How to Change the Name of a User Profile Folder In Windows 10

[@wakeupclumsyold]

I think this comment should be pinned or copied with your own comment being pinned. *DO NOT RUSH THIS TUTORIAL!* The smallest typo can lock you out of your account. Make sure the value in the registry editor matches the value in the Users folder character for character, or you won't be able to log into your account after you "finish", which can be terrifying. Listen to the video. This ten minutes isn't as long as the extra fifteen minutes you'll spend changing your user name if you screw it up.

[@pragnesh3107]

will name change support the applications installed by the user(previous folder name) that is registered in the environment variables?, like in my case ANDROID_HOME, ANDROID_SDK

[@shreyanshmalviya4968]

@@pragnesh3107 The environment variables are updated just the path variables are not updated which caused me issues as well but you can update them manually one by one. And not just environment variables but it's causing issues on so many applications. And is definitely gonna cause errors in the future as well but it's easy to solve the errors when we know the error base. But it's definitely worth it.

[@shadowzabyss]

Yea, I have to change it all back..

[@naveengupta6878]

or just DONT DO THIS. what's the purpose except for aesthetics ? go ahead if its something really important to you, otherwise, Just leave it as it is. you're gonna save a whole lot of time & trouble. things will most definitely break. the BEST scenario in which you could do this is when you just bought your PC, cause as you install softwares, they are gonna have loads of registry keys & you will have to manually edit them one by one. you will be exhausted & still miss something leading to problems in future. so just ask yourself, is it gonna make any difference ? this maybe useful in a situtation when Multiple users are using the same system for different things so you want things to be organized but it doesn't worth the time & effort you would require to solve the problem it WILL cause. I wanted this as well. I wanted things to be neat, clean & organized in my new system but reading about potential issues and what not, I have dropped this idea. will get used to this quickly. I did change the username though, that's pretty safe, you could do that.

[@silent5]

fuck it im too lazy to use my phone

[@bradvincet1848]

What a convoluted mess just to perform what should be a simple task. God damn Microsoft!

[@tanmaydeshpande]

I want to switch to linux precisely of shit like this. But no ms office there :(

[@RelatedSamux]

@@tanmaydeshpande There's libre office it's compatible with office

[@TheDarkDutchman]

I can fully agree. It's ridicurous.

[@chucklemberg4968]

@@tanmaydeshpande I'm also considering switching to Linux (or, at the very least, making my PC a dual-boot machine). I just breathed new life into my brother's PC by setting it up on Linux Mint 20.1 Cinnamon. After experimenting with it, there are many things I really like about it. As SamuX has stated, Libre Office was automatically installed with Linux Mint 20.1. Additionally, there are a couple of great forums where experienced Linux users will aid the newbs. On one of the forums, I was told that there is an emulator (I think it's called VirtualBox) that I have been told will run anything Windows. The only caveat I was given is that graphics-intensive programs don't work really well in it. I would think that Windows Office shouldn't have any issues. You could always set your machine up as a dual-boot and test it out before committing to it. Another issue I have with Microsoft: I just upgraded my PC, but the Windows utility is telling me that my nearly-new PC will not run Windows 11. I'm not certain exactly where I will end up, but I'm sure Linux is a part of my future.

[@MrRafabro]

@@tanmaydeshpande you can use the online version

[@aravinda513]

After seeing the length of this video I was okay with my current username!

[@N4ughtylus]

I just decided the same.

[@kratikbarodiya]

Same

[@nevermind-gq4yq]

lol its 10 minutes

[@MuftyPro]

hahah.. me tooooooooo

[@mayanksinghgehlot]

😂😂😂

[@vitami1]

For those who see the modern control panel options: Settings>system>about>advanced system settings (right side of the screen)>user profiles

[@talhakonjic3197]

it didnt let me paste it or right it

[@johnnydrycreek]

It won't let me delete it from there

[@MohamedMahmoud-pe6qm]

worked for me thx bro

[@kiritoasuna8602]

How does this guy don't have more subscribers and viewers? This explanation style is one of the very best you can find on youtube.

