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Renaming a user account doesn't automatically change the profile path

  • Article

When you rename a user account on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the user profile path isn't changed automatically. It may cause some confusion when the %SystemDrive%\users folder is viewed. This article provides a workaround for this issue.

Important

Don't apply the workaround to computers that are running Windows 10 or later. It can cause the winget command to stop working.

Applies to:   Windows 7 Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
Original KB number:   2454362

Status

Microsoft has confirmed it to be by design in Windows.

Workaround

To work around this issue, use the steps below to manually rename the profile path.

  1. Log in by using another administrative account.

    Note

    You may need create a new administrative account at first.

  2. Go to the C:\users\ folder and rename the sub folder with the original user name to the new user name.

  3. Go to registry and modify the registry value ProfileImagePath to the new path name.

    Important

    Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\<User SID>\

    Note

    Replace <User SID> with the SID of your user account.

  4. Log out and log in again by using the user whose name is changed, and the user should use the previous profile with new path name.