When setting up Windows for the first time, the user always needs to create a profile in the operating system. For each individual user, a separate profile is created, the files of which are stored on the C:\Users system partition. Sometimes it happens that the user has to change the name of an already created folder for a number of specific reasons. Most often, such a need arises at a time when the system or application is not working properly. Very often the reason for such anomalies is the fact that the user's folder is named using Cyrillic characters. For example, "Taras", not "Taras". Another, more banal reason may be the simple desire to use a new name.
Here it is worth considering a few points:
- If you create a profile using a Microsoft account, Windows 10 will likely create a folder that is short for your email address. It is because of this that many users wish to rename their profile folder. The inconvenient name is especially annoying when the user needs to deal with the command line and usernames.
- The name of the account itself can be changed at any time, but renaming does not change the name of the profile folder. That is why the problems associated with Cyrillic characters in the name of the profile folder cannot be solved by simply renaming the account.
- Renaming a linked folder may cause some applications or services to stop working. Therefore, the best solution would be to create a new local profile and then connect your Microsoft account to it.
The easiest way to rename a user folder in Windows 10
This method can be called the simplest with reservations. For some, on the contrary, it will seem too complicated due to the need to transfer data and reinstall applications. But it is safe to say that this method will the safest and win-win. You will definitely not run into problems or jambs caused by account renaming. For those who do not have too much information and reinstalling programs will not be difficult, it is best to use this particular method. It is also recommended after a clean install if you misname the user and want to rename their profile folder. In short, the essence of this whole undertaking is simply to create a new user and delete the old one.
How to change user folder name in Windows 10 Pro
When it becomes necessary to rename a user's folder, and creating a new one is not an option, the first thing the user comes up with is the idea of simply renaming the folder, by analogy with any other file or directory. The trouble is that this method does not work with the profile folder. Windows simply won't let you do it.
Note Note: This method is not valid for Windows 10 Home. Instead, use the method described below.
First you need to create a new Computer Administrator account. You should have two profiles: the one you want to rename and another profile that has Administrator rights.
If you do not want to create a new account, you can activate the hidden Administrator profile, which is installed by default with the operating system. To do this, do the following:
Now you need to log in to the newly created local account with Administrator rights or to the profile activated via the command line. Keep in mind what you need go out out of the system, and not just change the user, so save all files and close all applications so as not to lose important information.
This is not the end of the matter. The user folder is a very important section of the operating system structure, so its name must be changed not only in Explorer itself, but also in the system registry.
Sign in to your previous profile and check if the name has changed. If yes, then temporary profiles can be deleted or disabled.
- If you created a new local account, click Win+ I and go to section Accounts - Family and other people.
- Click on the profile in the section Other people and choose Delete.
- Confirm account deletion.
- To disable the standard Administrator account, open a command prompt as Administrator (Start - command "CMD" - right-click - run as administrator) and enter the following command: netuserAdministrator/active:no.
How to change user folder in Windows 10 Home
The first method won't work on Windows 10 Home, so you'll need to use another method. Please note that in the first case, no unpleasant consequences were found from renaming the user folder. In the case of Windows 10 Home, programs may experience crashes. For example, the program can tell you about errors in addresses and links. This method is also must work on Windows 10 Professional, but we do not recommend using it, since this edition of Windows 10 has its own instructions that do not cause crashes or malfunctions in applications. Keep in mind that for Windows 10 Home, the best way to rename a profile folder is to create a new one. If something goes wrong and apps stop working after the rename, you still have to create a new user.
As in the previous case, start by creating a new local account with Administrator rights:
- Click Win+ I and open Accounts - Family & other people - Add a user for this computer.
- Click I don't have this person's login details.
- Click Add user without account Microsoft. Any name will do, and you can not set a password at all.
- In chapter Other people click on new profile and select Change account type.
- From the drop down list select Administrator. Click OK.
- Alternatively, you can simply activate the standard but hidden and by default deactivated Admin account. Run Command Prompt as Administrator, and then enter the following command: netuseradministrator/active:yes.
- Now go to the created account and open the Registry Editor. To do this, click Win+ R and type regedit.
- Go to: A computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.
- Select your account section from the list and change the setting ProfileImagePath. Enter the name you would like to set.
- Now on the left side of the registry editor at the very top, click on A computer, and then click ctrl+ F. Enter in search C:\Users\Old user folder name. Press Enter and change the folder name to everyone found parameter. This process can be quite lengthy, so please be patient. After each rename press F3 to move to the next parameter.
