Accidentally deleting a Windows user profile can result in missing documents, desktop files, settings, and application data. Learn four ways to recover a deleted user profile in Windows 10 from this page.
A Windows user profile stores personal files, desktop settings, documents, and other data associated with a user account. If you accidentally delete a user profile, you may lose access to important files and personalized settings. Profile deletion or corruption can also occur because of disk errors, improper shutdowns, registry issues, malware, or system malfunctions.
If Windows removes your profile from the sign-in screen, you may encounter one of two situations:
The right recovery method depends on whether the profile folder was deleted, the profile is corrupted, or a backup is available. Below are four ways to restore deleted user profile in Windows 10.
If you deleted the user account through Windows Settings or Control Panel, the actual user folder inside C:\Users\ often remains intact. Creating a new profile and moving your data is the most straightforward way to get working again.
Step 1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Other users. Then select Add someone else to this PC to create a new local account. If you prefer, you can set up the account with a Microsoft account.
💡 Note: If you can't log in, boot into Safe Mode. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and type net user administrator /active:yes to enable the hidden administrator account. Then log in as the Administrator to open Settings in Windows 10.
Step 2. Sign out of the current account and sign in to the new account. Windows will create a new user profile folder, usually under C:\Users\NewUsername.
Step 3. Open File Explorer and navigate to the old profile folder, usually C:\Users\OldUsername, if it still exists and is accessible.
Step 4. Copy your personal files and folders, such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Videos, and other files you need, into the corresponding folders in the new profile.
Step 5. Open several copied files to confirm they work correctly. Reconfigure your desktop preferences and reinstall applications as needed.
💡 Notes:
If the original profile folder was permanently deleted, you may need to recover its files with data recovery software. AOMEI FastRecovery can scan a drive for deleted or missing documents, photos, videos, and other supported file types.
Learn how to recover accidentally deleted user folder in Windows 10 with AOMEI FastRecovery below:
💡 Note: Recovering the user profile's files is not the same as restoring the Windows account, permissions, and settings exactly as they were. You may need to create a new account and copy recovered personal files into its profile folder.
Step 1. Download and install AOMEI FastRecovery on a different drive from the one where the user profile was deleted. Launch the program and select Deleted Files Recovery.
Step 2. Select the partition where the user profile folder was originally stored. For most Windows installations, this is the C: drive. Click Scan.
Step 3. Wait for the scan to find deleted or missing files. The results are displayed by Type by default. To find your user folder more easily, click Path in the top-left corner and navigate to C → Deleted Files → Users.
Step 4. Open your user folder to check whether the files you need are included. If the files don't appear in the initial results, click the Deep Scan button at the bottom left to search for more files.
Step 5. Select your user folder, click Recover, and save them to a different drive or safe destination.
💡 Notes:
System Restore can return Windows system files, registry settings, drivers, and installed programs to an earlier state. It may help when a user profile problem is caused by a recent system or registry change, but it is not a dedicated tool for recovering deleted personal files.
Before proceeding, be aware that applications, drivers, and updates installed after the selected restore point may be removed. Personal documents are generally not the target of System Restore, so use a separate file recovery method if you need to recover deleted documents.
👉 If You Can Sign In to Windows
Step 1. Search for Create a restore point in the Windows taskbar and open the result.
Step 2. In the System Properties window, select System Restore, then click Next.
Step 3. Choose a restore point created before the user profile problem began. If available, select Scan for affected programs to review which programs and drivers may be affected.
Step 4. Confirm the restore point and click Finish.
Step 5. Review the warning and click Yes to start the restoration. Do not interrupt the process while Windows restores the system.
👉 If You Cannot Sign In to Windows
Step 1. At the Windows sign-in screen, hold down Shift while selecting Power > Restart.
Step 2. When Windows Recovery Environment opens, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore.
Step 3. Choose your Windows account if prompted, then follow the instructions to select a suitable restore point.
Step 4. Review the restore details and confirm the operation. Allow Windows to restart and complete the process.
After the restoration, check whether you can sign in to the affected account. If the profile folder itself was deleted, you may still need to recover personal files separately or create a new user account.
If your user profile is corrupted rather than deleted, a Registry repair may help Windows load the existing profile again. The ProfileList registry key stores information about Windows user profiles, including their security identifiers (SIDs) and profile paths. Learn how to fix corrupted user profile in Windows 10 below:
💡 Note: Modifying the Registry incorrectly can cause serious Windows problems. Back up the Registry before making changes, and proceed only if you understand the steps.
Step 1. Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges, type whoami /user, and press Enter. Record the SID displayed for the account you are troubleshooting.
Step 2. Search for regedit in Windows, launch Registry Editor, and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
Step 3. Look for your SID:
Step 4. Click the folder that matches your SID. On the right pane, double-click ProfileImagePath, input the correct path for your user profile in Value data, and click OK.
Step 5. Double-click State on the right pane, change the Value data to 0 and click OK.
Step 6. Close Registry Editor and restart Windows. Try signing in to the affected account and check whether the profile loads normally.
Recovering a deleted or corrupted user profile can take time, and there is no guarantee of successful recovery. Regularly backing up your files and system can make recovery easier. The best free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard comes to help. You can benefit a lot from its following features:
To back up your user profile files with AOMEI Backupper, follow these steps:
Step 1. Download, install, and launch AOMEI Backupper Standard.
Step 2. Open the Backup tab and select File Backup.
Step 3. Click Select Source and select the user profile folder, usually located at C:\Users\Username.
Step 4. Choose a destination for the backup. An external hard drive or another separate storage location can help protect your data if the system drive fails.
Step 5. Click Schedule to configure a backup schedule if desired, then click Start Backup.
1. Can I recover a deleted user profile in Windows 10 without a backup?
You may be able to recover personal files using data recovery software such as AOMEI FastRecovery, provided the deleted data has not been overwritten. However, recovering files does not necessarily restore the original Windows account, permissions, settings, or application data exactly as they were.
2. Where are Windows 10 user profile files stored?
User profile folders are usually stored under C:\Users\Username. They may contain Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, and other personal data. The exact contents depend on the user's settings and applications.
3. Can System Restore recover a deleted user folder?
System Restore is designed to restore Windows system files and settings, not to recover deleted personal files. If the user folder has been deleted, check the backup you created earlier or try data recovery software.
The right method to recover deleted user profile in Windows 10 depends on whether you lost personal files, deleted the entire account, or are dealing with a corrupted profile. This article covers methods for different situations.
If the profile folder was permanently deleted, AOMEI FastRecovery is worth trying to recover personal files before they are overwritten. It supports data recovery from various storage devices. For example, you can use it to recover Agfa camera card photos. Don’t hesitate to try it out!