- To effectively change the short name, open System Preferences - Accounts, create a new administrator user and log in as that user. You can then either move the old user's files across (if needed) or simply delete that user.
- To change the computer name, go to System Preferences - Sharing, and change the name at the top of the panel.
Hi-
I did as you said. I messed up on moving files. system has reverted to a "like new" state. it is like I lost everything. HD capasity shows the space is still used but I cannot access anything. some applications say i need proper authority.
what do you think? any help will be nice.
When you log in as a different user, the environment will appear "as new". You'll have a blank desktop, a default dock, and so on. This is normal.
What you need to do is this. Log out, and log back in as your old user. Move any files that are in your home folder, which you want to access with the other user, to the Users/Shared folder. (Open a Finder window, click on the hard drive, and you'll see the Users folder - Shared is in there.) Don't move anything from the Library folder just yet.
Now, log out and back in as your new user. In Finder, go to the Users/Shared folder and find those files you just copied. If you copied any folders (eg Desktop), and they appear read-only, you can highlight them, click cmd-i to open Get Info, and change the Ownership and Permissions tab so that you are the owner and have read/write access.
Then copy any files you need to their correct locations (eg, if you want some of those old files on the Desktop, or in your Documents folder, etc).
About opening applications - you should still be able to run any applications from the Applications folder. Did you definitely set up your user as an administrator? (If you're not sure, go back to the Accounts preferences, and see if your name has "Admin" or "Standard" under it. If it's Standard, log back in as the old user, go to the Accounts preferences, click on your account and click "Allow user to administer this computer".)
If you're definitely an admin, can you post exactly what you try to do and what the message says?