When you're done, log out of the account and switch back to the one you renamed. Check if the profile name change was successful.
Why do you need to change the user folder name in Windows 10? This procedure is used by users who, when installing the operating system, erroneously set the user name in Cyrillic characters and now some programs refuse to start. You may also need to rename the Windows 10 user folder if the specialist who installed the OS specified the wrong name of the PC owner.
However, it should be noted that if you are unsure of your abilities, it is not advisable to follow the methods below, since system failures or a message stating that the main user account has been changed to a temporary profile are not excluded. Problems can also occur if at least one of the above methods is violated.
Rename User Folder in Windows 10 Home
The methods on how to rename a user folder in Windows 10 Home and Pro, Enterprise are different. Therefore, to change the name of the user folder in the home assembly, you should perform the following methods:
- Activate the hidden administrator account. To do this, run a command prompt with Administrator rights. In the console, you need to enter the command: net user Administrator / active: yes. If you have a Russian-language version of the system, enter the word "Administrator" in Cyrillic.
- After executing the command, you need to click "Start", "Username" and select "Exit". The computer will start to restart, and then the account selection will appear on the lock screen. Select the one with Administrator rights. It will take some time to enter.
- Now that you're logged in as Administrator, right-click on the Start button and select Computer Management.
- A new window will open. Select the directory "Local Users", then "Users" and in the right part of the window, right-click on the username that you are going to change. Click "Rename".
- Enter a new name. We close the window. Go to "Computer", local drive C and right-click on the user folder. Again, select "Rename" and set a new name, the same as in "Computer Management".
- Now we need to activate the changes. Press "Win + R" and enter "regedit".
- The Registry Editor will open. Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ ProfileList branch. In the right part of the window, select the "ProfileImagePath" parameter. It will be located in one of the subsections. Therefore, they all need to be reviewed. Set the parameter to a new value. Or rather, specify the path to the new folder.
Now we call the command line again and enter: net user Administrator / active: no. Next, click on the Administrator icon and select "Log out". Select your account from the list provided.
Renaming a User Folder in Windows 10 Professional and Enterprise
If you want to rename a custom directory in the Pro and Enterprise operating system, it is worth doing the following:
- We create a backup copy of the system and registry.
- We log in under the Administrator account, as indicated in the method above.
- We change the name of the user folder in the Computer Management utility and on drive C in the Users folder.
- We launch the registry editor and go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ ProfileList branch. We find the parameter in which the path to the old user folder is specified. Double-click to launch "ProfileImagePath" and specify the path to the renamed folder in the value.
- Log out of the Administrator account and log into your account.
The difference between these methods is that in these versions in the registry editor there can be several parameters with a username. They all need to be changed by setting a new user name.
Therefore, if you are interested in how to change the username of the operating system, study the entire list of ProfileList sections initially so as not to miss the required parameter and not damage the entire assembly.
To learn how to rename a user folder in practice, see the video:
The question of how you can rename the Windows 10 user folder (meaning the folder that usually corresponds to your username, located in C:\Users(which in Explorer shows C:\Users, but the actual path to the folder is exactly what was listed) is set quite often. This tutorial shows how to do this and change the user folder name to whatever you want.
Why might this be needed? There are different situations here: one of the common ones is that if there are Cyrillic characters in the folder name, some programs that place the components necessary for work in this folder may not work correctly; the second most common reason is simply not liking the current name (besides, when using a Microsoft account, it is abbreviated and not always in a convenient way).
Warning: potentially, such actions, especially performed with errors, can lead to incorrect operation of the system, a message that or the inability to enter the OS. Also, don't try to just rename the folder in any way without going through the rest of the procedures.
Renaming a user folder in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise.
The described method, when verified, successfully worked both for a local Windows 10 account and for a Microsoft account. The first step is to add a new administrator account (not the one for which the folder name will change) to the system.
The easiest way to do this for our purposes is not to create a new account, but to enable the built-in hidden account. To do this, run the command prompt as Administrator (through the context menu called by right-clicking on Start) and enter the command net user Administrator /active:yes and press Enter (if you do not have Russian-language Windows 10 or it was Russified by installing a language pack, enter the account name in Latin - Administrator).
