Www Howtogeek Com Howto Windows Vista Quick Tip Change The Registered O

Join 90,000 HowTo Geek Subscribers RSS Email Subscription Twitter Facebook Home HowTo's Reviews Games Shopping Forums Login / Signup Windows 7 Windows Vista Windows Microsoft Office Firefox & Web Geek Stuff Linux Quick Tip: Change the Registered Owner in Windows Daily Email Updates If you’ve ever wondered how to change the name of the person that Windows is You can get our howto articles in your inbox registered to, this is the quick tip for you. It’s not all that useful, but it might come in each day for free. Just enter your name and handy if you got a computer from somebody else. email below: Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box, and then locate the following Name: registry key: Email: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersion Subscribe! MEET THE AUTHOR Programmer by day, geek by night, The Geek spends all his free time bringing you fresh geekery on a daily basis. Recent Articles TextOnly URL QuickFix for Firefox Customize Your Menus in Firefox How To Enable Check Boxes for Items In Windows 7 How To Add Your Windows Live SkyDrive To Explorer View URLs as Tooltips in Firefox Now you can find the RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization keys in the right hand pane. Change them to whatever values you want. Related Articles To show off the new changes, just type winver.exe into the start menu search box to Dock Quick Launch or Address Toolbar to Desktop in see the About Windows box: Vista Quick Tip: Change Monitor Timeout From Command Line Using Windows Mobility Center in Vista Add an Application to the Quick Launch Menu in Vista Add "Run as Administrator" to Any File Type in Windows 7 or Vista Translate Kinda useless, but one of those things I have to write about if I want to cover everything This should work in all versions of Windows, including Windows 7. This article was originally written on 09/25/07 | More Tagged with: Vista Tips & Tweaks, Windows 7 , Windows 7 Tips, Windows

Kinda useless, but one of those things I have to write about if I want to cover everything This should work in all versions of Windows, including Windows 7. This article was originally written on 09/25/07 | More Tagged with: Vista Tips & Tweaks, Windows 7 , Windows 7 Tips, Windows Vista Daily Email Updates You can get our howto articles in your inbox each day for free. Just enter your name and email below: Name: Email: Subscribe! Similar Articles Tinyhacker Tiny Geek Hacks Dock Quick Launch or Address Toolbar to The World’s Most Profitable Companies Desktop in Vista Super Cool Video ‘The Known Universe’ by The Quick Tip: Change Monitor Timeout From American Museum of Natural History Command Line Visit Santa’s Workshop and Track His Sled Using Windows Mobility Center in Vista Google’s ‘Become a Gmail Ninja’ Tips and Tricks Add an Application to the Quick Launch Menu in Great Music On Demand with Grooveshark Vista JV Powertools Lite, Registry Cleaning Freeware Add "Run as Administrator" to Any File Type in from Macecraft Windows 7 or Vista Latest Software Reviews Super User Daily PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 "Burn" ISO to USB Flash Drive PCmover Professional video conference with multiple people Spyware Doctor + Antivirus 2010 simulteneously Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro USB Computer headphone out to Stereo Aux in Incredibly slow computer but without obvious cause Comments (87) Kyle September 25, 2007 10:54 am Thank you for this! My new HP laptop automatically filled in their name in the organization box and every program I’d go to install later on would fill that in automatically. ugh. Dan September 25, 2007 12:06 pm Not a useless tip! I’ve been fighting for a way to do this for a couple months now. boring man September 25, 2007 9:06 pm It is only for Vista?? How about others windows version?? Coco Loco September 26, 2007 7:45 am thanks…this is usefull, indeed. Rosy C. September 26, 2007 7:50 am Definitely not useless! I had no idea how to change this. I inherited this office computer and never knew how to update with my name. Thank you!

