Windows 10 Update 1903 renames User fiolder

For me the reason was having remains of a previous installation of Norton Power Eraser (NPE) already uninstalled years ago. In the newly created user.000 folder, I found a folder with a file "NPETraceSessionBoot.etl" which pointed me in the right direction.

This file is a debug output written by Windows WMI at each startup, blocking the proper profile usage. This debug was enabled by NPE though a registry key. I disabled the debug output by deleting the "NPETraceSession" registry key and all sub keys at:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\WMI\Autologger\NPETraceSession]

and also the NPE folder present at: [userdir]\AppDataLocal\NPE

After this, the update worked seamless.

My understanding is that Andre's solution only works with Win10 Professional. Win 10 Home users are left with the user.000 all over the registry. For me that is over 8500 entries.

Hetman explains this in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J\_rTOA4gXJI

Don't watch the video, he explains it all in the text below the video.

Microsoft need to provide a troubleshooting fix for this. I think this is a very widespread issue.

Uninstalling the updates doesn't fix this issue.

Some programs now don't work and many short cuts no longer work because the paths have changed.

By far the simplest solution is to roll back to the previous Windows 10 build WITHOUT messing about with or moving any of the files. The Update section of settings gives you a helpful link to do this and steps you through the process. The cause is an incomplete install of 1903 (which can be caused by legacy Zune files etc as described by others) and leaves you in a temporary .000 user directory. Rolling back gets rid of the temp .000 user and restores most things.

The only corrections I had to make was in cloud-based apps that could no longer locate directories, including BT Cloud, Google Drive /Backup and One Drive. Once I had restored the previous Windows 10 I had to manually redirect these apps using a right-click on their taskbar icons  to the correct folders in my User section, as the failed install had redirected them to new folders within the temporary .000 user.

Hi!

   I've had the same problem. Every time I updated my profile was screwed up. I tried messing with the profile several times and always ended up doing an image restore to  the pre-1903 build. I think I finally found my problem because the update is working fine now. I'm not positive but it seems MS copies the profile to a temp .000 profile, deletes the profile, and then removes the .000 extension. I traced the file to a Zune HD file in my AppData folder. The file wouldn't delete. I had to open a command window, change attributes, and only then could I delete it. I did a final restore, deleted the Zune software, and then nuked every Zune file in my profile. To be on the safe side I also uninstalled VLC and Spybot S&D, since I have set up VLC to watch recorded TV on a separate PC and uninstalling Spybot is often necessary when doing an upgrade. The free version of Spybot won't pause protection, unlike most AV software, and it can sometimes block updates. It's not a big problem to reinstall these. After doing all this the upgrade worked fine the next time I did it. If your having problems, look in your profile and see what files didn't copy over to the .000 extension file. Restore your system to the earlier build, uninstall the software used by those files, nuke the remaining files, and then upgrade.

Hi David. I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 9 year Windows MVP here to help you.

Sometimes if the User account gets corrupted and cannot start, Windows will sign you into a temporary account. A Temp Account cannot be used as a normal account. I'll give you everything that can be done to repair or replace your account, based on helping countless others get through it.

1. Try restarting the PC a few times to see if it can sign into your account.
2. Check at C:\Users if you can see your old account with its files intact. If not check at C:\Windows.old to see if files were archived there during a version install that fails.

If so copy the files out externally so they are safe. Files should always be backed up if you value them at all. You can copy or drag them to an external USB flash or hard drive, or into Onedrive (up to 5gb free) or Google Drive (up to 15gb free).

3. From the temp account can try to repair the old account using one of these methods:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/48012-fix-y...

https://winaero.com/blog/windows-10-youve-been-...

4. If not then you can try to create a new Admininstrator Local Account to see how it works: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for....
5. If necessary to try to repair the old account or create a new Account you may need to enable and Sign into the Hidden Administrator account used only for emergencies, using one of these methods: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2969-enable....
6. If no other method works you may need to create Windows installation media to boot into to access the Command Prompt at boot to perform Option 5 above: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m.... Detailed steps to boot media are in the tutorial in Step 12 below.
7. Once the new account is created: sign into the new account, move your files over, test that all programs run. If you decide to keep it then you can delete the old accounts when ready in Settings > Accounts > Family and other Users.
8. If the install is too corrupted for even a new account to run well or you want to invest the time in trying to fix the old account, then go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...
9. If any steps cannot be performed normally then try them in Safe Mode with Networking or Safe Mode: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-saf...
10. If nothing else works to fix the install try running a Repair Install which reinstalls WIndows while keeping your files, programs and most settings in place, by installing the Media Creation Tool and choosing from it to Upgrade Now. This will solve most problems and also bring it up to the latest version which you need anyway and by the most stable method. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m...
11. If those fail then you can do a Reset: http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/reset-windows...
12. Or you can use the bootable media from Step 6 to do the vastly superior Clean Install which should get you past all difficulties as it has hundreds of thousands of others who have followed the steps in this link and never come back to report another problem: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Make sure during the booted install to follow the illustrated steps to delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space to get it cleanest, then click Next to let it auto-create the needed partitions, format them and begin install - this makes it foolproof.

If you have files that aren't backed up you can use the same bootable media to rescue your files using this method: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

You will get and keep the best possible install to the exact extent you stick with the steps, tools and methods in the linked tutorial. It's a better install than any amount of money could buy.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

If you receive a popup asking if this solved your problem please ignore it, as it will remove my ability to help you and others may also not help. Please wait until after the issue is resolved to answer the popup or mark your question answered to help others.

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