Guest Fran99 Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 I am Running 3 machines with XP Pro I am tring to access the desktop thru the LAN. I am tring to change the user names on all 3 computer to be the same. When I change the name of the Computer Administrator user the file under Documents and Settings is still the old name and I can't rename it. WHY? When I create a new folder with the new name and copy all the files I can it seems to work. WHY? Thanks for the help fran99
Guest Malke Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 Re: Changing User Name Fran99 wrote: > I am Running 3 machines with XP Pro I am tring to access the desktop > thru the LAN. > > I am tring to change the user names on all 3 computer to be the same. > > When I change the name of the Computer Administrator user the file under > Documents and Settings is still the old name and I can't rename it. > > WHY? > > > When I create a new folder with the new name and copy all the files I can > it seems to work. You cannot change the true nature (underlying files/folders) of a user account by simply changing the name. That is a cosmetic effect only. You need to create new user accounts, all named the same or whatever you like. You can then copy the old user account on each machine to the new user account respectively on each machine if you wish. You need to make a third user account from which to work which can be temporary (delete afterwards) or just keep as an extra administrative account for emergencies. Just follow the instructions in the link below. You will need to log into the new accounts once before you can copy anything to them. Copy a User Account - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=811151 As for your last question, I don't know exactly what you mean. It doesn't matter though; once you've created the matching user accounts and passwords on all three machines (a matter of just a few minutes), your sharing will work perfectly. See below for general network troubleshooting steps in case any of it is applicable to your situation. For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see caveat in Item A below). Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall (including a stateful firewall in a VPN); or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only "gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet. Do not run more than one firewall. DO NOT TURN OFF FIREWALLS; CONFIGURE THEM CORRECTLY. B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab. C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. DO NOT NEGLECT TO CREATE PASSWORDS, EVEN IF ONLY SIMPLE ONES. If you wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista: Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) - http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab). E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home directories or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder. Malke -- MS-MVP Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic! FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
Guest Fran99 Posted September 12, 2008 Posted September 12, 2008 Re: Changing User Name Malke Thank You very much for taking the time to help me. your help was right on it is now working great. thank again fran99 "Malke" wrote: > Fran99 wrote: > > > I am Running 3 machines with XP Pro I am tring to access the desktop > > thru the LAN. > > > > I am tring to change the user names on all 3 computer to be the same. > > > > When I change the name of the Computer Administrator user the file under > > Documents and Settings is still the old name and I can't rename it. > > > > WHY? > > > > > > When I create a new folder with the new name and copy all the files I can > > it seems to work. > > You cannot change the true nature (underlying files/folders) of a user > account by simply changing the name. That is a cosmetic effect only. You > need to create new user accounts, all named the same or whatever you like. > You can then copy the old user account on each machine to the new user > account respectively on each machine if you wish. You need to make a third > user account from which to work which can be temporary (delete afterwards) > or just keep as an extra administrative account for emergencies. Just > follow the instructions in the link below. You will need to log into the > new accounts once before you can copy anything to them. > > Copy a User Account - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=811151 > > As for your last question, I don't know exactly what you mean. It doesn't > matter though; once you've created the matching user accounts and passwords > on all three machines (a matter of just a few minutes), your sharing will > work perfectly. See below for general network troubleshooting steps in case > any of it is applicable to your situation. > > For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see > caveat in Item A below). > > Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused > by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall (including a stateful > firewall in a VPN); or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the > built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having > identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying > to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. > > A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) > traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer > Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on > XP will take care of this for those machines.The only "gotcha" is that this > will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a > third-party firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm > Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a firewall, then you're > fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance > with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you > would substitute your correct subnet. Do not run more than one firewall. DO > NOT TURN OFF FIREWALLS; CONFIGURE THEM CORRECTLY. > > B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup. This > is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab. > > C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do not > need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the passwords > assigned to each user account can be different; the accounts/passwords just > need to exist and match on all machines. DO NOT NEGLECT TO CREATE > PASSWORDS, EVEN IF ONLY SIMPLE ONES. If you wish a machine to boot directly > to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you > can do this. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista: > > Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) - > http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm > > D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off > Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab). > > E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home > directories or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those > directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder. > > Malke > -- > MS-MVP > Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic! > FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ > >
Guest Malke Posted September 12, 2008 Posted September 12, 2008 Re: Changing User Name Fran99 wrote: > Malke > Thank You very much for taking the time to help me. > > your help was right on it is now working great. Glad to hear that helped you sort it. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. Malke -- MS-MVP Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic! FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ
Guest Bruce Chambers Posted September 12, 2008 Posted September 12, 2008 Re: Changing User Name Fran99 wrote: > I am Running 3 machines with XP Pro I am tring to access the desktop thru > the LAN. > > I am tring to change the user names on all 3 computer to be the same. > > When I change the name of the Computer Administrator user the file under > Documents and Settings is still the old name and I can't rename it. > > WHY? > Because these are "protected system" folders that shouldn't be renamed. The user profile folders (C:\Documents and Settings\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). HOW TO Create and Configure User Accounts in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;279783 How to Copy User Data to a New User Profile http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811151 > > When I create a new folder with the new name and copy all the files I can it > seems to work. > > > WHY? > > Because that's doing it the right way. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot
Recommended Posts