Changing User account name

Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Your Mac's Specs
21.5 iMac, Late 2011 Model. 500g HD, 16 Gigs RAM. Snow Leopard.
Hi There, I just bought a 2nd hand 21" iMac and am setting it up as I want it. However I can see that the original users name in in Finder - Places.

However I cannot figure out how to change this to my name. Can someone explain how I do this ?

Cheers.

Mark S.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
8,967
Reaction score
287
Points
83
Location
London
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini Core i7 2012 | White 2009 MacBook 2 Ghz | 733 Mhz G4 Quicksilver
Its in  menu > System Preferences > Accounts

You can either change the User name or create yourself a fresh User Account and delete the old when you have everything set up as you like it
 
C

chas_m

Guest
I would STRONGLY recommend that you ERASE the hard drive completely rather than just change the user name, for your own security as well as that of the person you bought it from. He/She was, IMO, NUTS to give you the machine loaded with personal info.

Your best bet to make that machine truly your own is to erase the HD and reinstall the OS and software from the discs or from your backup or (if on Lion or Mountain Lion) the internet recovery option. There are all kinds of issues that can arise from trying to use someone's old account, not to mention the high potential for security mischief.
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
25,564
Reaction score
486
Points
83
Location
Blue Mountains NSW Australia
Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
I am with chas_m. Erase the hard drive and do a clean install. If it is Snow Leopard OS X.6 did you get the discs with the machine? If not contact Apple online and order a DVD for $20 including postage.
 
OP
M
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Your Mac's Specs
21.5 iMac, Late 2011 Model. 500g HD, 16 Gigs RAM. Snow Leopard.
I should possibly have provided more information here. The guy I bought it off formatted the HD and reinstalled the o/s before giving it to me. However I can see that in Finder - Places - there is a house icon with the his name. I want to change this to mine.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top