How to Rename the User Folder on Windows
Part 1 of 2:
Editing the Folder Name
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Log into a different administrator user on your computer. You can't change the name of your user folder when you're logged in from the same account. You have to log in from a different admin account to change a user account's name. -
Open the Start menu. Find and click the Windows icon in the lower-left corner of your screen to open it. -
Click This PC on the Start menu. This will open a list of all your connected drives and devices in a new window.- On some versions of Windows, this option may be named Computer or My Computer.
- If you don't see this option, you can search the Start menu by typing in the search box here.
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Double-click your system hard drive. This is the hard drive that contains your Windows folder.- Your system hard drive is indicated by "C:" on most computers. However, if you have multiple internal storage drives or disk partitions, you may find your Windows folder on a different drive, such as "D:", "E:" or "F:".
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Double-click the Users folder. -
Right-click the user folder you want to rename. This will open a drop-down menu. -
Select Rename. This option will let you edit, modify, or rewrite the name of this user folder. -
Enter a new name for the user folder. You can modify this user's current name, or delete it and enter a new one -
Press ↵ Enter on your keyboard. It will save this user folder's new name.
Part 2 of 2:
Editing the Profile Image Path
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Open the Run window. You can find and click Run on the Start menu, or press the ⊞ Win+R shortcut on your keyboard to open it. -
Enter regedit in the Run window. Click the text field next to "Open:" in order to type. -
Click OK in the Run window. This will open your Registry Editor in a new window. -
Find and click theicon next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on the left panel. It will reveal a list of all of this folder's sub-folders.
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Click theicon next to SOFTWARE.
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Click theicon next to Microsoft.
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Click theicon next to Windows NT.
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Click theicon next to CurrentVersion.
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Click theicon next to ProfileList. This folder contains a different sub-folder for each user account saved on your computer.
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Find the correct sub-folder for the user you want to rename. Open a sub-folder under ProfileList, and check the Data column next to ProfileImagePath. The Data column should indicate the folder directory for your user folder.- For example, if your user account's name is USER1 and your system files are stored on your C: drive, the Data column should read C:UsersUSER1.
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Double-click the ProfileImagePath file. This will open a new window titled Edit String. -
Click and edit the username under the Value data heading. The user account name here should match the new name of the user folder on your system drive.- For example, if you changed your user folder's name from USER1 to USER0, the directory here will still read C:UsersUSER1. Change it to C:/Users/USER0.
- Click OK. This will save your changes. You can now log out of this account, and log into your original user account with your new account name.
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Isabella Humphrey
Update 04 March 2020


























