How to Change Name and Company Information After You Install Windows XP

This article discusses how to change your name and company information after you install Microsoft Windows XP.

When you install Windows, Setup requests that you enter your name, and optionally, the organization name. This registration information is displayed under Registered to in the General tab of System when you click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.

To change your name and company information after Windows is installed on your computer, follow these steps:

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
4. To change the company name, do the following:
   
   In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOrganization. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
5. To change the name of the registered owner, do the following:
   
   In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOwner. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
6. Click Exit on the File menu to quit Registry Editor.

For additional information about installing Windows XP, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: