Windows 10 is not so different from previous versions of the OS from Microsoft, but performing some actions causes difficulties for users. For example, do you know how to change your username in Windows 10? If not yet, then this instruction will help fill the gap in knowledge of the system's capabilities.
Local profile
If you use a regular local account, then you can change its name in the same way as in previous versions of Windows - through the control panel. You should already know in Windows 10.
Your local profile window will open. You can change the name and type of account. There is nothing complicated: click on the “Change name” link and enter a new name in the line that appears. 
Then click “Rename” to save the changes. For the configuration to take effect, you must restart the computer. When you log in again, the profile name will be different. There is another, faster way to change your name.
There is no fundamental difference between the described methods: in fact, you perform the same actions using different system tools.
Microsoft Account
If you use a Microsoft profile for authorization in the system, you will not be able to change its name through the control panel. The Microsoft account name can only be changed on the official website of the corporation using a special form. Let's see how to get there:
After clicking on the link, the browser will automatically launch. You will be directed to the Microsoft profile management site, where you must enter your username and password for authorization. After successful login, click on the “Change name” link. 
A special form will appear in which you need to specify personal data that will be used to log in to your Microsoft account. To apply the new configuration, click Save.
A computer can contain several user accounts (profiles). Profiles are a set of parameters that the user himself sets for his comfortable use of the PC. In addition to the settings, the user’s personal data is stored under each account.
All profiles are stored in the Users folder on the root partition of the system disk. Often, this is C:\Users\Profile_name, but when you go to the system disk partition, you will not find the Users directory, since it has an alternative name “Users”. This guide will show you how to rename a user folder in Windows 10.
Login as a different admin
To change the user folder name you need to log in as an administrator. If there is no other admin profile then follow the steps below to create one or use the built-in admin to follow the steps to rename the user folder.
1. Create an administrator account. In (call + R) enter the netplwiz command, then click OK. If a User Account Control window pops up, enter your password if required and click OK. 
In the user accounts window, mark the requirement responsible for entering the password and user name. Next, click “Add”. 
Click on the link shown in the screenshot below. 
Select a local account. 
Enter a new username. Click "Next". 
In the new window, click “Done”. In the PC users area you will see a newly created account with user rights. Select the entry, in this case vrem-admin, then visit Properties. 
In the "Group Membership" section, select the "Administrator" access level. Click OK. In the next window, click OK. 
2. If you do not want to create an admin to rename the Windows 10 user folder, then use a full-time administrator. Follow the steps below.
In the Start menu, under All Apps, expand System Tools-Windows. Right-click the command prompt, in the submenu point to “Advanced”, open cmd as administrator. 
Note: If the User Account Control window pops up, click OK.
Copy the following structure into cmd:
net user Administrator /active:yes
Click Enter. As a result, you will receive a message about the successful execution of the command, otherwise something was done incorrectly. 
Note: If you receive a failed message, try replacing Administrator with Administrator. This is due to the fact that the word depends on the language version of Windows 10.
After renaming the user folder, disable the built-in admin, enter the same command, just replace yes with no, press Enter. 
Changing a user's folder name
Note: Renaming the user folder name will not change the Windows 10 account name.
Log out of the profile whose directory you want to rename. Log in to any other administrative type profile. Launch Command Prompt. Enter the command below and press Enter:
wmic useraccount get name,SID
You will see a list of account names and their SIDs available on your PC. Remember the SID number for the profile whose folder will be renamed; you will need it in the steps below. For example, we will consider the user-nastrojcomp account. 
In the Run window (start with Win + R), type regedit. Click OK. For UAC, click Yes. 
In the registry, visit the ProfileList section (location in the picture below). Select the SID number that you looked at according to the recommendations below. For user-nastrojcomp this number is with 1002 at the end.
In the right pane of the Registry window, double-click the ProfileImagePath parameter. In the Value area, rename the path with the desired name. For example, we erase user and get a user folder named nastrojcomp. Click OK. 
Close cmd and registry editor. Launch File Explorer and navigate to the Users folder. On the folder that needs to be renamed, open the menu by right-clicking, then select “Rename”. Set the name that was set in the registry, click Enter (confirm if necessary). 
This is how you can rename a user folder in Windows 10. Of course, there is no guarantee that after changing the name, installed programs will work correctly. It’s better to play it safe and make a system restore point for security purposes.
Microsoft designs its operating systems so that multiple users can work on the same PC. And so that they do not interfere with each other and have the opportunity to protect their personal data, an account system was implemented. Each of them has its own unique name and a personal folder in which all personal information is stored. This article describes how change username and change the name your account folders in Windows 10 OS.
