Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10  


  1. Posts : 2,666
    Windows 11 21H2 (22000.593)
       #1040

    Kari said:
    OK, now I got you. I had no idea that opening Command Prompt would be a problem for some users, I've now edited tutorial to offer tutorial link for those who need help in getting Command Prompt opened. Extract from tutorial:




    Anyway, PowerShell not only gives an error message (#1 in screenshot below) when a Win32 command can't be run, it also shows this suggestion (#2):

    Suggestion [3 ,GeneraI]: The command sysprep was not found, but does exist in the current location. Windows PowerShell doees not load commands from the current location by default. If you trust this command, instead type ".\Sysprep"

    Doing as suggested (#3), adding .\ in front of command, it works perfectly:
    Attachment 134430

    Notice that you can also start Command Prompt within PowerShell with command cmd:
    Attachment 134432

    This switches PowerShell to Command Prompt.

    Kari
    That is some great info, making the tutorial that much more bulletproof. No matter which opens, users now have 2 paths to get the sysprep command working. Kudos!
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #1041

    redkidbytes said:
    I wanted to get your opinion about these steps. Perhaps some Pros/Cons, or perhaps you may come up with some suggestions, as my steps are more of a patch work rather then a solid integrated solution![/U][/B] such as your Methods.
    I've never seen or heard about doing this in the way you describe, not even thought about it. Now reading your chronological workflow I still do not understand why you are doing it in such a complicated way.

    The verdict, my personal opinion:
    • Pros: None.
    • Cons: Everything.

    Method 1 as told in tutorial will work for you if you do it exactly as told: clean install Windows 10, boot to Audit Mode from OOBE region selection prompt, run Sysprep. That's it. Notice please that with clean install I mean booting from Windows 10 install media and installing Windows normally, not restoring a system image!

    Kari
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 6
    Windows 10 Home
       #1042

    Oh MY GOD!!!.
    I don't know what you have been drinking or smoking but it definitely isn't Coffee as you told me earlier.

    How many different ways do I have to tell you...METHOD I OR II DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!!! for me. I have written the reasons for this as well.
    I have asked for a peer to peer, advanced technical point of view. I did not realized that it was beyond your capacity or capability. That is my mistake. No wonder you keep saying you don't understand it.

    Obviously you should not pass your opinion on things that are beyond your expertise and knowledge. Read and follow what I wrote. You would be learning something new. Nonetheless, your pros/cons suggestion pointless and irrelevant.

    I am out of here...

    I appoligize sincerely.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #1043

    redkidbytes said:
    Oh MY GOD!!!.
    I don't know what you have been drinking or smoking but it definitely isn't Coffee as you told me earlier.

    How many different ways do I have to tell you...METHOD I OR II DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!!! for me. I have written the reasons for this as well.
    I have asked for a peer to peer, advanced technical point of view. I did not realized that it was beyond your capacity or capability. That is my mistake. No wonder you keep saying you don't understand it.

    Obviously you should not pass your opinion on things that are beyond your expertise and knowledge. Read and follow what I wrote. You would be learning something new. Nonetheless, your pros/cons suggestion pointless and irrelevant.

    I am out of here...

    I appoligize sincerely.
    Thanks for the insults!

    Method One works every time when done correctly on a clean install. On all hardware, on both physical and virtual machines. No OEM pre-set setting affects a fresh, clean install overriding your custom answer file as per this tutorial.

    If it does not work for you you are doing something wrong, most probably wrong destination drive assignment.

    I repeat: Method One, clean installing Windows 10 from valid, original Microsoft install media (not OEM media provided by manufacturer) and then relocating Users folder with Sysprep works every time, without an exception, when done correctly as told in this tutorial.

    I sincerely wish you would find time to read this whole thread through, each and every post. You would notice that (again, without an exception!) that each time a user has failed with Method One we have later found out it has been a user error.

    Kari
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 1
    Win 10 Pro
       #1044

    Hi Kari,

    Thanks for the useful guide! I frequently refer to it when building new machines for friends and family and I've been using Method 1 without a glitch so far.

