Changing administrator user name or short name in accounts, OS upgrade

I just inherited an older MacBook Pro. (15-inch, 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo, OSX 10.4.11).
I was able to change most account info, however former user's short name still appears as the short name in adm account and in the home page sidebar. How can I change this? (I understand there is a third party utility -- Change Short Name -- that claims to easily do this, but I'm reluctant to use any third party app if there is a Apple-endorsed way to accomplish the task.)
Do I need to set up a new administrator account on the computer in order to delete his info?
Also, eventually, I need to delete a lot of programs and files from computer. Bloated. My first thought is to simply do a clean reinstall since there's really nothing on the computer that I need. (However the original install discs were lost in a move, and I'll need to contact Apple for replacement.) I've read post advising against this approach because of the number of updates needed and due to uncited problems. Has anyone experienced any problems with this approach on this model -- before I purchase old install discs.
Is better option to purchase Snow Leopard. I have it installed on Mac Pro at work. I like it and have not experienced any problems. Anyone experience problems with SL on this model of MBP.
Thanks in advance for the help.

[Adding a new user account to your computer|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh168.html] You just need to make sure that the new account is set to be an administrator account. Then you log into the new account and remove the old account from there. There shouldn't be any implications to doing this but it is always a good idea to make sure you have a fully bootable (cloned) backup before doing modifications.
As mentioned before, ideally you should just wipe wipe the drive and start afresh. This ensures any corrupt files, or hidden files, are removed. However, you will need the installer disc to do this. Since you no longer have the Tiger one it might be worth just going for Snow Leopard. However, one advantage to getting replacement original discs from Apple is they contain special software for diagnosing problems on your specific model computer that isn't in a retail set of discs.
Cloning And Backup Tools
A bootable clone is an exact copy of your drive which is capable of booting your computer. Making a copy of your computer which is capable of actually starting the computer requires special copying procedures. Some people just back up data files but if you have problems you have to reinstall all your operating system and all your applications. With a bootable clone you just start up from the backup drive and clone back everything.
To copy files from one hard drive to another hard drive you can use:
[CarbonCopy Cloner|http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html] (donationware)
[SuperDuper|http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html] (shareware)
[IBackup|http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup/index.html] (free)
The Restore function of Disk Utility included in OS X. [Kappy's directions|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8799711#8799711]
[Tri-Backup (commercial)|http://www.tri-edre.com/english/tribackup.html] (payware)
[Silverkeeper|http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper> (free) - version 2 has some issues (references: [1|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d12jan2009],
[2|http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/backup/index.html#d13jan2009]) and it is recommended Tiger users stick with 1.1.4.
[Kappy's Backup Software Recommendations|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9065665#906 5665]
[Overview of Mac OS X Backup Programs|http://8help.osu.edu/1247.html]

Similar Messages

Changeuser name (or short name)

Hi,
I tried to change m user name following the link
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1428
but it did not give me the otion of enabling me as root user. Does anyone know how to change my user name please?
Thanks
t

Miss_T why didn't you just continue posting to your original thread? That said did you follow what Barney-15E advised? Did you follow this?
Changing the short name
Though there are other methods by which an advanced user may change the short name and related information, the easier and safer workaround is to create a new user with the desired name, then copy the old user's Home directory contents into that of the new user.
Before following these steps, you may wish to back up your important data.
For Mac OS X 10.5 or later
Enable the root user.
Log in as root.
Navigate to the /Users folder.
Select the Home folder with the short name you want to change, and rename it just like you would rename any folder. Keep in mind that the shortname must be all lowercase, with no spaces, and only contain letters.
Use the Accounts pane in System Preferences to create a new user with the short name that you used in the previous step.
Click OK when "A folder in the Users folder already has the name 'short name'. Would you like to use that folder as the Home folder for this user account?" Note: This will correct the ownership of all files in the Home folder, and avoid permissions issues with the contents.
Choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
Log in as the newly created user. You should be able to access all of your original files (on the desktop, in Documents, and in the other folders of this Home).
After verifying that your data is as expected, you can delete the original user account via the Accounts pane of System Preferences.
Disable the root user.

Changing Administrator User Name

I am trying to move my itunes files from my old emac to my newer MacBook. I was advised that the admin user names need to match for the relocated itunes files to work properly. I lost my emac disks when we moved a few years ago. What can I do to change the administrative user name on my old emac so it matches my new MacBook?

the mcabook is seeing the emac itunes as an older version and corrupted. It is asking me to re-install itunes on the macbook. Did I do something wrong? I tried to drag the itunes icon from the applications folder of the emac to the macbook applications folder.

