Problem with multiple users

[katvis2l]

I was transferring files and apps from my old Windows 10 PC to a new Windows 11 PC using PCmover and an ethernet cable. Unfortunately, we had a power outage while transferring. I restarted the transfer when the power came back on, but when it finished, I couldn't see anything on the Desktop or in Documents; Pictures was only showing the portion of photos that I put on my OneDrive years ago, etc.

It turns out that two users had been created in the C drive, with the default user having hardly any files except the obsolete OneDrive files, and the other user having just about everything. Is there some way to merge the users or even just delete the default user? The second user is an Administrator. I'm not sure if the first user is. I also tried to change the Location for the Desktop, Documents, etc., shortcuts to folders under the second user. I was able to do that for Desktop but got errors when I tried to do it for Documents or Pictures.

I haven't been able to find anything in the Support community about this. Do I need to wipe my new PC and redo the transfer? Thanks.

 

[Emily90124]

Hey katvis2l,

It sounds like the power outage caused some confusion in the user profiles. You don’t necessarily need to wipe your PC. Here’s what you can do:

You can manually copy the files from the user folder with your data to the default user’s corresponding folders. Just make sure to back up everything before making any changes.
if the second user is an administrator, you can safely delete the default user. Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users, select the user you want to delete, and remove it.
After deleting the default user, try again to change the location of your Desktop, Documents, etc., to the correct folders under the remaining user.
This should consolidate your files and avoid having multiple user profiles.

 

[NetworkNinja]

I’ve had similar issues in the past. One thing that worked for me was to use a third-party tool designed to migrate user profiles. This avoids potential issues with file permissions and settings.