Help Problem with Documents folder

There is a possibility that the name showing as "****" is not really the folder name of the actual user that may be logged on. This can happen when/if an Admin (any user who had admin privileges) has renamed that person. Windows will keep it all straight, but it can get confusing, as it sounds like you've discovered.

HP computers have a terrible (IMHO) way of setting up the first user. They seem to always use the name "Owner" for that person. Of course, some people are smart enough to know how to rename that Owner name to a real name (like ****). But that does not rename the path to all the files to Owner... now known as ****.

Here is one way that you can actually find out what the true folder name is to yourself.

1) Open the Documents folder (click Start>Documents)
2) open the Run window (this does not show in the typical Start menu, but you can easily get to it by holding the "Windows key, and press the letter "R")
3) Delete any of the text that may already be in the "Open" field. So now it should be just blank.
4) Drag any file from the opened Documents window to the blank area of the Run window.

The name that appears in that field will be the complete path and filename of that file. There you will see the correct name of your logged on name, whatever the name is. For example, one I just did that with showed my file to be:
"C:\Users\Chuck\Documents\a note.txt"

I would guess that if your name (****) does not appear, all by itself, after the Users, then someone has gone through the process of renaming you as a user, at least once.

How to avoid the problem:
I would prefer that an HP owner NOT use that Owner desktop at all! Just use it to create all the real user names you want (like Tom, ****, Harry, Sally, etc.). Then log off the Owner desktop and log back on as those other names, and set them up the way your (or they) want.

Already got the problem?
What's a mother to do? Well, it is a process of removing all the files and stuff for every name of a user that is not following an expected pathname. If **** has files in the "Owner" path, then get a real **** created, and move them over.

This can get really cumbersome when you may already have a name in use, and it isn't what you want. So you may have to get creative in the process, using some temporary names, but it can be done.

Good luck. I hope that helps.

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. I tried following you suggestions but ended up making things worse so... I reset my laptop to "Factory" and then restored my back-up files manually to their proper folders.

All is well now but it has been a hassle getting all of my programs re-installed.

But that is in the past, now upward and onward