Home / Registry Tips & Tweaks / How To Change the Registered Owner and/or Organiza...

How To Change the Registered Owner and/or Organization of your Computer

by 0 Comments

If you have obtained a computer from someone else or a company then you can change the Registered Owner or Organization name to your own.

Many computer users who have written into us have stated that they inherited or purchased a second hand computer from someone else or on discount via eBay or online computer company.Some of the systems range from refurbished models to slightly used PCs that were returned to the store without any damages. Among the messages that we received users wanted to know how to change the registered owner or organization listed on the computer.

Each PC, upon installation of Windows, asks that you enter your name or company name fore registration of Windows or for indentifying the ownership of a certain computer. If you ever wondered how you change the "Registered to" name or company then we will explain to you how to do this through editing a registry entry.

How to change the "Registered to" name or company name on your computer using the registry editor (regedit).

  1. Open your registry editor by going to Start Menu > Run > type in regedit click OK.
  2. Find the following paths:
    *For Windows 95, 98 and ME - find the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion using the folders on the left pane.
    *For Windows NT, 2000 and XP - find the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
  3. Locate RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization registry entries on the right pane.
  4. Change the Value data to your desired Name or Organization for both RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization.
  5. Click OK and Exit the Registry Editor.
  6. You may restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
  7. You can now double check the "Registered to" name by right-clicking My Computer and select Properties.

Please note: This procedure mainly applies to PCs with the Microsoft Windows operating system. It is advisable that you backup your registry before attempting this process. The instructions are provided for information purposes only. We are not liable for any damages by use of this process.