Apple ID HELP

Question

Level 1

29 points

Apple ID HELP

Several years ago when the iPod first came out and iTunes was reintroduced, I decided to make a little thing called an Apple ID. Having somebody else do it for me, of course it was not done right and I was not fond of the name. After several years of looking for a way to change my Apple ID name, I was told that it CANNOT be changed. After falling in love with all of the features of the iPod/iPhone/iTunes, I decided to get a white Macbook, the last revision before they made the aluminums last fall. When I turned on my Macbook it said to type in my apple ID. I thought of finally making my own, but realized my music would not be playable with that ID. And here is my dilemma. I have 1000 photos and 4000 songs, along with 50 documents on my Mac. All tied to my Apple ID. How can I change my apple ID? I know ive been told its not possible, but I would really like to change the name. Is it possible for me to make my own new ID to run on my Macbook? I would then need to somehow put all of my photos and music and documents onto this new ID. This is what I want

New Apple ID.

To be able to Transfer all of my Photos, Documents, and Songs from my old account, (my songs on my PC and Mac are both the same amount and are both linked to the same ID)
I am not very educated with technology as you can probably tell. Can anyone PLEASE help me this issue? I really don’t want to lose all my stuff.

Dell Dimension E520 Windows XP/Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Jan 7, 2009 2:06 AM

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Answer 1

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Jan 7, 2009 7:17 AM in response to Beau Thomas

I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Photos, music and other documents you have on your computer are not tied to your Apple ID (presuming you mean the user name you use to log into these Discussions forums, the Apple Store, the iTunes Store, etc.) at all with the exception of items you've purchased from the iTunes Store. So unless you're referring to some specific online service, such as iDisk, and that online service is the only place you have all your documents stored, your Apple ID is irrelevant. When you first set up a new computer, it will ask you for your Apple ID solely as a convenience for accessing Apple's services so you don't have to enter in the ID later, but it's not necessary - you don't need an Apple ID at all to use your computer- and has nothing to do with any documents that were kept on your old computer. You need to copy them from that old computer yourself.

If you have content purchased from the iTunes Store, just authorize iTunes to that old ID. You should only have to do this once. Then if you wish you can use your new Apple ID to purchase items from now on.

I hope this helps clear things up a bit.

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Answer 2

Beau Thomas Author

Level 1

29 points

Jan 7, 2009 3:06 PM in response to varjak paw

Im sorry, I confused my self a bit here.
I actually have 2 names that I want to change, that are both very similar.
My user name for my mac. When typing it in I thought it had to be similar to my Apple ID. So now Ive got 2 issues.

1. Would like to change my mac user name. Ive been told I cant do that, so how can I make a new username and transfer all of my pictures/documents onto it?

2. I would like to change the name of my Apple ID, and have all of my purchased songs no longer be attached to it but to a new name.

3. I would like to be able to move all of my music from my PC onto my new Mac user.

I know, I know, this is kinda confusing. I just want to rename my Mac user and rename my Apple ID, and at the same time not loose all of my songs/documents/pictures. Please helppp!!!

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Answer 3

Beau Thomas Author

Level 1

29 points

Jan 7, 2009 3:19 PM in response to Beau Thomas

Im sorry, not the User name.
When you go to places in the finder, the name right underneath desktop.
Im not sure if thats an ID or not.

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Answer 4

Beau Thomas Author

Level 1

29 points

Jan 7, 2009 3:46 PM in response to Beau Thomas

Okay wait wait forget everything I have just said.

I just changed my Apple ID. Ive got the name I want.

My only problem is this, the custom name for my Home Tab in the Mac Finer Window under places. I think its called your short name? how do I change my shortname?

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Answer 5

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Jan 8, 2009 7:13 AM in response to Beau Thomas

It's strongly recommended that you not change your user short name. It's possible to do, but it's also very possible that such a change will cause problems for your system and/or applications. If you really, desperately, want a different short name, create a new user account in Mac OS X, move or copy all your documents from your old user account to the Users -> Shared folder or an external drive, then log into the new account and move the documents to your new user's folders.

If you really must change the short name of the existing account, look here:

http://www.macworld.com/article/132693/2008/03/changeshortusername.html

Make sure you have a good backup of all your documents, photos, etc. before you attempt this so that you can recover if things go wrong and you have to reinstall the OS.

Regards.

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