[@stodani]

excuse me, i did all this but now it won't recognise my password, it doesn't let me in. any idea of what went wrong?

[@kiritoasuna8602]

@@stodani I mean, the video is really easy to understand though. You just follow step by step how it is shown in the video and you will be able to do it. So I really don't know how anyone can't understand the steps in this video. With that said, I'll be glad to help. Some possibilities: 1) You are using the wrong password. 2) You are miss-typing the password. 3) You need to watch this video step by step again and find out what are the possible errors that you have committed. Lemme know the results.

[@stodani]

@@kiritoasuna8602 i fixed it. thank you!!

[@kiritoasuna8602]

@@stodani ah, you are welcome. ^^

[@rf7226]

Everything was smooth sailing apart from 6:31 - Renaming the folder This was resolved in one of the comments by just restarting your PC, worked for me. 9:50 - Deleting the temporary users profile I have 2 "Account Unknown" profiles -- one is 300+ MB totally fresh, the other is almost 50GB (laptop is relatively new) Question is, is it safe to remove the other "Account Unknown"? Especially if this is just occupying precious storage space.

[@Rocky712_]

Helpful video, but there is one issue: When you do this (tested on Windows 11 Pro and a microsoft account), the "Desktop" and "Documents" shortcut in the file explorer under "This PC" will stop working. It will give you an error message. To solve this, you have to right click, choose properties and then under path pick the option to move the path. Then select the new C:/User/YourNewUsername/DesktopOrDocuments folder and then it works again. You have to do it twice, once for Desktop, once for Documents. Not a critique to your video, but I just want to comment this for people encountering this issue, too.

[@zirkeleroux7370]

This should also be pinned, and btw my "Pictures" folder link was also broken.

[@Rocky712_]

@@zirkeleroux7370 Yes, I later realized that for all the other shortcuts, too.

[@AhmadSultanx]

After done with the process, simply restart your PC. You won't face any issue.

[@emmanuelsarpong5441]

Great job buddy

[@PuesYaTeDigoTu]

does creating another user take up memory space

[@necrocarnation]

Just what I wanted, just what I needed. So clear and very well explained. Thank you!

[@monojitchakraborty1266]

This is the best guide for anyone who is stuck with this problem. I have tried all other methods on the internet and failed. Finally I tried this process blindly and it worked !!!. 💯% recommended.

[@kunalb1165]

I will not loose the data right?

[@raquelponce6091]

@@kunalb1165 no dummy stop asking everyone

[@kgaurav35]

I thought this was very long and complex but if you ignore the length of the video and just do what he's saying, it's a buttery smooth process and gets done before you know it. Thanks for this, man. I really hated it when I had to see C:/Users/gaura while coding. Now, I might enjoy coding a bit more, all thanks to you :D

[@allanapatterson6631]

Thank you soo much! Honestly been trying to find how to do this for 2 hours and even live chatted to Microsoft who balls it. Just wanted to change my name from Allan to Allana for obvious reasons.

[@isarogers9454]

I'm in the same boat lol

[@mmarkotan]

It took me about 20 minutes to get it all done but well worth it. Thank you very much. Cheers from Slovakia

[@jirka-vitek]

Haha, this is so random but cheers from Czechia mate ✨

[@slavic_commonwealth]

Cheers from Russia

[@TechWeLove]

Thanks!

[@cincaila]

Guys, it still works on Jan 2021. None of my files has been deleted. It still remains after I change the username. Thank you.

[@Al33exandraaa]

Switching users doesn't wipe your user data =)

[@stodani]

i have an issue, it doesnt recognise my password and nos í cant get into my old (with new name) user 🤦🏻‍♀️ do you have any idea what could i do?

[@jam_med4142]

When I logged back in it said that a file had been deleted with the old name and wiped everything I had off my desktop and taskbar and I can’t pin anything to any of them anymore (everything I had is still on my pc just won’t pin)

[@cruisetvshow]

i searched for long before i got your video and it is actually the best solution i needed. Thanks. It worked on my windows.

[@nav1269]

My folder would not rename in explorer! I searched the comments and found this post. Thanks, Kosmogenesis At 6:45 it says I can't change the name of the folder because it is open in another program but nothing is running.. Edit: I figured out how to fix this. In the search bar type in folder options and click enter. At the top, click on 'view', then right under Files and Folders click the 'Always show icons, never thumbnails'.. restart your PC and try renaming the file like at 6:45 For my Explorer layout, it was click View, on the far right click options/ change folder options. in the new window follow the instructions above.

[@Sheetalam]

Thanks alot bro you r the person who can understand our stupid problems and give us their solutions thanks alot u r clearly a god

[@KeentoFeast]

You're a G, tried doing this before and almost messed my pc up where I could no longer access it. Had to fresh install. Thanks man. Keep it up. You got a new fan 💯

[@howardslade267]

Thank you so much. I had my PC repaired today and they reinstalled Windows but didn't put my name as the USER. This worked and I have renamed.

[@muchemimuchiri5788]

Changed my life..now I can npx create- my advice to people is first watch the video then attempt on your desktop and remember to use the pause/play/rewind button as much as you can..

[@rishavgupta7868]

hello i am also unable to run npx command, i followed same process but during folder rename it says it can't be renamed because some files of this folder are in use

[@d4rkT]

THIS VIDEO DESERVES A LOT! You explained very thoroughly which made this process faster and more straightforward

[@GaZZuM]

I'm here in October 2022 to say that, on my fully up-to-date Windows 10, this still works. Excellent video!

[@dungnguyenoan4979]

It's September 6th, 2024. I'm using Win 11 and your solution still works like a charm. Thank you so much!

[@matejriha1510]

God bless hearts of people like you - who make tech vids without thick Indian accent, and it actually works.

[@Kosmogenesis]

At 6:45 it says I can't change the name of the folder because it is open in another program but nothing is running.. Edit: I figured out how to fix this. In the search bar type in folder options and click enter. At the top, click on 'view', then right under Files and Folders click the 'Always show icons, never thumbnails'.. restart your PC and try renaming the file like at 6:45

[@SomeLad12]

YOU ARE A LEGEND, THANK YOU!

[@nav1269]

Thanks, made my day.

[@mrsickwick]

Very good catch! Not sure why changing that resolves the issue, but very good catch indeed.

[@batgh0ul]

it's a shame something so simple has to be so damn complicated to do! but it worked just fine, you're a lifesaver 🙏✨️

[@KnockoutNunez-wz7bq]

People might look at the length of this video but it was really helpful and useful!

[@MrMotivation-24]

I was really struggling with trying to delete my exes name. Thank you 🙏🏿

[@dimitrioskastis3843]

Excellent job to explain step by step such complex procedure. You know the subject pretty well, and that is why at times you were talking a little fast, and were jumping ahead of me. But then as I was ready to break down in tears, you went back to the point before the jump and explained the how to get there. I took 3 pages of notes because that is helpful information to have. Thank you.

[@yinyama]

Right after the regedit step at 6:30 I couldn't rename the folder name. A pop up says the file couldn't be renamed because it is open somewhere else. Restarting the computer will fix this. Then you can go back and follow the tutorial

[@grahamhorn4334]

Thank you! I had the same problem.

[@samuelchan264]

Hi, thanks for the comments, u helped me. But now one drive dont sync. It shows the old folder name. Do u have any fix on that?

[@yinyama]

@@samuelchan264 Nope, sorry I don't know much about that

[@helioxyy]

thank you!! was so scared i just messed up my computer badly lol

[@レー人ーワ]

restarting my pc doesnt work please help

[@chrissie9863]

Thank You so very much!!! I followed everything you said step by step and it works!! A million thank you’s. Please do not ever delete this video.

[@satrapis]

what happens if u rename it? Do u loose all the apps and programs that were running with the previous profile account?