Rosy C. September 26, 2007 7:50 am Definitely not useless! I had no idea how to change this. I inherited this office computer and never knew how to update with my name. Thank you! Rockin' Rich September 26, 2007 10:45 am I’d like to know how to do something similar to that on OSX. I still have the original owner of my MacBook Pro’s name on the home folder. azawalli September 26, 2007 2:45 pm This works for Windows XP also. I just successfully did it. HBK September 26, 2007 4:26 pm WORKS WITH ALL VERSIONS OF WINDOWS well, it works with 2000 at least probly xp too. Trevor September 27, 2007 5:46 am *saves to del.icio.us* Oh thank you for this WONDERFUL tip! I just used it and it works (I’m on WinXP). I’ll try to remember this the next time I run into this problem…as it happens frequently. Ciprian September 27, 2007 1:23 pm You can do this using a free application called Change Owner v1.0. It is small and free. Works both with Windows Vista and Windows XP. Smita October 17, 2007 10:15 am thanks it changed the registered owner name. but when i hybernate my laptop, and it try to relogin with the admin login, it shows the name of the previous owner. how do i change that? trukbob October 28, 2007 8:12 am Cheers mate! For your info on how to change the registered windows user name. Been anoyin me for ages and I thought it couldnt be done. But thx to you my problem has been solved. Jeff Coleman November 15, 2007 11:36 am That was great info, I was looking all over for that. I had changed every other “registered to” but couldn’t find that one. AWESOME Thanks, Tim Potter November 16, 2007 3:50 pm Your tip on how to change the owner name was not worthless. I have a situation where I bought a computer from a guy due to a cash flow problem, with the gentalmen’s agreement he could buy it back if he found the money. He did, but I had already put my name as the computer’s owner. Now I can sell it back with the computer saying he owns it. Thanks. The Geek November 16, 2007 5:28 pm Well, I’m very glad that this tip came in handy for so many people… I had no idea it would be so popular!

The Geek November 16, 2007 5:28 pm Well, I’m very glad that this tip came in handy for so many people… I had no idea it would be so popular! Debela Kumssa November 22, 2007 11:25 am i change the rigister owner name but after i restart it i clicked my computer and properties to check if the changes activeted but it is still with the previous owner name how can i change it under my name thank you Paul January 6, 2008 9:22 am re:Quick Tip: Change the Registered Owner in Windows Many thanks, this has given a new lease of life an old laptop we obtained. m January 16, 2008 1:25 pm I’ve the registered owner’s name successfully in my XP, but the old file extensions still show the old name. How do I change them as well? m January 16, 2008 1:30 pm I’ve successfully changed the registered owner’s name, but my file extenstions still contain the old name. Any way I can change that too? Thanks! Jose Gutierrez January 20, 2008 9:52 am Thank you for the helpful info. on how to change register name on a pc. I now know where to come if I have any future problems. Jose Gutierrez January 20, 2008 9:54 am Thank you for the helpful info. on how to change register name on a pc. I now know where to come for any future computer problemx. Dean Head January 20, 2008 7:45 pm I thought it was extremely helpful information! I was very troubled by the previous owners name on the screen since I like to have the whole thing just mine (Yeah, I know it’s a little off the wall, but I bought the thing). SO thanks a lot, it was truly appreciated! Dean Balot February 28, 2008 5:34 am Thanks! It works for my XP based PC. Dave March 10, 2008 1:54 pm Thanks a bunch. I was just about to blow the drive away and start anew. Not useless by any stretch of the imagination. Chris March 18, 2008 8:23 pm Thank you so much. I have been looking for a way to do this for over 6 months. Alan March 24, 2008 6:13 am NOT too useless. I am selling a laptop to my girlfriend, and it has my previous girlfriends name on it!

Alan March 24, 2008 6:13 am NOT too useless. I am selling a laptop to my girlfriend, and it has my previous girlfriends name on it! The Geek March 24, 2008 6:19 am @Alan If I were you, I’d be reformatting just to make sure… nothing worse than getting caught with the ex’s name somewhere! Susan April 6, 2008 9:42 pm Geek, thank you for this tip. I’m setting up my old PC XPPro for my father and I do not now how to remove my name at the startup and in Documents & Settings? When I try to rename, system responds with “Susan is a Windows system folder….. It cannot be moved or renamed.” Thanks for any advice. Zilent Five April 7, 2008 5:49 am Thank you very much it works…:) Joyce April 14, 2008 11:43 pm Thank you very much for the useful information. Everything looks good except for the file extensions. As I go save a document, the previous owner of my laptop (vista) still has her name following my name. How can I completely wipe her name out? Any tips? Thank you craigcu April 18, 2008 1:37 pm NOT useless! I actually found this myself by opening RegEdit and guessing for search entries. Tedious. I wish I hadda seen this first! Thank you. offdutyhero82 April 19, 2008 5:10 am This has been doing my head in for so long. You have made my day cheers mate. Sally May 3, 2008 1:44 am this is great, many thanks Aussie May 4, 2008 5:53 am Thanks mate! Alex May 14, 2008 9:58 am THANKS!!! I was successfully able to change my computers name to my own from : Staples Store#1047 Claudia May 24, 2008 6:54 pm Hi, I did that on my to my computer but then under C:Users it says Clarence not Claudia. I registered the computer under Clarence but after doing that and all sorts of other stuff, I still cannot change the Clarence under C:Users to Claudia. Any Ideas? Shiva May 28, 2008 10:47 pm