    Here's my question. I see from the guide that the location of the install.wim file is required in the answer file provided to sysprep. This is all well and good if one is installing from a DVD as the .wim file is present there. but if installing from a pendrive (in both cases I have created the media using the Media Creation Tool) there is no .wim file in the \sources folder. So even though my answer file is;

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
    <unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="oobeSystem">
    <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
    <FolderLocations>
    <ProfilesDirectory>D:\Users</ProfilesDirectory>
    </FolderLocations>
    </component>
    </settings>
    <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="wim:E:\sources\install.wim#Windows 10 Pro" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
    </unattend>

    (it's an old one I copied off the site at the beginning of 2016) where E: is not my pendrive's drive letter the process still seems to work correctly and the users folder ends up on the D: drive as planned.

    Any thoughts as to why this might be?

    And, if it doesn't matter if the .wim file is there or not, can I use the same answer file to install 64-bit Win 10 Home or would I need to change the above?

    Thanks

    Nick
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 9
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #1045

    Following these instructions has caused so much trouble. The first time I did a sysprep without deactivating the local user account. Windows Feedback Hub couldn't be installed and Mist (Ethereum) wouldn't finish syncing​, even after leaving the computer on (with not going to sleep or the CPU or hard disc not turning off under power management) for days. When I typed %appdata% in command prompt admin, it showed it was located under D:/users/user.

    Today, I followed the instructions in the video for an existing installation. I deactivated the user account using net user user /active:no, and it didn't appear under settings>accounts, but the folder was still there under D (as well as other non-local folders like public, default.migrated, and administrator. There was also another user folder C:/users/user. I created a relocate.xml file (leaving on amd64 with my 64 bit OS and changing to D:/ instead of E:/) and saved in the root of D.

    On the administrator account, I then closed all programs (leaving command prompt open) and typed cd sysprep (enter) then sysprep /oobe /unattend:d:/relocate.xml (the line in the video, I have missed a parameter). The system restarted and went to sign in with other user accounts. I could not log in with my Skype username, email and Microsoft password, even though the password and email was correct, and even after I reset the password. There was no admin account.

    I tried to go to command prompt in advanced reboot, and enter net user user /active: yes, but got the message: "The user name could not be found. More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 2221." Typing that just gives the same message: "The user name could not be found". I found that the user folder is still intact with all its files in the same location on d, as well as there being one on c. When I enter %appdata%, I get: "'%appdata% is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."

    Update as of 27 May 2017: I opened up command prompt under system reboot. (In sign in, hold F3 and click the power button on the bottom right corner of the screen, and still holding F3, click restart). I went to troubleshoot > advanced options > command prompt.) I enter net users user to see the available accounts, which were: Administrator, DefaultAccount and Guest. I then typed net user Administrator, net user DefaultAccount and net user Guest to see whether each account was active, and if not, activated each one, e.g net user DefaultAccount /active:yes. Administrator was enabled but the other two accounts weren't. I then tried to sign in again to Administrator (no password), as well as to DefaultAccount (guessing that the password was the same as my original working account) and Guest (guessing no password), but this didn't work. For Administrator and Guest, I got the error: "Your account has been disabled. Please see your system administrator". For Default Account: "The username or password is incorrect:" I tried DefaultAccount with no password and got the same message as with Administrator and Guest.
    Last edited by Jamesray15hr; 26 May 2017 at 20:10. Reason: To improve readability
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 10
    CentOS7, Windows 10 as VMware virtual machine
       #1046

    Jamesray15hr said:
    There system restarted and went to sign in with other user accounts. I could not log in with my Skype username, email and Microsoft password, even though the password and email was correct, and even after I reset the password. There was no admin account.

