Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

ella22

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 7, 2015
1
0
Hope there is someone who can help me, I was so stupid that I searched the web how to change the admin username on macbook air, after I changed the user name on my Mac, all data is gone:( i tried to change the name back to the old one, but it didnt work :(
 
I'm not sure what you did exactly, but you should maybe take it to your local Apple store or authorized Apple reseller to see if they can help. I hope you had a backup and that it turns out OK.
 
If you deleted the user account that used to be there, then any data that is usually stored in the "user" file is gone and not recoverable.

If the account still exists under system preferences, just log out and back in.
 
Hope there is someone who can help me, I was so stupid that I searched the web how to change the admin username on macbook air, after I changed the user name on my Mac, all data is gone:( i tried to change the name back to the old one, but it didnt work :(

This stuff happens. Book yourself a Genius appointment and see what they can do.

Do you keep backups?
 
You have to change your account name and home directory name, doing only one will lock you out. Don't touch anything and schedule a genius appointment. they should be able to help you
 
Hope there is someone who can help me, I was so stupid that I searched the web how to change the admin username on macbook air, after I changed the user name on my Mac, all data is gone:( i tried to change the name back to the old one, but it didnt work :(
Hard to say how to fix it, not knowing exactly what you did. But you can make a new account and move the data (like documents and music for example) over to the new account.

Follow the steps here to make the system rerun system setup. When you do that, make a new admin account with a new name and login to that account.

Then from within the new account open Terminal and run the command below. You will be prompted for a password. Enter the PW for the new account you are currently in. That will launch an instance of Finder as "root" that will allow you to browse and copy/move files inside the old account and move them over to the new account.

Code:
sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder

What I would do is first thing once you get logged in to the new admin account is run a full backup to an external drive so you can recover if you mess this up.
 
Run a full backup to an external drive so you can recover if you mess this up.

After the backup, disconnect the backup drive before you do any modifications to ensure you don't do anything to the data on it. I would still get a Genius appointment if you're not comfortable modifying user settings.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Weaselboy
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.