I have a computer that has a name on the primary account that I would
like to change. This account has full admin privileges.

Can I create a new account with full privileges, and they delete the old
account to change the primary account name. Obvious I would transfer
everything before deleting the account.

knuttle wrote:
> I have a computer that has a name on the primary account that I would
> like to change.  This account has full admin privileges.
There's not really any such thing a primary account.
You can have one or more admins, and zero or more standard users.
> Can I create a new account with full privileges, and they delete the old
> account to change the primary account name.   Obvious I would transfer
> everything before deleting the account.
After creating a new admin you can demote the old admin to be a standard
use. If I were you, I'd create another new standard user too, and not
use the new admin as your day-to-day account.

knuttle <keith_nuttle@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have a computer that has a name on the primary account that I would
> like to change. This account has full admin privileges.
>
> Can I create a new account with full privileges, and they delete the old
> account to change the primary account name. Obvious I would transfer
> everything before deleting the account.

Why can't you just change the name of the account? What's so special
about this account? Is it perhaps a Microsoft Account (instead of a
local Windows account)?

I'm not going to try it, but when I go to (Control Panel -> User
Accounts -> User Accounts) I can just click 'Change your account name'
(this system has just one (non-hidden) account) and type in the 'New
account name' field.

knuttle wrote on 1/30/24 5:07 AM:
> I have a computer that has a name on the primary account that I would
> like to change.  This account has full admin privileges.
>
> Can I create a new account with full privileges, and they delete the old
> account to change the primary account name.   Obvious I would transfer
> everything before deleting the account.

Create the new account(username/pw) with the current admin account
- Settings/Accounts/Other Users
If a Local Account is desiree
- Choose the 'I don't have this persons sign-in information'
- Choose 'Add a user without a Microsoft account'
- Enter a username and password
Logoff the current admin account
Logon to the new account to finalize setting setup of the new account profile
- it will be automatically setup and configured as a Standard account
Decide if you wish to make the new account and admin account
- if so, log off the new account and logon with the other(admin account
that created the new account), and use it to make the other account an
admin account.

Once done, setup the new account per you preference.

Note: Only certain things can and should only be be 'transferred'
- copy, do not move

Once you are happy with the new admin account, and no longer need the
older(original) account, use the new admin account to delete/remove the
original account.

If the current account is a Microsoft account, your process is slightly
different
- you should have specified this in your original post

--
....w¡ñ§±¤ñ

Frank Slootweg wrote:

> Why can't you just change the name of the account?

Even if you change the username, the home directory will stay as
C:\users\oldusername and it's very hairy to alter that.

On 1/30/2024 10:42 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> knuttle <keith_nuttle@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> I have a computer that has a name on the primary account that I would
>> like to change. This account has full admin privileges.
>>
>> Can I create a new account with full privileges, and they delete the old
>> account to change the primary account name. Obvious I would transfer
>> everything before deleting the account.
>
> Why can't you just change the name of the account? What's so special
> about this account? Is it perhaps a Microsoft Account (instead of a
> local Windows account)?
>
> I'm not going to try it, but when I go to (Control Panel -> User
> Accounts -> User Accounts) I can just click 'Change your account name'
> (this system has just one (non-hidden) account) and type in the 'New
> account name' field.
>

Not a lot of optimism is expressed about such options.

Creating a new account, is more likely to be internally
consistent in the long run.

This is why I tell people to create a local account
during installation, so they have a home directory
with the name they wanted on it. Adding an MSA can come later.

*******

For Keith, when you create multiple accounts, it looks like this.

https://www.top-password.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/show-windows-user-list.jpg

If you populate the account pictures with avatars suited to the
personality, then it makes it easier to spot the desired account.
Using the default Pillsbury DoughBoy doesn't help.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/change-your-account-picture-3645cdc7-acab-49d2-76a9-4ce7e5e10939

[Picture]

https://i.postimg.cc/rw32R2jB/multi-account.jpg

Paul

On 1/30/24 01:00 PM, Paul wrote:
<snip>

> Paul
You post a lot of things demonstrating, do you know of a good place like
postimg to post zip files etc?
--
Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon
Al

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
> Frank Slootweg wrote:
>
> > Why can't you just change the name of the account?
>
> Even if you change the username, the home directory will stay as
> C:\users\oldusername and it's very hairy to alter that.

Thanks for the information/correction.

Silly me for assuming Microsoft to be able to handle such an essential
function. (Yes, I realize that stupid software might use hardcoded
paths, but there are at least six environment variables which are set to
the correct paths/name/profile.)

Oh well, it's a quite pleasant rock, actually.

Frank Slootweg wrote on 1/30/24 12:10 PM:
> Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>> Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>
>>> Why can't you just change the name of the account?
>>
>> Even if you change the username, the home directory will stay as
>> C:\users\oldusername and it's very hairy to alter that.
>
> Thanks for the information/correction.
>
> Silly me for assuming Microsoft to be able to handle such an essential
> function. (Yes, I realize that stupid software might use hardcoded
> paths, but there are at least six environment variables which are set to
> the correct paths/name/profile.)
>
> Oh well, it's a quite pleasant rock, actually.
>

It's not just MSFT. Any programs and apps installed(and/or accessed
thereafter) populate the name or link to the name for their use in the
registry and their locations(in Windows and their created 32 and/or 64
bit, and AppData folders).

