Logon Name Does Not Match Name in Task Manager or Under Documents and Settings Folder (283111)

SYMPTOMS

When the Welcome screen is appears, the names that are displayed do not match any of the names of users' folders under the Documents and Settings folder or any of the names on the Users tab in Task Manager.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if you have changed the name of the account in the User Accounts tool in Control Panel. By doing so, the new name appears on the Welcome screen, but the actual account name remains the same. The folders under the Documents and Settings folder and the names that are listed in Task Manager show the actual account name.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, if the display name for a user account has been changed, you can find out which account the new display name belongs to by logging on as that user, starting Task Manager, and then clicking the Users tab. The user account that is marked as active is the one that is currently logged on. Also, you can find out which of the folders under Documents and Settings belongs to the currently logged-on user by right-clicking Start, and then clicking Explore. Windows Explorer will then start in the Start Menu folder of the currently logged-on user's folder.

STATUS

This behavior is by design. The Welcome screen displays the Full name field of the user account, not the actual account name.

MORE INFORMATION

In Windows XP Home Edition, you cannot change the actual name of a user account, only the name that is displayed on the Welcome screen. In all other versions of Windows XP, you can change the account name:

Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
Click Local Users and Groups to expand it.
Click Users.
Right-click the account that you want to change, and then click Rename.
At a command prompt, run the set command; the %HomePath% variable still points to the old user name.

NOTE: This does not change the name of the folder that appears under the Documents and Settings folder for the user.