[@chrissie9863]

@@satrapis Everything stays the same. You do not lose apps/programs. I only had a few minor glitches with some folders still connected to the previous name file path that I can't access.. Idky that happened but doesn't matter I don't need those folders. I needed to change the name bc now I have to work from home from my personal labtop. In the end its worth the change and process.

[@elijahtron07]

Literally spent days on end trying to find this type of video :) You're the best.

[@neh1234]

My cousin helped me buy my PC but he mistakenly did it under his name and the store installed Windows under his name, which was grating to see. Now I finally feel this computer is truly mine, thank you very much!

[@whatsnew2807]

My store also does the same. I hate these kind of assholes. Means PC is mine , I am paying for it. But user name is of shop keeper........But finally I get rid of that shitty name. 🤣🤣🤣

[@nickj2681]

Excellent walk through! You my friend have helped me tremendously, Clear, simple and to the point!

[@SuperCheppies]

Works on 11 just the same, great tutorial mate! Easy to follow and didn't brick anything, what isn't easy to follow is the reasoning of why we have to go through some hoops for a simple name change. You can half do so with the control panel 'n such but the c:drive remains unchanged 'less you follow this. Anyhow thanks Helton!

[@gerrymiche]

What!! a tutorial my Friend, I was so entangled, consulted many different people on the web, but finally, I've got to you and the case is solved. They out there should learn from you. Thank you

[@zekeholloway4413]

took me FOREVER to change all the directories in Regedit from my old one to my new name. i hate how microsoft just uses your email as the name of the user folder :/

[@biswarupguharoy1925]

How did you changed it? Pls suggest! Facing the same issue.

[@zekeholloway4413]

@@biswarupguharoy1925 just go in command prompt and press CTRL + F and search for what the name was, and change them to what you want it to be.

[@venkataramana-od8uz]

@@Aven9er what you do then???

[@samuelchan264]

@@Aven9er same problem here. How u fix it? I need help

[@IrenaOrji]

Worked like a charm! Watched the video once till the end and followed the steps afterwords! Super nice! Thank you!

[@germanavila5027]

You can’t get a better explanation than this. Just excellent!!!! Thank you so much

[@Kanoog]

I'm so glad Windows didn't add a option "CHANGE NAME" What the heck, you have to go through all of these hoops to change your name seems crazy, but thanks for making it easy.

[@AmplifyLearning]

really helpful video

[@mohammadhatefi1965]

This was the best and the most straight forward guide, Tnx a lot.

[@Viscoplasticbeing]

Thank you very much. It work perfectly and the explanation is great and straightforward

[@GrigRP]

Thanks. I named my account with symbols and it caused all sorts of problems. Fixed

[@janr523]

Worked very well i just have one Problem: the Desktop Folder went missing (compared to yours at 8:11) and the Documents folder got just a folder image. Does anyone has a idea how to fix this?

[@papipalinka3991]

at 6:42 It says that I cant change the name because the folder or program is running somewhere. What should I do?

[@レー人ーワ]

did you fix it?

[@papipalinka3991]

​@@レー人ーワI think so, dont really remember why I did this lol

[@レー人ーワ]

@@papipalinka3991 i finally fixed it but thx

[@PrasantKumarMohanta]

Thank you so much for making this video. I was really worried how to change the username on my computer as I couldn't able to find the rename option. And I had to create another user having all the required property folders in it. Your video really helped me in learning how to change the unwanted username and get my own username. Thank you once again for helping me out virtually. -- With Love, Prasanta Kumar Mohanta From: (Odisha, India)

[@AhmedMohmed-zm5wh]

WOW, Very helpful and straight forward. i spent like 2hours reading online forums to solve the error "no mapping between account names and security IDs" which was caused by naming the user profile in other language rather than english(arabic). non of it helped me. until your video appeared in front of me much appreciated❤️❤️❤️

[@santoshpanigrahi205]

This one I was looking since last 6 months. Will this work for windows 11 as well?

[@JacobVega]

Thank you! Had to fully reset my PC a month ago. When signing into my Microsoft account, it took the first five letters and made that the user folder name. Been annoyed having to relocate some folders/files for programs that were looking for the name I had before. This really helped so I could just change back to what I had at the time. Thanks again!