Hi, I did that on my to my computer but then under C:Users it says Clarence not Claudia. I registered the computer under Clarence but after doing that and all sorts of other stuff, I still cannot change the Clarence under C:Users to Claudia. Any Ideas? Shiva May 28, 2008 10:47 pm Thank you very much it works aSToViRuS June 8, 2008 4:47 am AMAZING! Thanks a lot! Even a little better: create a text file, call it RegisterOwner.reg or whatever .reg you want. Open it, and paste this code: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersion] “RegisteredOrganization”=”My Organization” “RegisteredOwner”=”My Name” Change organization and registered name. Save. Run .reg file. DONE! Rath June 10, 2008 12:49 pm Hey, it is useful, trust me! In my case, when the staff at [major PC retail outlet] did some installs on my brand new laptop for me and… spelt my name wrong when setting it up. *sigh* That would’ve driven me batty for the rest of my machine’s natural life – so thank you so much for the painless howto guide! theone June 13, 2008 1:23 pm WOW ABOUT TIME MAN lol i been searching for a way to get rid of this computers user name for so long even though i changed everything it would still say the old computer name and mine and this finally helped me change everything and i feel gratified. IN THE NAME OF MINE! July 1, 2008 7:02 am Many thanks from Israel! Finally there is no more any little nerveracking issues in MY GOOD NAME laptop )) lwl July 6, 2008 2:48 pm your truly a GOD send my friend, thanks for so much involved work you do for us poor folks with antique equipment. You see Ive never had a new pc or notebook, your advice has been paramount. Lizzy July 6, 2008 3:08 pm THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I had tried to do this for days and couldn’t figure it out. Thank you so much for this! Dano July 17, 2008 9:35 am Did not work for me, I still previous owner’s name everywhere — comments in Excel, default folders, Outlook. Very frustrating> I would not recommend buying Vista until its debugged. Bob July 22, 2008 1:29 pm Several UNANSWERED questions here. How to change the Folder Name under “My Documents and Settings” to the new user? Tim July 23, 2008 5:11 am I agree with Bob. Comments in Excel or Word are still autofilled with the previous owner’s name “My Documents and Settings” still has the old owner’s name and everything defaults to this

Tim July 23, 2008 5:11 am I agree with Bob. Comments in Excel or Word are still autofilled with the previous owner’s name “My Documents and Settings” still has the old owner’s name and everything defaults to this — saving files, music, etc. After reading that comment where Alan was going to sell his laptop to his new girlfriend with his old girlfriend’s name removed, I wonder if the former girl friend’s name might still pop up. Good luck to you on that Still it a good start, I have my name on the Winver.exe so I am in there somewhere. Letty July 23, 2008 2:33 pm Actually, this was extremely useful and easy. I just started using Vista and it was frustrating to see the name of the previous user everywhere! Thanks. Natalie July 24, 2008 10:06 am to change it in my documents, etc. go to control panel, users and change the name there. m July 24, 2008 12:02 pm I changed the user name before the computer name and it still shows the old one in all file names – new and old. Sometimes shows both new and old names. I’ve looked into it and found there’s commercial software available for changing file names, but knowing nothing about it I’m afraid to try. Any ideas? Tim July 25, 2008 5:38 am Thank you Natalie My bad totally, I have, in fact, added my account in the Control Panel and cannot delete the old one. I am new with Vista so any help is appreciated. The file organization appears different: c:user”various user names, and herein is the problem””various folders including ‘documents’ ‘my music’ and ‘desktop’. There are two users now, me and the previous user, let’s say Tim (that’s me) and let’s use the name Darth Vader (the previous user). My desktop, my ’save’ defaults are all Darth’s. Darth even is credited with any new documents I develop. If I make a note in an Excel Spreadsheet, Darth’s name is autofilled. If I install a new program, you guessed it, Darth owns it. On the flip side, since Darth previously used “save my password on this site” I found myself accidentally accessing one of his web accounts. Definitely not good. Our IT person is looking into it and is thinking that a new install is the only way to fix this. I am not liking that either. – Desperate in DC Natalie Nicole August 2, 2008 9:35 pm OMG thank you – I hated having the ‘owner’ beside the path file in the network discovery area. mytex October 3, 2008 4:12 am Thanks for this advice. The change registered owner works great – (windows XP) but I still can track down how to get rid (actually rename) the original user in the documents & settings folder in windows explorer. It comes up with ” is a windows system folder and is required for windows to run properly. It cannot be removed or renamed”. Others on this thread seem to have the same problem – any ideas? Thanks. Peter October 11, 2008 12:37 pm This info is definitely not useless. If I were an expert with computers, I would not be looking for this sort of info. I have been trying for months to do this for an inherited pc without success. Thanks!!!

