Solved HP Computer lists my username as Compaq1

[BuckSkin]

I think I have finally found the source of most of my four machine Windows 7 network woes.

One of the machines is a HP desktop of 2012 vintage with Windows 7 Home Premium.

This machine has a username with Administrator privileges; when I open the Start menu, that username is displayed correctly; when I go into Control Panel > User Accounts, the username is also displayed correctly; however, it is displayed as Compaq1 in C: Users; and, when I open Command Prompt and type "net users", it is also displayed there as "Compaq1"

When sharing a folder, when I open Properties > Advanced Sharing > Permissions > Add, type my username in the box, and click "Find" (or whatever it says), I get the box that says there is no such username --- even though I know for a fact that there is.

I Google-searched for the answer to this and cannot find any reference to the situation.

How can I make my username display correctly and get rid of this Compaq1 business ?

Thanks for reading.


On EDIT: I followed this:

HP and Compaq PCs - Changing the Registered Owner (User Name) or Registered Organization Name (Windows 7, Vista and XP) | HP® Customer Support

and changed the owner name from "Compaq1" to my username (as it is in the rest of our machines), restarted, and my username is still displaying as Compaq1.

 

[rvcjew]

That only changes the OEM owners info, you need to do this procedure to change your user folder name (your username is really Compaq1 but its alias is your other one). Backup your Registry before doing this and till you know it has worked keep the created profile you made first as a backup. Also Note: changing this name can impact programs that are made to look for this path upon installation so YMMV once you have changed it.

Rename User Folder in Windows 7 Step-by-step:

First of all change your user account name by accessing the Control panel. Click Start Menu then Control Panel.
On the Control Panel Windows click on user account name link
Type in your new user account on the box bellow your profile picture and then click on the “Change Name” Button
The next step would be to change your folder profile. First of all you need to create a new account with administrator rights to execute the next steps. This new account is only needed to change the folder profile name. You may remove this account after you use it to change the folder profile name. To create a new account click Manage Another Account > Create a new Account
Type in the new account. Make sure you assign “Administrator” right for this new account.

Log off your computer and then log in with the newly-created account
Open Windows Explorer and then navigate to C:\users
Right click on the folder you want to rename and change it to the same name as your new user profile with which you log in to your Windows 7
At this point you have successfully renamed your Windows 7 user folder but to avoid possible error you need to perform a registry edit. Go to registry editor by typing “Registry” (without quote) in Start Menu. Navigate to the following registry value:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList .
Righ click on the profile list and navigate to “Find” Menu
Type in your old user in the search box and then hit ‘Find Next”. Navigate to the “ProfileImagePath” located on the right pane of the registry editor and click twice on it
Edit the registry value to rename it to your new user profile.

Taken from: How to rename a default user directory after changing computer name?

 

[fireberd]

FWIW, HP also sells (or sold) Compaq PC's. May be your motherboard is also used in Compaq models.

 

[BuckSkin]

Right click on the folder you want to rename and change it to the same name as your new user profile with which you log in to your Windows 7

Thanks so much !

I have gotten to this point, tried and tried, and every time it tells me the that operation cannot be performed because a folder or file is in use by another program.

I have closed out and logged off everything except the necessary Administrator/user and Explorer, yet it insists that I cannot rename this.

What do I do now ?

 

[billmcct]

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...l/d95ddaa7-4235-454e-83d6-77232207c7e2?auth=1

 

[BuckSkin]

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...l/d95ddaa7-4235-454e-83d6-77232207c7e2?auth=1

Thank you; much appreciated !

 

[BuckSkin]

Mission Accomplished ! Thanks, everyone, for the all help.

 

[rvcjew]

Bill's link gives me a 404 at MS (prob my end) but glad you were able to see it and it worked for you.

 

[BuckSkin]

Bill's link gives me a 404 at MS (prob my end) but glad you were able to see it and it worked for you.

Well...., that's mysterious; I was able to sail right in there last night and now I also get the error.

I was just curious and clicked the link and no go, so it must be a problem at the target end.

 

[billmcct]

M$ servers are down.

 

[rvcjew]

M$ servers are down.

Ah, gotcha.