Member Avatar for pratapchiluveru

hello everybody!
I have installed windows XP in my laptop. I want to change my user name (loginname) of my XP. I followed the following steps.
right click on Mycomputer->manage -> users and groups -> users ->
and then right click on my user name (pratapch) and say rename. It is allowing to type new name, but it is not accepting the new name. I tried in another laptop and there it is working. Then I tried in another laptop, there it is not working. I am getting confused what to do to rename the login name. I have administrative rights and the account which i tried to change is also administrator account (i am doing this from same account, working in one laptop and not in one).
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance..

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Dani AI

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Short answer: the name you see in Control Panel is the account "display/full name" — not the underlying logon (SAM) name or the profile folder. That explains why the Control Panel video and 's suggestion only changed the visible name. Because you use Fast User Switching (as you mentioned), the Welcome UI shows the display name; changing the SAM/login name is a different operation and sometimes fails if you try it while signed in to that account.

Quick checks and a safe workflow you can apply now (run cmd as an administrator):

echo %USERNAME%            # shows the account name for the current session
net user                   # lists local accounts as the system knows them
net user OldName           # shows details for a specific account

If the SAM name still needs changing, do it while not signed in to that account. The easiest reliable approach is to create a temporary admin, sign in with it, rename the old account, then remove the temp admin:

net user TempAdmin TempPass123 /add
net localgroup Administrators TempAdmin /add
# sign out, sign in as TempAdmin, use Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups -> Users -> Rename
net user TempAdmin /delete   # remove when finished

If renaming still "doesn’t accept" the new name, confirm the machine isn’t domain‑joined (System Properties → Computer Name) — domain accounts are controlled by the domain. Note that renaming an account does NOT rename C:\Documents and Settings\<oldname>; if you need the profile folder changed or to avoid breakage in apps, create a new account with the desired logon name and copy the user data (Documents, Desktop, AppData where needed) into the new profile, or migrate the profile properly after taking a registry/backup and following a tested profile-migration procedure. As suggested, Safe Mode or the built-in Administrator can help if the account is locked; always back up important data before making profile/SAM changes.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for karthik.hyd

first login in the administrator and then try to change the values..... try in safe mode...

Member Avatar for Frank Wallis

Try the other way :
Start---->Control Panel---->User Accounts---> choose the user
account that you want to change---> change the name.

Let us know if this option works or doesnot work

Member Avatar for pratapchiluveru

Try the other way :
Start---->Control Panel---->User Accounts---> choose the user
account that you want to change---> change the name.

Let us know if this option works or doesnot work

This won't work, because that only changes the full name of the user, but not the login name (username).

Member Avatar for Frank Wallis

After changing the account name ,when you restart your computer
,do you get an authentication box asking for user name and password or you get a welcome screen showing the log in name?

Member Avatar for pratapchiluveru

After changing the account name ,when you restart your computer
,do you get an authentication box asking for user name and password or you get a welcome screen showing the log in name?

no i use fast user logon screen, which don't ask that

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