Precautionary measures
Before changing your operating system configurations, it is always recommended create a restore point. This is a backup copy of all Windows 10 settings that is saved to your hard drive. If something goes wrong, you can easily run System Restore.
You should also make a backup all data in your account folder: documents, photos, desktop contents. Just copy them to a separate directory on your disk.
How to change your Microsoft account name
In Windows 10, as in 8.1, users can create either a local (regular) account or connect the system to their general Microsoft account. All parameters of this account can be changed on a special website. To rename such an account, follow the instructions provided:
Please note that you cannot rename the name of your folder this way.
Local account
If you use to log in to Windows 10 regular account, you can easily change its settings in the system settings:
Here you can change password to login (or create one if you don't already have one).
How to rename a personal folder
Windows 10 does not have a special interface for changing the name of your personal folder. If you need to do this, the easiest way is create a new account with the required name and transfer all your information on him:
After this it will be realized new account and new personal folder. You can use them as main ones by copying everything necessary.
Remember that if you simply rename the directory in Windows Explorer, nothing will work correctly.
To change its name, you need to edit the system registry. And this can damage your operating system.
Video on the topic
When setting up Windows for the first time, the user always needs to create a profile in the operating system. A separate profile is created for each individual user, the files of which are stored on the system partition C:\Users. Sometimes it happens that a user has to change the name of an already created folder for a number of specific reasons. Most often, this need arises when a system or application is not working correctly. Very often, the cause of such anomalies is the fact that the user’s folder is named using Cyrillic characters. For example, “Taras”, not “Taras”. Another, more commonplace reason may be the usual desire to use a new name.
There are a few things to consider here:
- If you create a profile using a Microsoft account, Windows 10 will likely create a folder with the name shortened to your email address. It is because of this that many users want to rename their profile folder. The awkward name is especially annoying when the user needs to deal with the command line and usernames.
- The name of the account itself can be changed at any time, but renaming does not change the name of the profile folder. That is why problems associated with Cyrillic characters in the name of the profile folder cannot be solved by simply renaming the account.
- Renaming the associated folder may cause some applications or services to stop working. Therefore, the best solution would be to create a new local profile and then connect a Microsoft account to it.
The easiest way to rename a user folder in Windows 10
This method can be called the simplest, with reservations. For some, on the contrary, it will seem too complicated due to the need to transfer data and reinstall applications. But we can say for sure that this method will the safest and a win-win option. You definitely won’t run into problems or problems caused by renaming your account. For those who do not have too much information and reinstalling programs is not difficult, it is best to use this method. It is also recommended after a clean installation if you named the user incorrectly and want to rename their profile folder. In short, the essence of this whole idea is to simply create a new user and delete the old one.
How to change user folder name in Windows 10 Professional
When the need arises to rename a user’s folder, and creating a new one is not an option, the first thing that comes to the user’s mind is the idea of simply renaming the folder by analogy with any other file or directory. The trouble is that this method does not work with the profile folder. Windows simply won't let you do this.
Note: This method is not valid for Windows 10 Home. Instead, use the method described a little below.
First, you need to create a new computer Administrator account. You must have two profiles: the one that needs to be renamed and another profile that has Administrator rights.
If you do not want to create a new account, you can activate the hidden Administrator profile, which is installed by default with the operating system. To do this you need to do the following:
Now you need to log into the newly created local account with Administrator rights or into the profile activated via the command line. Keep in mind that you need go out from the system, and not just change the user, so save all files and close all applications so as not to lose important information.
The matter doesn't end there. The user folder is a very important section of the operating system structure, so its name must be changed not only in the explorer itself, but also in the system registry.
Login to your previous profile and check if the name has changed. If yes, then temporary profiles can be deleted or disabled.
- If you created a new local account, click Win+I and go to the section Accounts - Family and Others.
- Click on the profile in the section Other people and select Delete.
- Confirm account deletion.
- To disable the standard Administrator account, open a command prompt as Administrator (Start - CMD command - right click - run as administrator) and enter the following command: netuserAdministrator/active:no.
How to change user folder in Windows 10 Home
The first method will not work on Windows 10 Home, so you need to use another method. Please note that in the first case, no unpleasant consequences were found from renaming the user folder. In the case of Windows 10 Home, programs may malfunction. For example, the program can tell you about errors in addresses and links. This method too must work on Windows 10 Professional, but we do not recommend using it, since this edition of Windows 10 has its own instructions that do not lead to crashes or malfunctions in applications. Remember that for Windows 10 Home, the best way to rename a profile folder is to create a new one. If something goes wrong and applications stop working after renaming, you will still have to create a new user.