    I tried to go to command prompt in advanced reboot, and enter net user user /active: yes, but got the message: "The user name could not be found. More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 2221." Typing that just gives the same message: "The user name could not be found". I found that the user folder is still intact with all its files in the same location on d, as well as there being one on c. When I enter %appdata%, I get "'%appdata% is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."
    I have had a similar problem. My situation is as follows. I have a brand new PC with a SSD and normal HD. I have successfully moved the user profiles on other machines before. The steps I followed today were as follows:

    The new PC is an OEM machine (not recommended I know, but bear with me). I created a recovery drive before I started. I didn't feel the need to take a system image, as it is a new PC anyway. I then *fully* updated it - including Windows 10 Creators edition. Once that had completed and rebooted, I then did the following:
    1. Opened an admin command prompt, and enabled the Administrator account.
    2. Logged off as the user, and logged on as Administrator
    3. Disable the user account. The only bit I missed out here was that I didn't check in Accounts to see if it was gone. The command had completed successfully though.
    4. Start IE, and go to the tutorial
    5. Create a relocate.xml file by copying from the tutorial. I didn't need to make any changes, as I have 64bit windows, and my users folder was to be on D:
    6. Copy and paste the sysprep command from the tutorial. It didn't work, but then I realised I was in Windows Power tools. I searched for cmd, opened an administrator command prompt, pasted in the command, and it worked. PC rebooted.
    7. When it restarted I did not get any option to create a new user account in the setup. It had 'System' listed as the only account, and I clicked on 'Next' (This is where I think I went wrong).
    8. When Windows finally started up properly, the login screen only had 'Other User', and couldn't log in.
    9. Rebooted in Advanced boot, logged in as Administrator, and tried to activate my user account, but got the same errors as Jamesray15hr

    At this point, I thought 'Stuff it', and restored my system from the recovery drive. Inspection of my D: drive revealed that the user profiles had been moved successfully, as they were there, but (of course) my new installation user folders were on C:
    From here I did the following:
    1. Deleted User folder from the D: drive, but left the relocate.xml file where it was.
    2. Activated the Administrator account as per tutorial
    3. Signed out of user account and back in as Administrator
    4. Deactivated user account. I didn't need to find cmd this time, as I hadn't allowed Windows to update
    5. I did not create a new relocate.xml file, I decided just to use the one that was already there.
    6. Copied and pasted the sysprep command from the tutorial into the cmd window.
    7. PC rebooted, and this time I got the chance to create a user. I then followed the rest of the tutorial/video, and everything worked.

    As far as I can tell, I did nothing different the second time. The only difference was that Windows hadn't been updated. I accept that I wasn't doing it from a clean install either time though.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 17,661
    Windows 10 Pro
    Thread Starter
       #1047

    Jamesray15hr said:
    Following these instructions has caused so much trouble.
    I am sorry but I simply do not understand your post, the flow of things as you have done it. Please try to post again trying to explain everything more clearly.


    Peasantmk2 said:
    I have had a similar problem. My situation is as follows. I have a brand new PC with a SSD and normal HD. I have successfully moved the user profiles on other machines before. The steps I followed today were as follows:
    ...
    ...
    ...
    As far as I can tell, I did nothing different the second time. The only difference was that Windows hadn't been updated. I accept that I wasn't doing it from a clean install either time though.
    A mystery :)

    Seriously, I've now edited warnings in tutorial Method Two, especially the part about sample video adding a note:

    A video about Method Two:

    Note   Note
    With Windows 10 version 1703 and later you do not have to disable existing users before Sysprep as shown in video! In fact, in doing so might even lock you completely out from Windows, forcing you to do a reinstall.

    Version 1703 (build 15063 and later), do not disable / deactivate existing user accounts as shown in video!




    YouTube has removed annotations, you can still see old annotations but not add new ones to your videos. This means that I can't just add a text box to video telling about the changes but instead I have to redo the whole video.

    I'll do it when I have time, in the mean time I just have to trust that people seeing it on YouTube will read the video description:
    Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10-image.png

    Kari
    Last edited by Kari; 25 May 2017 at 16:14.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 10
    CentOS7, Windows 10 as VMware virtual machine
       #1048

    Thanks Kari, much appreciated. If I had time I would start again and try it after having updated Windows 10, but unfortunately time is pressing. Thank you for your help.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 9
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #1049

    I edited my message. If you have more specific feedback, please let me know, otherwise, I don't know how to improve my post. Considering that I can't sign into my computer and can't reset the PC or seem to do anything else to get it working, I would appreciate it if you could help me.
      My Computer


 

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