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gilli2000 Author

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How to change name on Home folder?

I have an Apple iBook PPC G4 1.33 GHz running Leopard OS X version 10.5.8 and with 1 GB Memory. I just purchased this machine, which is in excellent condition, but I have a problem. It is not earthshattering and doesn't threaten the life of the machine in any way, but it is my machine and I would like the Home directory to reflect that.

The name in the System Preferences for Administrator is "gdavies", which is myself, but the Home Folder in the Finder sidebar is named "macuser". I went in as root user and came close to complete disaster, but got out in time. Having me named as administrator in Accounts but not on the Home directory is unusual. If both were called "macuser" I believe I could fix it, but this requires a greater level of expertise than I have.

Any ideas how to make home folder read "gdavies"? I just bought this iBook and it came with the Home folder named as "macuser". I changed the computer's name in "Sharing" in system prefs and I believe I may have changed the name in the Accounts. I know I should not have done it that way, but it doesn't help changing it back.

When I open the Users folder in the Mac HD there are there folders, one called "gdavies" with 10 items, most empty, such as desktop, downloads and so on, though dropbox is there.

The next folder is the house icon for the Home directory named "macuser" with 38 items and is the working folder. Then there is a folder called "shared", which contains no items.

How do I change the Home directory name in the Finder window sidebar to "gdavies'?

iBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8), 1.33 GHz, PPC G4, 1 GB Memory

Posted on Oct 9, 2011 11:19 AM

37 replies

gilli2000 Author

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Oct 9, 2011 4:46 PM in response to Kappy

Kappy, I have tried to set the facts out below.

Okay here we go:

There is only one admin and that is "Gareth Davies", which appears uner "My Account" in the Accounts pane in System Prefs.
The Full Name: Gareth Davies
The short name and the name to be used for the Home directory: "gdavies" *but* the short name *only* appears when logging in and out. It does *not* appear in conjunction with the Home directory (house icon).
While I am actually logged out two names appear above the password field, one is "gdavies" and the other is "other".
When logging in I haveclicked "other" and a user name field opens immediately beneath and I enter "macuser".
is only one admin password and I did not plan it that way, I was using one password for the admin name in accounts, namely, "gdavies" and I do not know any other admin password. So I used the admin password with "macuser" and I was able to log in.
I logged out and then logged in, this time using "gdavies" as the admin name and using the same one and only admin password. I was able to log in.
I can log in and log out using either "macuser" or "gdavies" and the same admin password each time. Always the Home directory (house icon) is named "macuser" and always the named Admin in Accounts is Gareth Davies (Full name) and gdavies (short name).
The is absolutely no account in Accounts except Admin - Gareth Davies and Guest. No account named "macuser".
I have tried creating an account for macuser, but it turns into "macuser2" with a warning that another folder exists with that name. Not another folder in Accounts, just another folder in the computer.

That is it folks. I don't think I have left anything out.

Gareth

gilli2000 Author

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Oct 9, 2011 6:12 PM in response to gilli2000

I guess that's it for the day. Time to enjoy the evening. Thank you both very much Ronda and Kappy.

Like I said, I do appreciate the help you gave. Even though we may not have solved the problem, we sure got to know the beast a little better.

Cheers,

Gareth

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Oct 9, 2011 7:02 PM in response to gilli2000

When you log into the computer you should select the gdavies account, not Other. I can't be sure what the "macuser" name is for, but if yours is the only account, then that's the account you should log into.

Oct 10, 2011 7:05 AM in response to gilli2000

"Other" is Root User.

How to change the home directory short name in Leopard; http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1428?viewlocale=en_US

Oct 10, 2011 7:13 AM in response to noondaywitch

From that Apple Knowledge Base article:

Note: Although you can change your Home name in Mac OS X v10.3 or later, you usually shouldn't.

Though there are other methods by which an advanced user may change the short name and related information, the easier and safer workaround is to create a new user with the desired name, then copy the old user's Home directory contents into that of the new user.

Which is what I advised.

Oct 10, 2011 7:18 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

And which doesn't appear to have had the desired result…

Oct 10, 2011 7:40 AM in response to noondaywitch

Well, I would not advise going into root if you're already having troubles, at least not without someone taking you through it step-by-step, and that's the only alternative listed there.

Oct 10, 2011 9:38 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

Granted.

But he's already got root enabled by the look of things.

Just a matter of following the instructions to the letter (yes, I know!).

It's not really that difficult; I've done it successfully several times in both Leopard and Snow.

Tiger and previous are a different story.

gilli2000 Author

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Oct 10, 2011 10:16 PM in response to noondaywitch

Hi Noondaywitch,

Thanks for your input. It seems that I am not getting the true situation across. Please allow me to try one more time.

