Windows 8 Who is user?

g2c · Jul 21, 2014

the hierarchy in widows explorer
this pc -> c > users -> user -> <my files>

BUT I can access my files with
start -> guy -> <my files>

My question: who is this USER whose workspace is same as mine? Why is it named USER? (and not, for example, guy)

Thanks for your time

ussnorway · Jul 23, 2014

I've been looking at the Asus forums for this issue but imo this isn't hardware based.

1. Your Microsoft user account is called "user" but that in itself isn't a problem unless it bugs you. I don't recommend changing the name on a working Microsoft account because items stored in onedrive and the store can become locked. If it does bug you then a fresh install of windows with a different default name (but the same Microsoft email account) is the safest option.

2. I believe the power issue you have is related and will answer it here… I suspect what probably happened is;

a. After you got it back from the Asus reset it was reasonably stable and had windows 8 on it.

b. You then took advantage of Microsoft's free upgrade to 8.1...

MikeHawthorne · Jul 22, 2014

Hi

I'm not sure that I get your question but my computer has basically 4 users under the users folder.

One uses my name but I didn't create any of them, the manufacturer set it up with my name, as the Administrator when they built it, and I haven't changed anything.

I have Users\Administrator, Users\Default, Users\ My Name and Users\Public.

Several of these can access my files a couple have more limited access.

So it's not unusual to have more then one user show, even if you didn't set it up that way.

You can edit the permissions as to which user is able to access what.

Mike

ussnorway · Jul 22, 2014

Microsoft Windows is a business system.

User, everyone, trusted installer and administrator are all security labels…

Everyone (as the name kind of implies) can be used by anyone.

User is almost the same but can only be used by someone with an account on this system… as opposed to say an unknown person coming in from an outside system.

Trusted installer is in fact Microsoft and is legally questionable because that means there are always files on your computer that you don't own the right to change.

Administrator is an account that had permission to do anything upto xp but Microsoft didn't like people using it so they made the Trusted installer and downgraded what an administrator is allowed to do.

Trouble · Jul 22, 2014

I suspect that at some point in time the user account, in your case the generic word "User" has been renamed, in your case for instance to "Guy".
It's not uncommon for systems to come with a generically named user account, very often something like "Owner".

When the user account is renamed it is generally only a cosmetic type of renaming. The actual data structure in Windows explorer will still show as C:\Users\User

g2c · Jul 22, 2014

I am not sure i understand. The computer came to me completely virgin and i created the user guy with admin privilege. Now i see that both guy and USER has the same files (!) so i thought it would be clearer for everybody that the same entity has one and only one name but i can not even rename it to guy. Must i understand that i am wrong and that in the Microsoft cosmos, there is no such consideration? or, maybe on the contrary, the more a single entity is named or presented or manipulated in different ways the better?

ussnorway · Jul 22, 2014

Please press [windows key] + [x] and select "command prompt" just the simple (not admin) one then take a screenshot of it for us.

p.s is this issue on the same system you have posted about power i.e. the one that has been reset back to default install by Asus?

g2c · Jul 22, 2014

Thanks, here is the screenshot.

Yes, it's the same machine. It's a Asus ux31la, bought new in October 2013 and who has been restored to factory 2 times since by Asus. My guess is that they also changed firmware in some programmable logic because after the second visit in their lab the machine started to become stable. This is the reason why now i am trying to use it as a regular machine whereas before i just thought to get rid of it and forget the $2000 i payed for. So i started to install my favorite programs and also started to make it resemble other computer and that is how i arrived to the power plans, directory names etc. The machine was shipped with (and twice reset back to) windows 8 and I've upgraded it to 8.1 and also allowed upgrades except for drivers which i manage manually because of an issue with the intel's wifi driver (still in discussion with Intel)

An image from 'Who is user?'. A Windows 8.1 command prompt window open at the system32 directory.

ussnorway · Jul 23, 2014

1. Thanks that is the admin one… I just wanted to see the normal (non admin) command prompt to confirm the user path is correct.
2. I'm beginning to see the history clearer for this system… Asus support could have backed up the 8.1 profile before the second reset (I certainly would have) and that could be why "as Trouble picked" you appear to have a generically named user folder.
3. You would have a better idea than us about whether any of the data stored in that profile is important enough to keep & I wouldn't advise you to delete it based on the info you have given us so far.
4. Does the computer ask you to select user or enter a password during boot-up… more importantly is the "user" profile an option?

4a. It is fairly simple to select an automatic login with the netpl-wizard if 4 is an issue… is the "guy" profile in fact linked to your Microsoft account or just a local profile?

4b. it wouldn't surprise me to see your default folder is the "user" one given the power profile issues you also have.

g2c · Jul 23, 2014

I am sorry for this error. Here is the non admin

An image from 'Who is user?'. Windows Command Prompt open at default user directory on Windows 8.1 system.