Peter October 11, 2008 12:37 pm This info is definitely not useless. If I were an expert with computers, I would not be looking for this sort of info. I have been trying for months to do this for an inherited pc without success. Thanks!!! Jane October 15, 2008 9:30 am Thanks so much! JRock October 19, 2008 1:04 pm OMG!!!! Thank you!!! Not useless at all!!! Aaron October 30, 2008 9:18 am I’ve changed my name everywhere possible: user, registration, etc, but when I save any file it still shows the old users name in the file extension. Example: C:Documents and SettingsHer nameDesktop. Any advise? jd2066 October 30, 2008 7:27 pm @Aaron: That is because you can’t change the profile folder location. You can create a new user account and move the old files to it to get a path with your name in it. If you have any other questions, post them in the forums. You may want to search it first though as that question has been asked before. Lars December 7, 2008 5:26 pm It worked great on XP SP2 Home Edition:D Brandon December 16, 2008 7:56 pm Not useless! This was very helpful to me as I needed it to correct a search indexing problem in Picasa 3. Thanks! Billy Lefebvre December 21, 2008 4:07 pm Thanx for this registered owners name change information. I changed girlfriends and well you can guess the trouble I was having. My new girlfriend is happy now, or at least will have to bitch about sommething else now!!! Afrim December 24, 2008 12:42 am Thank you!!! Kathryn January 11, 2009 5:50 am Thank you so much for this having the wrong owner name on everything has been driving me mad! Manny January 17, 2009 12:10 pm Question:on mine it just says Default on all of the options,and i don’t see any Registered owner option or any of the ones in the pic,it just has this in every folder Name:Default Type:REG_SZ Data:(value not set) Bill Miller February 23, 2009 7:11 pm Thanks, you rule! I despised seeing “Fry’s Electronics” everywhere!! microsoft404 March 1, 2009 10:46 am

Bill Miller February 23, 2009 7:11 pm Thanks, you rule! I despised seeing “Fry’s Electronics” everywhere!! microsoft404 March 1, 2009 10:46 am people seem to have problems when trying to disable UAC when they go through the steps windows acts like its disabling before a reboot but only for the user client login see after a restart the login screen still apears. and dident really shut off. Here is why Before you turn off UAC user account control its a must that you remove all passwords from all logins only then will windows actually turn off the UAC when you don the right setings. as long as a password is on anyone login the UAC remains active with no error messages because this is a programing structure not a error. sorry for the miss spelled words. Greg March 3, 2009 3:36 pm Thank you for posting this. My comptuer was used and the owner it to me. Yet all my word documents said the author was the registered name. (Which wasn’t even the name of a log in when I recieved the comptuer.) Thanks again, and to anyone that is still wondering this works in XP and possible older version. Also going to run and inserting regedit.exe works too. ARVIND March 16, 2009 5:31 am thankx it did work well Fraser April 6, 2009 6:26 am Works on Windows Server 2003 compgenius999 April 6, 2009 3:47 pm Not useless, it changed the name of the old owner of my laptop, but after changing it, it suddenly caused my computer to crash and reboot twice for no reason, and some of my programs stll display the old name, or display nothing at all Debowrah May 25, 2009 3:19 pm This was a lifesaver!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a trojan and had to wipe clean my computer, accidentally added an extra letter to my name, easy fix. I’m detailed like that it would have irritated me so bad I would have wiped it again just to fix one letter. Matthew May 26, 2009 8:01 pm For those of you who are wanting to COMPLETELY wipe out older user names from your computer, here are the steps: 1. Open “Run” in your start menu 2. Type “control userpasswords2″ 3. Click on the old name and click “properties” 4. Change the old name to your name 5. Restart your computer 6. Viola! Problem fixed!! Colm June 18, 2009 7:08 pm Been trying to change this for 5 years. I really should have done a Google search sooner! Great tip, thanks. Jessica June 27, 2009 1:08 am THANKS MATTHEW, I’m about to restart my computer and see if that worked!!! I’ve been working of trying to change this for a few months now. Tap3w0rm July 14, 2009 12:43 pm