Change Admin Acct - Home Folder Short Name

Hi Folks,
I'm a new MAC user and I accidentally "fat-fingered" the short name of the administrator's home folder during initial configuration of my machine. I think I remember seeing that the short name of the adminstrator's home folder can't be changed.
Is there a workaround that will allow me to change the short name of the administrator's home folder?
I don't want to have to look at this grossly-mispelled folder name for the next umpteen years.
Thanks much for any help.
Descartes
iMac 20inch Core 2 Duo, 2.33 GHz, 3MB SDRAM, 256MB VRAM Mac OS X (10.4.7) iBM Think Pad T41P, 1.7 GHz, WinXP
iMac 20inch Core 2 Duo, 2.33 GHz, 3MB SDRAM, 256MB VRAM Mac OS X (10.4.7) iBM Think Pad T41P, 1.7 GHz, WinXP

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106824 should do it for you.

How could I change the name of Short Name?

I have some trouble on name creation on 10.4. I am a computer admin in my company. Everytime we bought new Mac, I will give a Short Name to the computer which is a part of new system setting. My difficulity is, I need to change the name frequently when the machine swap to a new user. How should I change the Short Name instead of reinstall the system?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Felix

To change an account's short name, log in from an administrator account and then open the NetInfo Manager application in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder. Change the old name to the new name in the admin group, as well as that user account's name and home properties; don't alter or delete any other accounts, groups, or properties. Next, open the /Users/ folder in the Finder and rename that account's home folder so that it has the new short name. Log out and back in.
(11684)

Can I Change Home Name and Short Name This Way (Safely)?

Tried this question a couple weeks ago and got 0 replies in the Admin/Accounts section, so I'm revising and trying here. Please help!
Let me see if I can make this simple.
Small office environment; 2 Mac (G4's); Airport network. I am admin on both computers. My employee is admin on his computer as well, but not on mine. Each of us has data we use on our own computer but we can access data from the other computer when necessary. We use the same password to login (just for simplicity). My user name is "Joe Smith" and my assistant's is "Bob Lee Brown." His short name is "blb".
My assistant is moving out of town and I'm hiring someone else. I'd like to set up a new user with that person's name ("Jane Jones"). I'd like the entire "Bob Lee Brown" and "blb" off the computer, and have that replaced by "Jane Jones" and "jj" (for a short name) everywhere, for the new assistant. I want to make sure we're still 100% networked when I get done, and that I can still admin both accounts but my new assistant can't admin my computer. In other words, I'd like a clone of what I have now, only with the names changed everywhere.
So - here's the question (in multi-part format):
Should I create a new Admin account on the assistnat's computer, log in as that one and delete the existing one, saving the user prefernces from the deleted user?
In this event, could i take the deleted user file that's saved and import back in all the user preferences - particularly for Word and Entourage?
If this is the right way to go, what would I have to do on my computer to complete the network process? Any keychain issues I'd have to deal with (what and how?)?
Or, should I use ChangeShortName v1.2 (which I've read about in other posts)? Is that safe?
Or should I just tell my new assistant that she's stuck with a he's name and leave well enough alone?
Thanks - been on Macs since 1984, but never had to do this one before and I'm a little concerned I might mess something up without some step-by-step instructions!

I have used ChangeShortName once and it worked fine; a real timesaver. However, I would backup the /Users folder (or the whole drive) and repair permissions first to be on the safe side.
bd

Changing administrative user name - Model WRT31ON

We can't seem to find how to change the administrative username from blank to a actual name.
Is this able to be done on this model?
Thanks,
Charlie

No. Linksys only uses the password. And it wouldn't be more secure if there was a user name...

Regarding Requests to change a user alias / username / displayed name

Has there been any progress in developing a way to change the name displayed on discussion posts? I didn't realize my full name would appear on my postings and would very much like to edit this on my profile. The posted answer I found that it wasn't passible to do this goes back to 2008. Any news on this?? Thanks.

Hi,
iChat Can Create new @Mac.com email like addresses and makes them Apple IDs
iChat 4 and 5 link to this page
This page was created after MobileMe started up.
At first it was an @Mac.com name for iChat only
Later it had an option to make it an Apple ID as well.
Now in the last few Months it has become an Automatic step in the process to AN Apple ID as well.
As people don't always want to link all their On-line apps to one ID but also don't want to create more Email address it has become a problem in iChat.
I have raised this issue higher up.
My point is though that you can make an New @Mac.com ID and it is a Apple ID
(I have not looked into changing it to a MobileMe Account linked name at a later stage which seemed to be the middle/previous method).
8:43 PM Monday; December 20, 2010

Re: Regarding Requests to change a user alias / username / displayed name

On Feb 12, 2008 11:43 AM, Eric W. wrote:
"We have seen several requests from users to make changes to their public alias. Unfortunately this is not possible at this time, however we are looking into this suggestion. "
Dear Eric W.:
Is there any update on this request? It is coming up on two years since your announcement was posted. Looking through this forum, this seems to be a very common, frequent and popular request. For privacy reasons, I can see a great need for the ability to change one's alias.
The current alternatives (create new alias, let old one fade away, etc.) are not acceptable.
Please provide an update on the progress of this request.
Thank you.

romad,
This is not a bug, it is a design choice. I have stated that we are looking at this option, but so far the we have not made a decision to change it. We continue to evaluate it, and if there is a change made it will be communicated at that time. Until then I cannot give an ETA because it is possible that this will never change.
Eric W.