As in the previous case, start by creating a new local account with Administrator rights:
- Click Win+I and open Accounts - Family and other people - Add a user for this computer.
- Click I don't have this person's login information.
- Click Add a user without an account Microsoft. Any name will do, but you don’t have to set a password at all.
- In chapter Other people click on new profile and select Change account type.
- From the drop down list select Administrator. Click OK.
- Alternatively, you can simply activate the standard, but hidden and by default deactivated Administrator account. Run Command Prompt as Administrator, and then enter the following command: netuseradministrator/active:yes.
- Now log into the account you created and open Registry Editor. To do this, click Win+ R and enter regedit.
- Go to: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList.
- Select your account section from the list and change the setting ProfileImagePath. Enter the name you want to set.
- Now on the left side of the Registry Editor at the very top, click on Computer and then click Ctrl+F. Enter in search C:\Users\Old user folder name. Press Enter and change the folder name to everyone found parameter. This process can be quite lengthy, so be patient. After each rename, press F3 to move to the next option.
When you're done, log out of the account and return to the one you renamed. Check if the profile name has changed successfully.
More and more people using personal computers are trying to find out how to change the username in Windows 10, since many of the default logins set by the system do not meet the requirements for work. This operation simplifies the use of the system and allows you to more conveniently and accurately define work groups and devices. There are various ways to change the name in the latest version of Microsoft Windows.
How to change login on Windows 10
The simplest way to change the user name in Windows 10 is to change the system account settings. This function is accessed through the Start menu, where you need to click on the icon with the avatar and user name. You can also go to the system control panel and select “User Accounts”.
In the window that opens, you can rename the profile of both your own and other users (if you are logged in as an administrator).
Enter the desired name and confirm it by pressing Enter. Now you can see it in the Start menu, on the boot screen and other places. Computer owners interested in how to change the username on Windows 10 should keep in mind that it is better to indicate any system name in Latin letters. The use of Cyrillic is allowed, however, this may cause conflicts with some programs that do not support the Russian language, where the name in this font will be displayed incorrectly. Think about this if you want to thoroughly understand how to change your username on Windows 10.
Changing the computer name and workgroup
To change the name of the computer and workgroup in Windows, the same sequence of actions is used. Go to the Start menu and click on the name of the PC Settings item. Go to the “System” tab, where you will see the current name of the computer and workgroup. Click “Change settings” to make changes and in the window that opens, rename your computer and, if desired, your account, confirming the action by clicking OK.
Please note that the change you make will only become active after you restart your computer.
You can perform this operation immediately by clicking on the button that appears, or later, by first ending active applications. If your computer is connected to other devices in your home over a network, you should also remember to rename the network connection (for example, by restarting your router) so that it appears appropriately in network groups.
Creating a new user and deleting accounts
If you are interested in how to change the Windows 10 username, be sure to keep in mind that some applications begin to work incorrectly after a standard change of username or workgroup. In addition, some of the system folders can no longer be renamed or moved to other directories. If a similar phenomenon occurs on your computer, the best solution would be to create a new account and make it the default account (transfer administrator rights). To get started, use the standard system features by going to the Start menu, clicking on your avatar and selecting “Change account name.”
In the window that appears, select the function to change parameters. Go to the “Family and other users” tab and then select the option to add a new profile for the current computer. Many people ask questions about how to rename Windows 10 users or create new ones without online connection.
The fact is that by default, when creating a new profile, a computer running Windows 10 automatically binds it to the Microsoft server, connecting to the system manufacturer’s website. This is not convenient for all users, since access to various data will require a constantly active Internet connection, so the corresponding option can be disabled.
To avoid synchronizing with Microsoft servers, create a new profile without specifying an existing email address, and also check the “Add without a Microsoft account” checkbox.
Now you can specify the desired name and, if necessary, set a password, supplementing it with a hint for recovery in case of loss. Give the created profile administrator rights by selecting the “Change account type” function and selecting “Administrator” here. Restart your computer to sign in with your new settings.
After creating a new profile, you most likely won't need the old one anymore, so you can delete an unused account in Windows 10. Use the account settings window you already know, which opens through the Start menu or Control Panel. Here you can go to the options of any profile that is not a computer administrator and select “Delete”.
Be sure to first save all unnecessary profile data from the Users directory on your hard drive in a separate folder or removable media, as they will be deleted from the default folder immediately after the current user record is deleted.
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