[@bxxman]

I changed it, but its still looking for my old folder name on sum apllications. How do i change that ?

[@reynereagen]

Superbbbb,my user name folder is changed, so many video's Tutorial that i test it but doesn't work ,but these tutorial are actually works,thanks bro, I Susbcribed your channel thanks👍👍👍

[@Ntamkelo]

Hi Thanks for the video...really lovely stuff. All goes well up to the point when I have to change the name (6:45 or so). Tells me I need to provide admin permission at which I command it to continue. Then it tells me folder in use. Somebody pls help. Machine is Lenovo ideapad windows 10 home version 22h2, build 19045. Tried folowing some instruction from a relevant posting below but not clear as I do not see what they are describing.

[@dr7615]

Very good instructional. Normally I wouldn't want to mess with Registry, however, you were pretty thorough, although a little fast in places, but there is always pause and roll back... Thanks for sharing your knowledge...

[@hereticstanlyhalo6916]

This has worked so far, but I just ran into an issue, it seems certain applications & installers are still referencing the old profile in the path, is there anywhere in the registry that was missed?

[@josuemorrobel]

Glad I found the video that I REALLY needed. Amazing guide wonderfully explained step by step. Thank you!

[@JESUS_IS_KING777]

Dawn bro thanks so much...I was trying to change my command prompt name a while now...thank u ❤

[@Twiney_]

Thank you so much! Ive been meaning to do this but other tutorials were sketchy

[@janika843]

Can someone help me, the USERTEST is still in my Users folder eventhough I followed the steps of this video. I already deleted it from my users profile, but why is the USERTEST folder still there? And I tried to delete it, but it says that it requires permission from Administrators. Timestap: 10:20 (USERTEST folder is still not deleted) please help

[@FrankieMankie]

Really well explained tutorial. I finally got rid of my awful user name, thank you!

[@RahulKumar-uf6ep]

I had space in my laptop username which was causing some problem. It worked. Thank you.

[@CASOTA]

thank u for this video, I was really afraid of doing for what I could lose

[@danilleespanto230]

I got an error user\desktop is unavailable. I fixed it by going to This PC>right click Desktop>properties>location>restore default>apply>ignore all. Do the same for the rest of the folders like Documents, Downloads, etc.

[@snigdhchandra3693]

But the desktop and document file are empty...any solutions?!

[@pitagoras17]

Thanks! This was the last piece of the puzzle. I h8 Windows...

[@tonysoprano5712]

I did everything this says but I can't change the folder username after the Windows NT thing. It says "this action can't be completed because the folder or a file in it is open in another program" but it isn't.

[@enmanuelvarelapividori7295]

Same problem, I don't know what to do. Did you solve it?

[@tonysoprano5712]

@@enmanuelvarelapividori7295 Nope.

[@srihariravi705]

Thanks a billion! You have no idea how helpful this video was 😍

[@faustincody6246]

Very helpful, followed all the procedures even rewinding back just to memorize the CMD commands. Great work!

[@faraz6000faraz]

Thank you so much, I love it that it is straight forward

[@Nicklas_Eriksson]

THANK YOU! I was going crazy because I could not execute commands in my node terminal caused by the space in my username. This solved everything! Super guide!

[@Henlofly]

Thank you very much 🎉 no wonder I couldn't figure this out by clicking around 😂

[@philipphass5784]

06:47 for me it says I can’t change because “the archive or folder is opened in some other program” :ccc help Edit: I just restarted the pc, logged in the test account and it worked :)

[@zackplays6712]

Thanks a lot for this tutorial it helped me with changing my name

[@lijhay2889]

Wow thanks for this! I somehow got into a problem with OneDrive not allowing me to put folders into desktop but I somehow got over it

[@4aronTyler]

how did you get over it because i'm going through that too :/

[@lijhay2889]

@@4aronTyler try this Go to file explorer>onedrive> select desktop and drag it into the main desktop I can’t use my laptop right now so I can’t give you what I exactly did so just experiment a bit

[@vinaydeepkaurtech5358]

9:07 My default user is shown as WDAGUtilityAccount is that ok?

