Skip to the content of the web site.

Scientific Computing Webstore

Renaming User IDs

If your userid(s) on Windows and/or Unix systems is NOT the same as your "UWuserid" (which you use for Quest, HRinfo, etc.), then your userid(s) will have to be changed so as to match your "UWuserid" (truncated to 8 characters), for MATLAB to work. This applies to Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Unix:

Windows XP and Vista

On Windows it is important to change the account/user name, not the full (display) name. The methods below show you how to access the actual user name. Using the standard Control Panel, User Accounts only changes the display name.

  1. This method works on most version of Windows.
    • In the Start Menu, choose Run
    • Type "control userpasswords2"
    • On Vista you will be prompted for permission and/or credentials
    • In the User Accounts dialog, find your user name and click Properties
    • Change the User name to match your UW user ID
    • Exit the dialogs. You will need to log out and log back in for this to take effect
  2. Windows XP Professional and Vista Business users can also use the Computer Management console
    • Right-click on My Computer or Computer and choose Manage
    • Open "Local Users and Groups".
    • Open "Users".
    • Right-click the account you want to change and Rename.

  3. You need to be on an account with Administrative priviliges to do the above, but your working account is more secure with limited privileges. You can change an account's privileges by looking in the Groups folder under the Local Users and Groups section of the Computer Management control panel, and removing your account from the Administrators group. You will still need one local adminitrator account to perform software installations, etc., but it should not be your daily use account.

  4. Login to your UWuserid and launch MATLAB.

  • Renaming a Mac OS X userid is problematic.

    • For now we recommend creating a new userid from scratch, named after your UWuserid, and moving your files there.
    Last updated: September 24, 2008 .

    Maintained by: IST Scientific Computing Support.