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Change Name on "used" macbook "Home" Folder?

P

Pumas927

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
10
0
Hello Everyone,

Needing a bit of help here. Just made the switch from PC to Mac today. :) Bought a mid 2007 used MB.

How do you change the name of the "home" folder?

It looks like the guy I bought it from only wiped his data from the hard drive,but the home folder (home icon) still has his last name on it. I try to change it, but it is greyed out. So far, even after searching the forums, I haven't found a solution to change it. If anyone could help, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you!

-G
 
Thanks for the link. I have already tried that- the only problem is that when I go to the menu to enable root, it is already enabled, so I am only asked for my admin password. So, I am unsure how to "log in as root".

-G
 
Pumas927 said:
Thanks for the link. I have already tried that- the only problem is that when I go to the menu to enable root, it is already enabled, so I am only asked for my admin password. So, I am unsure how to "log in as root".

-G
Click to expand...
How to log in as root

Use these steps for Mac OS X v10.2 or later

  1. If you are logged in, choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
  2. If you are logging in from a list of usernames with pictures, click Other.
  3. In the Name field, type: root
  4. In the Password field, type the password you defined in the steps above.
Click to expand...


Exactly as it says on that linked document.
 
After trying that, I encountered that the log on screen only displays my name and picture, and nowhere is there an "other" option for me to click. I apologize for the "newbiness" of this post. Just switched systems today, am obviously am still learning. A bit of patience would be appreciated.

Thank you.
 
Pumas927 said:
After trying that, I encountered that the log on screen only displays my name and picture, and nowhere is there an "other" option for me to click. I apologize for the "newbiness" of this post. Just switched systems today, am obviously am still learning. A bit of patience would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Try going back and disabling the root user, following the directions in this link:
Then start over and follow the directions step-by-step to enable it again and log in. Make sure the directions you're following relate to your version of Mac OS X, such as For Mac OS X v10.5 or later.
 
Pumas927 said:
After trying that, I encountered that the log on screen only displays my name and picture, and nowhere is there an "other" option for me to click. I apologize for the "newbiness" of this post. Just switched systems today, am obviously am still learning. A bit of patience would be appreciated.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Congratulations on your switch.

There are lots of learning resources here on the forum as well as at www.apple.com Once you get beyond the normal awkward stage of the first day or so, you'll discover just how great OS X is. The logic & functionality of it is just fantastic.

Enjoy :)
 
Thanks for the help so far everyone, I really appreciate it. I finally figured out how to log in as root, but am at a wall again. When logged in as root, I am unable to find the "/Users" folder. The hard drive does not show up on the desktop, either. I used finder to try and search "/Users" and was unable to find anything.

Any ideas?
 
Pumas927 said:
Thanks for the help so far everyone, I really appreciate it. I finally figured out how to log in as root, but am at a wall again. When logged in as root, I am unable to find the "/Users" folder. The hard drive does not show up on the desktop, either. I used finder to try and search "/Users" and was unable to find anything.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Switch to Finder and press CMD+SHIFT+G and type in
Code: 
/users
then press ENTER.
 
Thanks! Finally found it. Though, and dare I say it, someone is gonna hate me now. I finally re named the folder in root. I then proceeded to make a new folder with the same name, BUT when I created the new user account, nothing popped up that said anything about the folder and user account having the same name. When I logged back into my main account, it looks all stock. (Nothing of mine is there, etc). When I logged into root, I could still find the folder that I renamed with things I used to have on my desktop.

I thought restarting would help, but I am now at the the same place in both the user account, and the root account. (Nothing of mine is there, no renamed folder, etc.)

I still have all of my old data still on my PC and backed up. Would it be easier to remove EVERYTHING and re-install Snow Leopard, then upgrade back to Lion and transfer back my data? At least if I reinstalled the whole system, everything would be in my name and set correctly.

I apologize for all of the headaches everyone! :(
 
ddibrell said:
I have a mid year 2007 mac which I gave to my grandson. He returned It recently with his name on the home folder. I want my name on that particular folder. How do I do that?
Click to expand...
Did you try following the link that you quoted? That has the instructions you just asked for.
 
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