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Re: Bug Report: Purging Old and Invalid User Names With Spaces


Keith Mitchell wrote:
Problem: Virgin Installs of CygWin on Windows XP work fine but a total purge (deletion of all CygWin files and directories) and a fresh reinstall with different set of usernames do not work properly, i.e., usernames that have been CHANGED using the XP user manager to new usernames. This problem occurred as a result of my changing all my usernames with spaces to usernames without spaces to make them Linux compatible.

I wanted to thank all for the responses. After many reinstallations of CygWin, I finally identified the problem and got things working. This is just a bug report documenting my discoveries and what I believe is going on.

1. A virgin install of CygWin makes a list of all user names on the system. This list is reflected in /etc/passwd after any reinstall. I am guessing this list is stored in the Windows XP registry as this list does not exist on the drive where CygWin is installed, in my case, the D drive. This list is NEVER updated on subsequent CygWin installs. This is the REAL problem: no updates on subsequent installs.

2. Subsequent installations of CygWin utilize the aforementioned out of date username list, even though those usernames have been changed and are no longer valid

3. My problems occurred as a result of a conflict between the list of original usernames that are no longer valid created by the first virgin install of CygWin and usernames that currently valid after user manager changes. This registry entry (or whatever the source of the invalid usernames) entry needs either to either be purged before or updated as a result of subsequent CygWin installs.

Again thanks to all.

Keith Mitchell
Actually, this information is incorrect.

Windows XP stores the first username you choose and will associate your current username to it regardless of what you change it to. Cygwin stores nothing, it is asking Windows what your username is and getting a response of what Windows tells it. I can't verify this right now, but I do believe that if you navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\ you should find that your old usernames still exist in place of your new usernames. That should be verification that it is Windows that is acting strangely, and is not a Cygwin problem.

You can get around this by either reinstalling XP and setting up new usernames that are correct from the start, creating new users completely (not changing the names of existing users) and migrate your personal information to the new user profiles, or finally, just get used to typing quotes around your usernames or escaping the spaces when using Cygwin.

--Robert Peaslee

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