"Login failed" after changing administrative user-password.

Hello,
we are administering 20 MacBook Pro (Pupil´s PCs) via Remote Desktop on the 21st MacBook Pro (Teacher´s PC).
On all pupil´s notebooks there are 2 Accounts: pupil = protected via Apple child-proof-lock and teacher = administrative account with all access rights.
Now the teacher´s password for all 20 pupil´s notebooks leaked . We have set a new teacher-password on all 20 pupil´s notebook - the pupils account did not get a new password.
But now we can´t connect form the administrative Remote Desktop Console on the 21st teacher´s notebook to the pupil´s notebook anymore. An error message appears: "The login at PC-Name failed." ... and we can´t find a way to set the new administrative password for the 20 pupil´s notebooks in Remote Desktop Console. When we change the passwords for the administrative teacher-accounts on the 20 pupil´s notebooks back to the old (leaked) one, the remote desktop function is working.
The next problem is, that we can´t change the main Remote Desktop Password on the teacher´s notebook, because nobody knows theses password. It was saved in the keystore (bunch of keys = "Schlüsselbund" in german!) - so we can login to the console without typing it in. But when we try to change the Remote Desktop password, we have to give the "forgotten" password!
We are using Remote Desktop V3.5.3 464.3 - unlimited license.
Every help is very welcome...
Regards from Germany,
Goldi2005

If I understand correctly, the machines have a new password, but ARD has the old one?
Assuming they are all the same account name and password, you can select all of the machines in the ARD list, do a Get Info (Cmd-I) and, under the Attributes tab, change the password for all 20 machines.

Cant change the short name

hi
I bought a macbook -already used- but when I reached a User Acount to master my name and short name I can change only my first name but my short name is unchangeable ... i click to the locker and it's the same probleme i cant change the short name ...
and this shortName is for the name of my home icon ... and the name of all the installation path
How I can bit my own parameters?

You can use this information to help. Mac OS X: How to change user short name or home directory name
Or you can use this software to do it. ChangeShortName 1.3

The Method to reflect the changed OIM User Prifile to the Target Resource

After completing the Trusted Reconciliation,
The Method to reflect the changed OIM User Prifile to the Target Resource Account
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1. If i execute the Reconciliation of the target system, the current OIM User Profile information is automatically reflected in the target system

Don't create threads for the same question:
errorlog : Empty parent row cannot be updated ... what????

Changing the user name folder of administrator

I got married and changed my last name. I have a personal use macbook pro and I am the only account/administrator for my laptop. I have read many instructions involving creating a new administrator account and deletign the old one, but I wanted to know if there was any other way to change the name on the User directory folder. I changed my long and short name, and every other name on my accounts last year, but I have been unable to change the name on the directory. I have tried the chown -R /Users/old name /Users/new name in Terminal, but nothing happens after I enter my password. Can someone help? Thank you.

Hi ami6580,
I see I have sent you a link to a very old post.
Sorry, no idea about net info manager, but I found a better link now http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1428
Sorry for the inconvenience
Walter

Change Administrator Short Name OSX

I bought a used 12" PowerBook G4. I have configured everything but I cannot change the original owner's Administrator Short Name. I did change the Administrator Account Name. Is there a simple way to change the Short Name? Can I go through the setup again without changing anything but the Short Name? Or is there a secret file somewhere which I can change?

Hi.
There is not a simple way to rename the Home folder. In fact if you try to rename your home folder from the Finder, you'll make a mess.
There's a cumbersome procedure to do it suggested by Apple.
There's also a little program called ChangeShortName.
Nevertheless, I suggest you to create a new account, and transfer all the files you want (documents, pictures, etc) to the new account. Remember anything you move to Users/Shared will be available to any user to copy/move.
Good Luck.

Changing short name - cannot enable root user??

Hi I encountered a problem trying to enable the root user in order to follow the steps to change my short name. As I follow the steps into opening Directory Utility and entering my administrator account name and password. Here's where I'm stuck at, there is no "Edit" button asking me to enable the root user. Anyone have any idea what I should do now?

ow88 wrote:
Alright I have no idea why I can't edit my own post, but anyways..
You only have about 10 minutes to edit.
did a little research, turns out it gets more complicating than that. It messes up your files, locks you out, and you lose being your own adminstrator? But since I have nothing saved, this doesn't affect me right?
In Directory Utility.app (in utilities) unlock the lock, lower left by clicking on it. Then in the menu, top left on your screen, under Edit, click Enable Root user and proceed.
You can also enable the root in a terminal by entering
sudo passwd root
and first entering your regular admin password and then selecting a root password, which should not be the same as your admin password for obvious reasons.
After that you are on your own, but I suggest first backing the OS up since there might be unexpected consequences from changing the short name. Even if you have nothing saved, you might find that the OS gets hosed for some reason and you have to do a complete reinstall. Using a TM or clone backup makes this a trivial thing to do. Otherwise, it's starting from scratch and updating everything all over again.

Changing administrator user name or short name in accounts, OS upgrade

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