name, it didn't change Shirley Duncan in C:\Documents and Settings\Shirley Duncan. It just changed the name that would appear on the Welcome Screen and Start Panel. So whenever you logged on to Debbie you are actually using Shirley Duncan's account.

I think there are three options (at least) that you can take.

1) Continue using Shirley Duncan's account. Take this route if you have done a lot of work on your computer already and couldn't be bothered to change settings and transfer files and what not and you wouldn't mind seeing Shirley Duncan appear now and then.

2) Create a new account (as Newt suggested) in your name with administrative privilages (is this the right spelling?) and then transfer whatever files you need from Shirley Duncan's account into your account. After that you can delete Shirley Duncan's account if you wish using Control Panel > User Accounts while in your account. Before you delete the account it's probably best to make a backup.

3) Make a clean install of your XP. Do this only if you don't have much to lose and back up the irreplacable files.

Hope this helps. :

 

Lee,

Quite alright. Jump in any time. Collective knowledge is what makes this board work.

Debbie,
Lee is right. Only the sign in name changed. Change it back to Shirley, or something other than Debbie. Then create a Debbie account, with Admin. Log onto the new account and delete the Shirley account. XP will offer to save Documents, Favorites and a few others to Debbie's desktop, from which you can then put them in Debbie's proper places.

 

Okie, dokie. I see that I can either leave it as it (not really a problem) or create a new admin account and delete hers. You say it'll offer to save documents, favorites and a few other things...so some of the things may be lost? IF so, not that I don't appreciate you all hanging in there and helping me with this, but I think I'll leave it as it. There are all sorts of things in that folder that I wouldn't want to chance losing. I appreciate the time you've spent helping. Perhaps further down the road I'll transfer everything. All is not lost with this decision...I now understand how to do more than I did when I first posted. <G>Thanks.

 

Debbie,

I guess it was made to sound like you have to delete the Shirley account. You don't! Create a new Debbie account. Log on to it from now on. All new docs. and settings will be stored in your profile. Move things from Shirley at your leisure. Put shortcuts on your desktop to Shirleys various folders where you have info you want to easily access often. Save any new or revised work to Debbie. Once you have everything you want on Debbie, go ahead and delete the Shirley profile.