1. The Home folder ("blessed" with the house icon) in the Finder window sidebar is named "macuser".

2. There are two accounts and two only in macuser /System Prefs/Accounts, namely: My Account gdavies Admin and Guest Account.

3. There are 4 folders in Mac HD/Users, namely: gdavies, Guest, macuser ("blessed"with the house icon) and Shared.

4. gdavies folder has 10 items: Desktop (no items), Documents (1 item), Downloads (1 item), Dropbox (25 items), Library (26 items), Movies (no items), Music (no items), Pictures (1 item), Public (1 item) and Sites (2 items).

5. I can log out and in as gdavies and I can log out and in as macuser.

6. This computer is an iBook Mac OS X Version 10.5.8 (Leopard) 1.33 GHz PPC G4 Memory 1 GB.

That's it!

Now, I have logged in as "root" via Directory Utility quite a few times and followed the Apple instructions to the letter and also with variations, all with *no* success. The situation is the same now as it was when I bought this beautiful little laptop 3 weeks ago!

I have logged in as *root* on other computers quite oftenover the years and always with success.

Normally the short name in Accounts and the name of the Home folder are one and the same. Here they are not the same.

I am the user with Admin privileges in accounts and yet the Home folder with the house icon is macuser.

I am stumped, well and truly. I hope that you can see now that it is not "Just a matter of following the instructions to the letter (yes, I know!)." I wish it were.

If you or anyone else can find a way to match the names between the Home folder and the Admin in the Accounts I shall be happy. Once they match all we have to do then is what you suggest, "follow the instructions to the letter", but only when the names match.

I am using the iBook without any problems, Dropbox works like a charm, I am hooked into my home network with 3 other computers all running wirelessly using Airport and I upload and download to and from my web sites without problems. So this is not a life and death thing, but you will agree, I am sure, it is a conundrum.

I have accepted the fact that I am ther one in Accounts with the Admin privileges and that macuser is just my "alter-ego"! :- )

I am amazed how helpful and courteous everyone is on Communities support.

Thanks everyone. If anyone gets a solution please let me know.

Best regards to everyone and to all my Canadian fellow macusers, happy Thanksgiving (tomorrow). I know, my American friends get to eat turkey in November and December!

Gareth (on Vancouver Island)

Feb 27, 2012 9:29 PM in response to gilli2000

As far as I can tell I have the exact same problem I've been trying to sort out for 4 months.

Your home name on the side bar is not what you want but it seems to be the name of the computer not a user?

I've looked in Accounts and the name isn't there so I can't change that. And I've tried changing the name in systemspreferences/sharing/computername and it hasn't made a difference.

Sorry I can't help, but if anyone else can that would be fab.

Feb 28, 2012 3:39 AM in response to beellzabub

You'd be better starting a new thread - the last post on this one was last October. (I get notified of updates because I contributed).

However, you miss out essential information - what OS version are you using? Changing the Home Folder short name is relatively easy in Leopard (and Snow Leopard and I believe, in Lion), but fraught with difficulty in Tiger and Panther.

I'm not sure it's even possible in earlier versions without a re-install.

Feb 28, 2012 5:18 PM in response to noondaywitch

Oh I have no idea. It's Version 10.6.7 but I don't know what type.

The finder window doesn't really bother me, it's when i make a comment on a PDF and the comment post-it has the wrong name on it.

Feb 29, 2012 1:37 AM in response to beellzabub

If you're running 10.6.7 you don't have an iBook (which this forum is for)

The situation you describe would suggest that the Mac is secondhand and was passed to you with an account already set up?

You can change the Account Name (full name) in System Preferences > Accounts. Click the lock and enter your admin password to make changes.

That's the easy bit.

If you want to change the Short Name (the one that appears in the sidebar on the house icon) you need to be logged in as Root and you need to follow the instructions (for OS X 10.6 for Root, 10.5 and above for changing the name) to the letter; the reason for the extreme care here is that the Permissions on all your data are linked to the short name, so if you just change the name you end up with no access to your data.

The network name that appears in the Places section of the sidebar on other Macs in the network (if any) is changed in System Preferences > Sharing (Computer Name at the top).

Feb 29, 2012 8:43 AM in response to gilli2000

I understand what your problem is. I was having the same problem. I was wondering if you ever figured out how to fix it, because I finally figured it out today. Let me know if you want to know how I did it and I can post what I did! 🙂

Feb 22, 2013 7:43 AM in response to kurtnjulie

Hey kurtnjulie!

I just found this thread and am experiencing the same problem. Would love to know how you came about fixing it!

How to change name on Home folder?