The next step is to log out of the system (in the Start menu, click on the username - log out), and then on the lock screen, select the new Administrator account and log in under it (if it does not appear for selection, restart the computer). The first time you log in, it will take some time to prepare the system.
After logging into your account, follow these steps in order:
Close the Registry Editor, log out of the Administrator account and log into your normal account - the renamed user folder should work without failure. To disable a previously activated administrator account, run the command net user Administrator /active:no on the command line.
How to change user folder name in Windows 10 Home?
The method described above will not work for the home version of Windows 10, however, there is also a way to rename the user folder.
Note: This method has been tested on a completely clean system. In some cases, after using it, there may be problems with the operation of programs installed by the user.
So, to rename the user folder in Windows 10 Home, follow these steps:
- Create an administrator account or activate the built-in one, as described above. Log out of the current account and log in with a new administrator account.
- Rename the user folder (via explorer or command line).
- Also, as described above, change the value of the parameter ProfileImagePath in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ ProfileList to a new one (in the subsection corresponding to your account).
- In the registry editor, highlight the root folder (Computer, top left) then select Edit - Search from the menu and search for C:\Users\Old_folder_name
- When found, change it to the new one and press edit - find next (or F3) to search for places in the registry where the old path remains.
- When finished, close the Registry Editor.
At the end of all these steps - log out of the account used and go to the user account for which the folder name was changed. Everything should work without failures (but in this case there may be exceptions).
We hope that this material will be useful to you. If you have questions, or have additions, write in the comments.
This guide shows the steps by which you can rename the user folder in the Windows 10 operating system
So let's say we've changed the account name and we need to rename the user's folder. You will need another local administrator account on the computer. Create a new local account with administrative privileges, how to do this is described in detail in this ➱
Go to folder Users located on the system drive (usually drive C), right-click on the folder whose name you want to change (in this case, the folder user) and in the context menu select Rename
Rename the folder (eg. NewUser)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
Find a subkey that has the characters S-1-5-21~ in its name. Find the ProfileImagePath parameter, the value of which will match the name of the folder you want to rename. Double-click the ProfileImagePath parameter with the left mouse button and specify a new folder name, click the button OK. Close Registry Editor.
Log out, and log in with the account under which you renamed the user folder. If you no longer need the account created specifically for these changes, you can delete it
Do not forget that a lot of settings and parameters of programs and the operating system are stored in the user profile. The more programs installed on your computer, the more likely it is that the changes made will not be enough. Most likely there will be an entry in the Windows registry containing the full path to some file or folder that is in the user profile, and this path will be indicated with a link to the old, now defunct folder. This may cause problems with some programs.
You can try to avoid such problems. To do this, you will need to carefully examine the ENTIRE registry for links to the old, already renamed folder.
To do this, in the registry editor, call the search window by pressing the key combination Ctrl + F, in the search bar enter the path to the old profile folder and press the button H go further
Carefully study all the found parameters and, if necessary, change the name of the folder to the newly renamed one. Then press the F3 key to continue the search and so on until the very end, that is, until such a window appears.
As you understand, the work ahead is painstaking and here you need to approach the issue with skill - that is, to understand where it is worth changing the name of the parameter to a new one, and where this can not be done or should not be done in any case.
Windows 10 is not so different from previous versions of the OS from Microsoft, however, performing some actions here causes difficulties for users. For example, do you know how to change username in Windows 10? If not yet, then this guide will help fill the gap in knowledge of the system's capabilities.
Local Profile
If you use a regular local account, then you can change its name in the same way as in previous versions of Windows - through the control panel. You should already know Windows 10.
Your local profile window will open. You can change the account name and type. There is nothing complicated: click on the "Change name" link and enter a new name in the line that appears. 
Then click "Rename" to save the changes. You must restart your computer for the configuration to take effect. When you log in again, the profile name will be different. There is another, faster way to change the name.
There is no fundamental difference between the described methods: in fact, you perform the same actions using different system tools.
Microsoft account
If a Microsoft profile is used for authorization in the system, then changing its name through the control panel will not work. The Microsoft account name can only be changed on the official website of the corporation using a special form. Let's see how to get to it:
After clicking on the link, the browser will automatically launch. You will be directed to the Microsoft profile management site, where you must enter your username and password to authorize. After successfully logging in, click on the "Change name" link. 
A special form will appear in which you need to specify personal data that will be used in the Microsoft account login. To apply the new configuration, click Save.