Mac Mini Resets upon startup... Help?

I recently got this Mac Mini, and I am having this problem where every time I restart it, everything is reset... the dock, the desktop background, my settings and preferences, etc.
It also resets it's name to the previous owners name (even though I keep changing it).
I've run the disc utility - repair (from the hard drive, not the install disc). It didn't help.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

gretchie3 wrote:
It also resets it's name to the previous owners name (even though I keep changing it).
Have you created a new Administrator account, or are you just renaming the previous user home folder?
If you did the latter (renaming the home folder), it will not work. You have to create a new account (in System Preferences/Accounts).
Good Luck.

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