When you are trying to move a user profile and data from an old computer to a new one where you have already created a user account, you might want to rename the user folder to match the user folder name on the old computer.
Renaming a user account is relatively easy in Windows 10. You can either use the classic Control Panel or Computer Management to rename user accounts. However, renaming a user account using these methods doesn’t rename the user account folder located in the C:Users.
Although you can rename the user folder in the File Explorer, you will have to make appropriate changes to the Registry to avoid getting an error when signing-in to the account.
Several users have asked us how to rename the user account folder in the File Explorer in Windows 10. In this guide, we will tell you how to rename the user folder in Windows 10 File Explorer.
Renaming the user account folder in Windows 10 File Explorer
Follow the given below directions to successfully rename a user folder in Windows 10.
Step 1: You cannot rename the user account folder that you are currently signed in. So, you need to create another local administrator account and rename your current user account folder from another account. To do that, navigate to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users.
Step 2: In the Other users section, click Add someone else to this PC option.
Step 3: When you get the following screen, click “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” link.
Step 4: In the next screen, click “Add a user without a Microsoft account” link.
Step 5: Finally, type a name for the new account. Click the Next button. No need to add a password. This will create just a standard user account.
Step 6: On the Settings > Accounts > Family & other users section, click on the newly created account and then click Change account type button.
Step 7: Select the Administrator from the drop-down box. Click the OK button to change the account type from standard to administrator.
Step 8: We also suggest you sign out of the OneDrive account on your PC and switch your Microsoft account to a local account (if you are using a Microsoft account) before renaming the user folder to avoid errors.
Step 9: Sign-in to the newly created administrator account.
Step 10: The first step is to rename the user folder that you want to rename. To do that, open the File Explorer and navigate to C:Users directory.
Step 11: Right-click on the folder that you want to rename, and then click Rename. Click the Yes button when you get the prompt.
Step 12: Open the Registry Editor by typing Regedit.exe in the Start/taskbar search field and hitting the Enter key.
Step 13: In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionProfileList
Step 14: Expand the ProfileList key to several sub-keys. Click on each key and check the path in the ProfileImagePath string value. If it matches with the original name and path of the user folder that you just renamed, double-click on the ProfileImagePath to open its properties.
Step 15: In the Value data field, rename the user folder to match the user folder name in C:Users directory.
That’s it! You may now close the Registry Editor, sign out and try signing-in to the newly renamed user folder account. Note that renaming the user folder won’t rename the account.
You may delete the previously created user account (administrator account) now by going to Settings > Users > Family and other users, clicking on the account, and then clicking the Remove button.
