How to fix no data in Microsoft account!

Question

How to fix no data in Microsoft account!

Warrior Of Light 20

It's not my account, but it's a child's account(Microsoft Family). The problem occured after old Windows 10 computer was fixed and upgraded from an HDD to SSD. When logging into the Microsoft account it is empty/ most files are missing. There is a local account that has all the missing files; I want to move the files from the local account to the Microsoft account. And I want the local account to be deleted. Never had this problem occured; need some help so I don't do anything wrong here.

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Answer accepted by question author

Hendrix-V 18,515 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Warrior Of Light,

It sounds like the repair process may have resulted in Windows using a different user profile than the one that contains the child's files. The good news is that if the files are still visible in the local account, they are likely still available on the PC.

To help determine whether this is a profile issue rather than missing data, please check the following:

Sign in to the local account that contains the files.
Open File Explorer > C:\Users and note the name of the profile folder that contains the child's files.
Sign in to the child's Microsoft account and compare the profile folder name under C:\Users.
If the profiles are different, verify whether the files are only stored in the local profile and not in OneDrive or another storage location.
Also, if the Microsoft account recently started being used on this PC, check OneDrive online to see whether the expected files are present there. This can help determine whether the files were previously stored locally or synced to the cloud.

Before making any account changes or removing the local account, I recommend confirming where the files currently reside and creating a backup of the local profile's personal data. Once you have verified that all important files are accessible from the Microsoft account, you can safely consider removing the unused local account.

I hope this helps point you in the right direction. Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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Warrior Of Light 20 Reputation points

2026-09-05T20:20:08.5233333+00:00

Thanks for your reply! I will try and give you an update later.
Warrior Of Light 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T02:15:00.9366667+00:00

The local account appears in the c:/ Users but the Microsoft Account is not there, nor it is in One drive.
Hendrix-V 18,515 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-06T04:40:57.61+00:00
Hi Warrior Of Light,

If the local account's profile folder is still present under C:\Users but there is no corresponding profile folder for the Microsoft account, that suggests the Microsoft account may not yet have its own Windows user profile, or Windows is currently signing in to a different profile than expected.

A couple of quick checks:

Sign in to the child's Microsoft account.

Open Command Prompt and run: echo %USERPROFILE%

Note the folder path that is returned.

If the path points to the same folder as the local account, then the files may already be associated with that profile and the issue could be account linkage rather than missing data.

If the path points to a different folder that does not contain the files, then Windows is using a separate profile, which would explain why the data appears missing.

Also check Settings > Accounts > Your info while signed in to verify whether Windows shows the child's Microsoft account as the active sign-in account.

For now, I would strongly recommend not deleting the local account. Since the files are still visible under C:\Users, that profile remains the safest source of the data until you confirm exactly which profile Windows is using for the Microsoft account.
Warrior Of Light 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T16:07:46.66+00:00

I found the Microsoft account profile folder it was listed as the profile name_Ntas. I have begun copying the files over and once I have done and checked it's all there, I will delete the local account. Thanks for your reply and assistance!
Hendrix-V 18,515 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-07T08:31:10.5266667+00:00

Hi Warrior Of Light,

That's great news! I'm glad you were able to locate the profile and recover the files.

Since you've located the Microsoft account profile folder, it sounds like you've found the correct destination profile. As long as the files are copying successfully and you can access them while signed in to the child's Microsoft account, you're on the right track.

Keeping the local account until you've completed these checks provides a safety net in case anything was overlooked during the transfer.

In addition, if you found my answer helpful, I’d really appreciate it if you could click "Accept Answer" and kindly give it an upvote.

1 additional answer

Your answer

Warrior Of Light 20 Reputation points

2026-09-05T20:20:08.5233333+00:00

Thanks for your reply! I will try and give you an update later.
Warrior Of Light 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T02:15:00.9366667+00:00

The local account appears in the c:/ Users but the Microsoft Account is not there, nor it is in One drive.
Hendrix-V 18,515 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-06T04:40:57.61+00:00

Hi Warrior Of Light,

If the local account's profile folder is still present under C:\Users but there is no corresponding profile folder for the Microsoft account, that suggests the Microsoft account may not yet have its own Windows user profile, or Windows is currently signing in to a different profile than expected.

A couple of quick checks:

Sign in to the child's Microsoft account.

Open Command Prompt and run: echo %USERPROFILE%

Note the folder path that is returned.

If the path points to the same folder as the local account, then the files may already be associated with that profile and the issue could be account linkage rather than missing data.

If the path points to a different folder that does not contain the files, then Windows is using a separate profile, which would explain why the data appears missing.

Also check Settings > Accounts > Your info while signed in to verify whether Windows shows the child's Microsoft account as the active sign-in account.

For now, I would strongly recommend not deleting the local account. Since the files are still visible under C:\Users, that profile remains the safest source of the data until you confirm exactly which profile Windows is using for the Microsoft account.
Warrior Of Light 20 Reputation points

2026-09-06T16:07:46.66+00:00

I found the Microsoft account profile folder it was listed as the profile name_Ntas. I have begun copying the files over and once I have done and checked it's all there, I will delete the local account. Thanks for your reply and assistance!
Hendrix-V 18,515 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-07T08:31:10.5266667+00:00

Hi Warrior Of Light,

That's great news! I'm glad you were able to locate the profile and recover the files.

Since you've located the Microsoft account profile folder, it sounds like you've found the correct destination profile. As long as the files are copying successfully and you can access them while signed in to the child's Microsoft account, you're on the right track.

Keeping the local account until you've completed these checks provides a safety net in case anything was overlooked during the transfer.

In addition, if you found my answer helpful, I’d really appreciate it if you could click "Accept Answer" and kindly give it an upvote.

Answer 1

Use the local account as the source, create or use a clean destination account, copy the files, then remove the old account.

Sign in to an administrator account.
If the child’s current Microsoft-account profile is not usable, create a new user account and make it an administrator.
Sign in with that new account.
Open File Explorer and go to C:\Users.
Open the old local-account folder that contains the missing files.
Copy the needed personal data from that profile into the destination profile’s folders, such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos.
Restart the PC and sign back in to the destination account.

Important points:

Do not copy the entire profile blindly.
Do not copy AppData. The guidance is to copy personal files from the old profile, not the hidden profile data.
Some apps may need to be reconfigured or reinstalled afterward.
If Store apps were used before, sign in to those apps again to restore purchases or settings.
If the destination account is currently a local account, change it to a Microsoft account after the file copy: Settings > Accounts > Your info > Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.

After confirming the child’s files are present in the Microsoft-account profile, the old local account can be removed from Windows.

If this started after the repair and upgrade, also check whether the files are actually in a disabled built-in Administrator account or whether Windows signed in with a temporary profile:

Open Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users and see whether Administrator is disabled.
In Settings > Accounts > Sync your settings, if Windows shows You are logged on with a temporary profile, restart and sign in again. Back up any work done in the temporary profile first, because it can be deleted when signing out.

For a child account specifically, make sure the child is signing in to Windows with the correct Microsoft account. If needed, go to Start > Settings > Accounts > Your account and switch to Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.