3.- I do not have any important profile associated with user 'guy' that cannot easily be set again. The only important thing i have are my programs and their configurations (settings etc) So it is perfectly possible to erase accounts and creates other ones as long as my programs are not affected

4. No, as configured, at boot up i have "Welcome Guy" and the machine starts
4a guy is not linked to Microsoft account
4b I don't know, Assuming you are correct, how can it be fixed?

ussnorway · Jul 23, 2014

I've been looking at the Asus forums for this issue but imo this isn't hardware based.

1. Your Microsoft user account is called "user" but that in itself isn't a problem unless it bugs you. I don't recommend changing the name on a working Microsoft account because items stored in onedrive and the store can become locked. If it does bug you then a fresh install of windows with a different default name (but the same Microsoft email account) is the safest option.

2. I believe the power issue you have is related and will answer it here… I suspect what probably happened is;

a. After you got it back from the Asus reset it was reasonably stable and had windows 8 on it.

b. You then took advantage of Microsoft's free upgrade to 8.1 offer… more power to you.

c. However immediately after installing 8.1 you should have returned to the Asus download page for your system & grabbed at least the chipset drivers… I would personally use the Asus network, audio & power4gear driver instead of the no frills Microsoft ones for power but that’s my preference & not the end of the world.

3. I would have made a backup image at this point i.e. after installing the Asus 8.1 drivers but before adding any other programs because that is the only real way to insure a stable platform.

4. At this point you probably don't have any backup software installed and aren’t keen to reset the system again so your best bet would be to install the Asus drivers now and hope for the best… If you want to take this path then I recommend this order;

a. go to the Asus driver page and download all the drivers you want to use but don't install any just yet and don't touch anything with the word bios in it.

b. Set your system to airplane mode and disable any antivirus or resource monitoring software.

c. If you only have the default Microsoft graphics you can go to step d but otherwise Uninstall the INTEL or AMD graphics software and reboot the system… insure that any network and antivirus is still disabled after the reboot.

d. Install the Asus chipset driver first and reboot the system then install any others such as network, audio and perhaps the VGA if you want it.

e. Assuming you don't want to use the Asus VGA but instead want the INTEL one then install it now… ime the INTEL one will be better for gaming but the Asus is stable.

To be clear, I don't recommend using the bios drivers or utilities… even on a reasonably good system like this one a bios-flush is chancey.

Slightly off topic but a good backup software is totally worth investing in… get a system stable then make a copy of it really is the simplest (read fastest and cheapest) way to fix computer issues.

p.s.

for reference the download page for your system is https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX31LA/HelpDesk_Download/

MikeHawthorne · Jul 24, 2014

Hi

If you are looking for some good free backup software I'm using both "Paragon Backup and Recovery" and EaseUS Todo Backup and they have both saved me at one time or another.

I make backups using both just because I'm paranoid, and have had software that I paid for, not work when I needed it.

But neither of these have failed to work when I've needed to use them.

Link Removed

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/br-free/download.html

Mike

g2c · Jul 25, 2014

Thanks Ussnorway for your detailed answer. I'll be very concise: it does annoy me to have this USER on My computer running My operating system. Would i have posted about it if it didn't?

As i said, I don't use one/sky/drive/app or anything made by Microsoft except Windows as a platform for my programs, mostly open source and often multiplatform. I do not log to no Microsoft account (except sometimes to ask for help I never get!)

I think there should be a way to change an account name without re-installing the OS and this is what i am looking for.

Your description regarding the power settings does not correspond to the events as i recall: never did this machine retained the power setting.

Regarding the back up - It is meaningless to backup a machine you suspect to be in shaky state or in a state which may require a fresh re install.

Thanks MikeHawthorne, todo free with Linux cd wont work due to uefi. todo payable with windows won't work due to lack of usb3 drivers. Bottom line and after a lengthy discussion with Easeus, todo is not what one would want to do.

This said, i have a high quality backup program

ussnorway · Jul 25, 2014

I get that it bugs you but I also get that you don't want to reset your windows again… I agree that it's your computer and your choice.

p.s. please drop us a line later with how you got on.

MikeHawthorne · Jul 26, 2014

Hi

I'm using Todo Free with a UEFI bios in Windows 8 and it works fine, I've restored my computer using it recently.

I create the backups with the software installed on my computer, but I restore it by booting to the the Todo recovery software on the Linux Boot disk that I made from their site and it works fine.

I can also boot to my Ubuntu disks with no issues, so I don't understand exactly what the problem is.

I haven't done anything to my computer regarding the Bios setup since I bought it, so it's still in the same configuration it came with.

Mike

g2c · Jul 27, 2014

Yes, I will sure post here if I make any progress.

Regarding todo, maybe I was unlucky. After an infininte emails exchange, we decided that they will inform me once they have a solution. I was happy with their todo with my hp pavilion laptop and could rescue it after it was stolen (returned by the police thanks to my dyndns client. But it had no uefi nor usb3.

MikeHawthorne · Jul 27, 2014

I like Todo because it's very direct and straight forward.
I've had paid for backup software that was so complicated it drove me crazy.
And then when I really needed it, it didn't work.

With Todo you just say I want to back up my Windows partition and it does it.

And it's just as easy to restore.

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