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Changed user account information. lost account

the computer involved in an imac running Mojave 10.14.6


first.....i made a horrible mistake and did not properly document existing data and all changes.

I apologize. very stupid.


for one of the users on this machine, I wanted to make the account name the same as the home folder name. i made the changes from my admin account on the same machine.


I started in system preferences -> users and groups

after unlocking her data, i was able to observe her account had a blank account name. Full Name was defined (i have it). I believe i know the original home directory, but am unsure.


I changed the account name to her initials : MI and kept her full name intact and changed the home directory to /users/MI



when i logged into her account, the account was just as if i had logged into the account for the first time. i lost all her files and apps etc.


is there any way i can retrieve the user account. since i have a "new" account i can not use time machine. my son did not back up this machine.




any advice ?


thank you

bil

Posted on Mar 15, 2020 7:22 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 15, 2020 8:17 PM

Hello, Williamfromgalesferry.


Sorry to hear you've gotten yourself into a pickle with your Mojave iMac.

From the description of the problem in your post, it sounds like the original home folder of this user may still be intact.


To check, click your desktop, then press the Shift-Command-C keys to open a Finder window to the computer.

In the Finder window that opens, double-click Macintosh HD (your startup drive), then double click the folder Users.

Within the Users folder you should see a home folder for each of the User Accounts created on the computer, including the new one you just created. The old home folder should still be there. If it is, note the name.


Now have a look at this Apple Support document:

Change the name of your macOS user account and home folder - Apple Support


BE CAREFUL HERE. This must be done from an Admin account other than the user you're attempting to change.

Make sure that user is logged OUT.


SKIP STEPS 1, 2 & 3 under "First rename the home folder"

Start with "Then rename the account".

Steps 4 and 5 in this section are key. Change the "Account name" field to match the name of the users's original home folder that you noted earlier. Lower case, No spaces.

Change the account name in the "Home directory" field to match also.


Click Okay and restart. If you're lucky, this will have put things right.



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3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 15, 2020 8:17 PM in response to williamfromgalesferry

Hello, Williamfromgalesferry.


Sorry to hear you've gotten yourself into a pickle with your Mojave iMac.

From the description of the problem in your post, it sounds like the original home folder of this user may still be intact.


To check, click your desktop, then press the Shift-Command-C keys to open a Finder window to the computer.

In the Finder window that opens, double-click Macintosh HD (your startup drive), then double click the folder Users.

Within the Users folder you should see a home folder for each of the User Accounts created on the computer, including the new one you just created. The old home folder should still be there. If it is, note the name.


Now have a look at this Apple Support document:

Change the name of your macOS user account and home folder - Apple Support


BE CAREFUL HERE. This must be done from an Admin account other than the user you're attempting to change.

Make sure that user is logged OUT.


SKIP STEPS 1, 2 & 3 under "First rename the home folder"

Start with "Then rename the account".

Steps 4 and 5 in this section are key. Change the "Account name" field to match the name of the users's original home folder that you noted earlier. Lower case, No spaces.

Change the account name in the "Home directory" field to match also.


Click Okay and restart. If you're lucky, this will have put things right.



Changed user account information. lost account

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