puzzled_me
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Change account username and home folder issue

Hello guys,

 

Apple store re-installed Yosemite v10.10 on my MBA early 2014 (128gb, 4gb)

I wanted to change the account username and the home folder name after installation however I think I did it the wrong way to start with

 

Step1

I went into System Preference > User Groups, unlocked padlock, ctrl+click on the admin account > advanced options and replaced account name and home folder name with new name (e.g. my computer). Both match.

Relocked padlock, quit system preferences. Rebooted.

 

Step2

Then I realised that what I did, so I have did it all again after reading Change your OS X account name and home directory name - Apple Support

 

Could you please tell me whether step1 and step2 might have corrupted the operating system (e.g. legacy preferences, etc, etc)? How can I check that?

 

Thank you for your support.

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), yosemite

Posted on Feb 2, 2015 8:23 AM

by puzzled_me,Solvedanswer
puzzled_me puzzled_me
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

spoke to Apple Store guys and old tags for old users show up cuz they are sync with iCloud. Solved.

Posted on Feb 11, 2015 10:23 AM

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puzzled_me

Q: Change account username and home folder issue

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 2, 2015 1:30 PM in response to puzzled_me
    Level 9 (70,141 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 2, 2015 1:30 PM in response to puzzled_me

    If you have all your data in the user/home folder, then everything should have been preserved in preferences

  • by puzzled_me,

    puzzled_me puzzled_me Feb 2, 2015 2:15 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2015 2:15 PM in response to Eric Root

    Eric, thank you for your reply.

     

    I had no data when I changed the username and home folder name.

    Is there a way to check the preferences manually?

     

    Many thanks for your support.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 2, 2015 3:27 PM in response to puzzled_me
    Level 9 (70,141 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 2, 2015 3:27 PM in response to puzzled_me

    You are welcome.


    Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J.  When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder.  Select Library. Then go to Preferences. Most .plists don't make a lot of sense to the average person. Check how your applications are working is an easier way to do it.

  • by puzzled_me,

    puzzled_me puzzled_me Feb 3, 2015 12:33 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 3, 2015 12:33 AM in response to Eric Root

    Eric, thank you.

    Actually Keychain access app has been malfuncitoning since Yosemite was installed and username and home folders were renamed.

     

    Sintomps

    the following services and apps keeps asking to use "Login" keychain

     

    - Messages

    - Calendar Agent

    - Safari

    - ScopedBookmarkAgent

    - accountds

    - com.apple.helper

     

    I always lock keychain. Keychain is sync with admin account password. Keychain verified and repaired. No problems found

    I have followed this tutorial with no good result


    OS X Mavericks v10.9.1: Repeated prompts to unlock "Local Items" keychain  PS: the alpha numeric folder in ~/Library/Keychains/ starts with letter b not letter A as suggested in the tutorial

    Resetting your keychain in Mac OS X

    OS X: Keychain Access asks for keychain "login" after changing login password

     

    What are you thoughts? Thank you for your support.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 3, 2015 4:54 PM in response to puzzled_me
    Level 9 (70,141 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 3, 2015 4:54 PM in response to puzzled_me

    You are welcome. Clarification question - does everything seem to be okay except for the Keychain Access problem? I feel like I am a little behind in the status at this point.

  • by puzzled_me,

    puzzled_me puzzled_me Feb 5, 2015 1:26 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 1:26 AM in response to Eric Root

    Eric, thank you for your reply. Keychain issue resolved after reading this article. Keychain must be left open when logged in to stop keychain prompt to type passwords for applications like safari messages, etc.

     

    http://www.mactipsandtricks.com/tips/display.lasso?mactip=125

     

    As regard to username and home folder (see step1 and 2 above), Apple Store did a fresh installation of Yosemite. During set up process I was asked to enter username and home folder name. I used the same name (e.g. mycomputer) that I had prior fresh install.

     

    As a result, Finder is showing the tags that I had created prior fresh installation.

     

    Surely a fresh installation should have wiped the SSD out completely? Or not?

     

    Thank you for your thoughts.

  • by Eric Root,Helpful

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 5, 2015 5:45 PM in response to puzzled_me
    Level 9 (70,141 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 5, 2015 5:45 PM in response to puzzled_me

    You are welcome. A fresh install of the OS doesn't erase the SSD unless they chose to erase and then install.

  • by puzzled_me,

    puzzled_me puzzled_me Feb 6, 2015 12:51 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2015 12:51 AM in response to Eric Root

    ah! OK, I saw the Apple guy in store doing this

     

    Disk Utility > Hard Drive > Erase

    So, does that mean that the hard drive was not erased?

    Also, does that mean that the preferences for other users still exist on the SSD - how do I delete them (do they need to be deleted) ?

     

    Thank you for your support and advice.

  • by puzzled_me,

    puzzled_me puzzled_me Feb 6, 2015 1:05 AM in response to puzzled_me
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2015 1:05 AM in response to puzzled_me

    Hello everyone, I have found this untested methos to erase data on SSD

     

    Secure erase data on a Solid State Drive?

     

    The erase function from Disk Utility seems not sufficient to erase your data and users' preferences - apparently.

     

    Any thoughts?

     

    I hope that this helps. Cheers

  • by puzzled_me,

    puzzled_me puzzled_me Feb 6, 2015 9:46 AM in response to puzzled_me
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2015 9:46 AM in response to puzzled_me

    Eric, just to add on the reformat/install topic

    I have read What to do before selling or giving away your Mac - Apple Support which says on Point 6

     

    After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of your system. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac, the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.

     

    This is what I was prompted to do when the Apple Store guys returned the laptop to me. So I can conclude that the Apple Store guys reformatted the hard drive through Disck Utility > Erase

     

    So why is it that the old tags still showing up in Finder??

     

    Misteries of Apple....

     

    Thank you for reading for your thoughts on this, hopefully last post of this thread :-)

     

    Cheers

  • by puzzled_me,Solvedanswer

    puzzled_me puzzled_me Feb 11, 2015 10:23 AM in response to puzzled_me
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 11, 2015 10:23 AM in response to puzzled_me

    spoke to Apple Store guys and old tags for old users show up cuz they are sync with iCloud. Solved.