THANKS MATTHEW, I’m about to restart my computer and see if that worked!!! I’ve been working of trying to change this for a few months now. Tap3w0rm July 14, 2009 12:43 pm I wrote a program to change the registry entries so you don’t have to muck about in the registry. Works for Windows XP and VISTA. However with windows vista you must right click on the program and select ‘Run as Administrator’ or the program won’t have sufficient access to the registry. http://www.datpdx.com/download.php?view.1 chastin July 29, 2009 1:56 am I used this tip to change the values in XP and it worked. ss August 26, 2009 1:50 pm thankx a lot mathew, it helped me a lot. but i am encountering one more problem, my laptop still shows 2 owner names, one in capital letters and other in small letters….wat should i do? Mina September 21, 2009 12:05 pm Hi, I just put my PC up for sale and thanks I was hoping to wipe it clean before I sold it. I didn’t want my name on there. I just put “Owner” and a set of instructions on how to put on their name. Thank You so much. Also I just wanted to know since my new computer isn’t PC if I can do the same thing to my Macbook. I also bought it used and was wondering if I could change my name without taking it in the the Apple store? Thanks Again Travis October 1, 2009 3:13 am Indeed, not useless at all! I bought a nice brand new laptop off a guy who’d just been laid off and needed rent money… so this helped me!!! Rick October 10, 2009 8:06 am Helpful for anyone who “repurposes” computers to others in the family (my wife inherits mine, hers goes to the oldest, etc.). ray October 18, 2009 7:53 am it wont work on my vista it says default value name please help YP October 24, 2009 3:10 pm THANK YOU !!!!!!!! TT November 25, 2009 12:44 pm I installed an a few applications with the permission of my previous employer (who provided me with the key to install) to install Excel, Word and PwrPoint onto my home computer. I’ve used all of the tips above and then some to find the Organization name and remove it from these applications. It’s hauting me. I can’t find it and I don’t want this name on any of my documents. It shows up in all of the headers and footers. (There is a basic header and footer that has “confidential” in the drop down as a format to use) The company name is being pulled from the software or registery somewhere. HELP I want it out! Deleting it doesn’t work. It’s something way bigger than the application. Searched the registry completely – nothing. TT November 25, 2009 12:46 pm P.S. Oh and the applications were installed well after the OS was installed. Tawana November 28, 2009 9:13 am

TT November 25, 2009 12:46 pm P.S. Oh and the applications were installed well after the OS was installed. Tawana November 28, 2009 9:13 am Thanks so much this worked fine you guys are great thanks again. Matthew December 1, 2009 11:56 am If you are running a 64bit version of windows you also need to change the same two entries in… [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersion] “RegisteredOrganization” “RegisteredOwner” At least this is the case for me with Windoes 7 Ultimate 64bit Gemini Girl December 8, 2009 11:37 am Will the original name be gone forever or somewhere in the hardrive? Paul Hunstad December 20, 2009 10:40 am Thanks for the tip.. I found it very useful. Leave a Comment Name * Email * Website Leave your friendly comment here. If you have a computer help question, click here to leave it on the forums instead. Submit Comment Note: Your comment may not show up immediately on the site. Our Friends Getting Started About HowTo Geek What Is That Process? stackoverflow.com [programming] Windows Vista Articles About Us svchost.exe wmpnscfg.exe Wfica32.exe serverfault.com [sysadmin] Get Help on our Forums Contact Us jusched.exe rundll32.exe Mobsync.exe doctype.com [web design] HowTo Geek Wiki Advertising dwm.exe wfcrun32.exe conhost.exe superuser.com [computing] Privacy Policy ctfmon.exe Ipoint.exe Dpupdchk.exe Disclaimers wmpnetwk.exe Itype.exe Adobe_Updater.exe HowTo Geek Gear mDNSResponder.exe Comment Policy Copyright © 20062009 HowToGeek.com. All Rights Reserved.

Www Howtogeek Com Howto Windows Vista Quick Tip Change The Registered O

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