Probably a bit too much to expect MSFT(or Windows) to change the
usersprofile\foldername and change that location for every single program
that used/uses it.
- imo, this is one of those items that one should not allow MSFT to do(it).

If does choose to attempt, this article provides the basics of what can
and should be changed at the highest level.
<https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-11-change-user-profile-folder-name/>

=> Caution is still warranted - this method doesn't necessarily update
any program file that hard coded the original name or created a file with
that name for its uses.

--
....w¡ñ§±¤ñ

On 01/30/2024 3:34 PM, ...w¡ñ§±¤ñ wrote:
> Frank Slootweg wrote on 1/30/24 12:10 PM:
>> Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
>>> Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>>
>>>>     Why can't you just change the name of the account?
>>>
>>> Even if you change the username, the home directory will stay as
>>> C:\users\oldusername and it's very hairy to alter that.
>>
>>    Thanks for the information/correction.
>>    Silly me for assuming Microsoft to be able to handle such an essential
>> function. (Yes, I realize that stupid software might use hardcoded
>> paths, but there are at least six environment variables which are set to
>> the correct paths/name/profile.)
>>
>>    Oh well, it's a quite pleasant rock, actually.
>>
>
> It's not just MSFT. Any programs and apps installed(and/or accessed
> thereafter) populate the name or link to the name for their use in the
> registry and their locations(in Windows and their created 32 and/or 64
> bit, and AppData folders).
>
> Probably a bit too much to expect MSFT(or Windows) to change the
> usersprofile\foldername and change that location for every single
> program that used/uses it.
>  - imo, this is one of those items that one should not allow MSFT to
> do(it).
>
> If does choose to attempt, this article provides the basics of what can
> and should be changed at the highest level.
>  <https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-11-change-user-profile-folder-name/>
>
> => Caution is still warranted - this method doesn't necessarily update
> any program file that hard coded the original name or created a file
> with that name for its uses.
>
It sounds like changing the account name is not worth the hassle. So it
looks like the computer is stuck with that account name. It is just
wrong for the computer's use.

On 1/30/2024 1:58 PM, Big Al wrote:
> On 1/30/24 01:00 PM, Paul wrote:
> <snip>
>
>>    Paul
> You post a lot of things demonstrating, do you know of a good place like postimg to post zip files etc?

Take a picture of the bytes ? :-)

You could post them on OneDrive and set the security on
the item to Public.

pastebin is for text, up to 500KB or so.

Any site offering anything remotely resembling binary content,
is instantly abused by scum and villany, and does not stay
running for long. That's why the hosting sites are limited in
what they will carry.

It's still possible for an image site to be used for steganography,
but the bitrate is a bit low doing that. I'm pretty sure as we speak,
people are doing that.

postimage is good for up to 10000x10000 or so pixels. There might also
be a filesize limit on the image format used. It also does not accept
all image formats. So if you attempt to use some obscure image format,
that will be rejected.

Paul

....w¡ñ§±¤ñ <winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote:
> Frank Slootweg wrote on 1/30/24 12:10 PM:
> > Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:
> >> Frank Slootweg wrote:
> >>
> >>> Why can't you just change the name of the account?
> >>
> >> Even if you change the username, the home directory will stay as
> >> C:\users\oldusername and it's very hairy to alter that.
> >
> > Thanks for the information/correction.
> >
> > Silly me for assuming Microsoft to be able to handle such an essential
> > function. (Yes, I realize that stupid software might use hardcoded
> > paths, but there are at least six environment variables which are set to
> > the correct paths/name/profile.)
> >
> > Oh well, it's a quite pleasant rock, actually.
>
> It's not just MSFT. Any programs and apps installed(and/or accessed
> thereafter) populate the name or link to the name for their use in the
> registry and their locations(in Windows and their created 32 and/or 64
> bit, and AppData folders).
>
> Probably a bit too much to expect MSFT(or Windows) to change the
> usersprofile\foldername and change that location for every single program
> that used/uses it.
> - imo, this is one of those items that one should not allow MSFT to do(it).

No, what I mean is that any programs should use the environment
variables, and the environment variables will contain the changed
user/folder name.

> If does choose to attempt, this article provides the basics of what can
> and should be changed at the highest level.
> <https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-11-change-user-profile-folder-name/>
>
> => Caution is still warranted - this method doesn't necessarily update
> any program file that hard coded the original name or created a file with
> that name for its uses.

AFAICT, that article is about changing the *folder* name *without*
changing the *account* name. Keith wants to change the name of the
account. He does not specically say that he wants to change the name of
the account's folder, but I assume he does, because that would also
happen with his own suggested approach.

Anyway, it seems he's decided not to bother.