[@ozzy5273]

Hi! I know this is a year late, but I followed every step in the video and when I went to change the folder name, it still said that the file/folder was open in another area, but this is impossible since I signed out of the main user like it instructed- is there any way to fix this?

[@enmanuelvarelapividori7295]

I have the same problem, I don't know how to continue

[@somayahsalem493]

Thank you so much you saved my life omg l've been struggling with this for a year and half

[@bkk06ust]

this is so clear and very well explained. Worked like a charm. Thanks a lot

[@mohamedmatar962]

That was so helpful and your walkthrough was so clear! Thanks a lot, just what I needed!

[@SumoLumo33]

Wow I liked and subscribed thank u so much I appreciate u bro!

[@vilaschoudhuryduvada7434]

Thank you so much!!! I was installing anaconda and my user folder had a space in it, been using like that since a year with so many errors and problems.... Fixed it now....

[@KUNJANPATIL16]

Thank you very much for such a detailed video

[@analyticalj8687]

youre actually the best 🙏🙏🙏

[@knuckleheadcollections]

Helton, I was an MCSE back in the late 90's, all this looked so familiar, but no way on earth was I can remember all this. Thank you so much. Great job. Worked perfect.

[@MartinoDeanMusic]

Hello, great tutorial! I just have a question: do these settings also work for Windows 11? Thanks a lot!!!

[@RichmondFL]

When changing Username, the entire computer will be remained the same or will be start all over again? such as files, folder, documents, pictures, video, words saved on documents will be disappear or will be saved and remain the same? Thank you if you answer my question

[@halfayoumi]

Just perfect, followed you step by step! Excellent Video, Awesome presentation. Thank you Thank you!.

[@shahmeerhamza7517]

Best video on this subject. Thanks buddy.

[@JESUS_IS_KING777]

Everything worked thank u...but it doesn't allow me to delete at the last step in account unknown

[@Brickflair1]

Thanks bro after years of trying to figure this out I finally managed to come across this video!

[@strxberryblitz]

Uhhhh, I followed these steps letter by letter, but when signing back in my entire desktop and taskbar was cleared? Like I dont think I lost anything, but is that normal? Trying to access desktop in files just brought up an error about onedrive. I havent had onedrive installed in a while, so I figure it broke cause it wasnt backed up. I backtracked the steps and got my stuff back, (sadly with my shortcuts no longer sorted). I suppose I NEED my desktop backed up on onedrive for this to work? And then to fix the error I uninstall and reinstall it? It seemed to work though! And Im glad about that, just some other problems showed up

[@thegoldendorito3085]

what!!! a tutorial that actually works :D subbed and liked! ❤️❤️

[@xorlux]

Tysm bruv , helped me , worth it watching a 10 min vid

[@DJMax85]

One question, does it crash or wrong directory if I open any apps after changing the user folder?

[@mithatakbulut6490]

Guys it works! Thank you Helton!!

[@mehwishmanzoor2467]

It's working Thanks for sharing 😍

[@ethanvaillancourt1263]

Thank you so much, having a space in my username was breaking my oculus software and this fixed it. 😎👍

[@begley09]

Great! Made it so I couldnt sign in to my old account and Windows instead made a temporary profile. THANKS MAN!

[@yourmanshrek675]

wait and this was a fix to that because I’m having the same problem it keeps signing me into temporary profile rather than my main profile

[@begley09]

@@yourmanshrek675 I just left it alone and couldnt be bothered with it. I just hide my folder, no see no worry

[@first-aid5048]

This wont miss up any installs like my games and programs directorys?

[@elsombrero105]

OMG! Thanks a million, dude - you`re the man!

[@coffeeman4209]

This works on windows 11 tooo, thanks man

[@punkrider8758]

Great vid bud 👍🏾

[@priyanshusingh4738]

so if i change the username this way will the enviorment variables and the other system variables path will automatically change?? or do i have to change each individually