qz0m77

Q: how do I rename my account name in mountain lion

how do I change my account name (short name) in mountain lion. I have tried the steps in kb/HT1428, but I cannot change my home folder name as described in step 4

 

For Mac OS X v10.5 or later

  1. Enable the root user.
  2. Log in as root.
  3. Navigate to the /Users folder.
  4. Select the Home folder with the short name you want to change, and rename it just like you would rename any folder. Keep in mind that the shortname must be all lowercase, with no spaces, and only contain letters.

when I navigate to my /Users folder and select my home folder name, it will not let me edit it.

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on Aug 12, 2012 2:22 PM

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Q: how do I rename my account name in mountain lion

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  • by Piso Mojado,

    Piso Mojado Piso Mojado Feb 4, 2013 7:37 PM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 4, 2013 7:37 PM in response to etresoft

    Thank you for your prompt reply!  I am very prepared to believe you, because you are an expert and I have no idea what I'm doing.  Please tell me what it means when my old computer tells me:

     

    "Warning: SUID file "usr/sbin/pppd" has been modified and will not be repaired."

     

    Is this something I need to worry about?  Because I'm worried...

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Feb 4, 2013 8:07 PM in response to Piso Mojado
    Level 7 (29,380 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 4, 2013 8:07 PM in response to Piso Mojado

    It is probably an artifact of moving the hard drive or something. There are a number of such messages that can be safely ignored: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448

  • by Piso Mojado,

    Piso Mojado Piso Mojado Feb 5, 2013 2:05 AM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 5, 2013 2:05 AM in response to etresoft

    Bless you, etresoft.  You definitely deserve Level 7.  In fact, I say we bump you to level 8! 

  • by klmorin,

    klmorin klmorin Feb 5, 2013 2:27 PM in response to qz0m77
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Feb 5, 2013 2:27 PM in response to qz0m77

    I come late to this discussion and I would not add to the confusion, but I would say that this operation may very well be done in the System Preferences, without the need of Terminal.

     

    Simply proceed from a second admin user account. If you do not have one, create one (you can delete it later if you want.)

     

    1. Start with the second admin user account.
    2. Go to the Users folder at the root of the system drive and rename, quite normally, the user folder you want to rename.
    3. Go to System Preferences -> Accounts, click on the padlock, click the user for which you want to change the name, right click (or CTRL + click) and select "Advanced Options".  At this time, change the "short name" (Account name) and the Home directory by choosing the folder that you renamed.
    4. Restart.

     

    P.S.

    If you need to change the name that appears at the opening session, it must be done directly in the account preferences (full name).

     

    I hope to be well understood as I translated from French.

  • by LongRiver,

    LongRiver LongRiver Aug 29, 2013 3:46 PM in response to klmorin
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Aug 29, 2013 3:46 PM in response to klmorin

    Problem: My "old_username" home folder  can't be renamed. With either of the two  methods described in this discussion, when I get to that folder, nothing I do will change that folder name. Am I missing something?

     

     

     

    Air 3,1 11-inch, 10.6.8

  • by klmorin,

    klmorin klmorin Aug 29, 2013 7:06 PM in response to LongRiver
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Aug 29, 2013 7:06 PM in response to LongRiver

    I have done this operation several times without problem. But sometimes I also  encountered the situation you describe.

     

    Unfortunately, I do not know why but usually things go back to normal after some time.

  • by LongRiver,

    LongRiver LongRiver Aug 29, 2013 8:43 PM in response to klmorin
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Aug 29, 2013 8:43 PM in response to klmorin

    Thank you.

     

    I solved it by using root, which let me do anything.

     

    Changing the Home user name is an oddly difficult thing to do. While there are good  reasons for keeping it out of everyday reach, it's also true that Macs often enough pass from one person to another in situations where you don't want to do a fresh install. I have extensive customizations  that I want to pass on with the Mac, and doing them all again them from scratch would jave been a big job. So changing the Home user name is a natural thing to do. But absurdly difficult.

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