My Name is Owner on Used Computer but PNG docs show previous Owner

Cowgirl100 · 08 Mar 2023

Windows 10

A friend gave me his old computer because he was unable to upgrade the hardware for the newer online gaming software (or something like that). When I got the computer, I looked up how to update the registry and changed it to my name.

I created a PowerPoint doc to post on social media, but first sent it to my friend to show him what I made with his old computer. He wrote back and told me he didn't want his name to be on my documents. Even though my name is listed as the owner of the computer and PowerPoint docs I create under the Properties under Details, after I change the PowerPoint doc into a PNC, it no longer has my name in the doc properties, but the name of the previous owner.

There must be somewhere on the computer besides the registry that still has his name as owner, but somehow the PNC doc "grabs" that information when created.

How do I fix this so that my name is the only one that shows up on on every document I create?

dalchina · 08 Mar 2023

This may help:
How to Change the Default Author Name in Microsoft Word | Tom's Guide Forum

- but may depend on the version of Office you have.

As ever, when acquiring someone else's PC, it's recommended to clean install Win 10.

That way you set it up for yourself. However if you are relying on licenses of installed programs, there's a risk you would lose those.

Cowgirl100 · 08 Mar 2023

dalchina,

Thank you for your reply. I changed the Default Author Name in PowerPoint, but it didn't work for the PNG file even thought before I save the PowerPoint PNG file the author's name was mine. I also logged out of PowerPoint and started it again with no change. The Owner info still shows: DESKTOP\[former owner's name here].

My product is Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2021.

There should be an image that shows the PNG file Properties. The info blacked out are numbers that I'm not sure is some sort of identification of my computer, and the red has the former name of the owner.

Do you have any other suggestions?

My Name is Owner on Used Computer but PNG docs show previous Owner-pnc-doc-properties.jpg

I opened the PNG file and it seems to be treated as a photo and could see no way in the photo editing program to make it not use the name of the previous owner.

dalchina · 08 Mar 2023

Changing an individual file's properties is another matter entirely of course.

What I suggested should mean any file now created by the Office suite will have your name.

That change has no significance whatsoever for existing files.

I don't have anything like that to experiment with- I would guess that if you were to open that file in a suitable program and then save it, the saved version would have your id.

Try creating a new file with your Office updated appropriately with your name and check its properties show your details.

spunk · 08 Mar 2023

Confirm you are the registered owner of the computer How to change registered owner and organization details on Windows 10 | Windows Central

Cowgirl100 · 08 Mar 2023

Spunk,

Thank you for your reply, but I changed the registered Owner before I asked for help on this forum because it stilled used the previous owner's name when I changed PowerPoint doc to a PNC doc.

Hearsepilot · 09 Mar 2023

Did you create a new profile or are you using the existing (Previous owners) profile

Cowgirl100 · 09 Mar 2023

Hearsepilot,

Thank you for responding to my message.

I'm not sure what you mean by profile? I changed the register owner on the computer to my name, but the previous owner appears on the document properties when I change a PowerPoint document into a PNG file.

Below the properties of the PNG file that has the previous owner's name even the the original PowerPoint doc does not show the previous owners name when I view its document properties. I have used the Remove Properties but it does not remove the name of owner info.

At the end of this message is an image of the PCG doc. The blacked out things are numbers that I'm not sure is some sort of computer identification, and the red is the former name of the owner.

Where does the computer "grab" the former owner's name to use for the property for the PNG file? It can't be from the registry because I changed it to my name or from the original PowerPoint doc since I made sure my name is used as the creator of document. It has to grab the former owner's name from somewhere. When I did a Google search to find out how to change the registry info, there were a lot of other folders and files that are probably what "controls" other things on the computer
[Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion]. I'm wondering if it could be something there that controls what shows up on photo type files, which is what a PNC file may be.

I hope I made sense because I'm not very computer savvy.

bro67 · 09 Mar 2023

Has zero to do wirh the OS, it is the other software installed. Do a clean install to get rid of the old and start with new.

idgat · 09 Mar 2023

As a matter of course, I would never accept and/or take over the use of someone else's computer without a clean install, as inconvenient as it might seem.

Usually, I just take out the old drive, swap it over for a new blank SSD and do the clean install on that.

My Name is Owner on Used Computer but PNG docs show previous Owner

My Name is Owner on Used Computer but PNG docs show previous Owner

My Name is Owner on Used Computer but PNG docs show previous owner