Old default location 'C:\Users\(existing user account)recreated again

Thanks Hadramawt,

The two reports look fine. Everything points to the correct locations.

Does the C:\Users\ profile still exist or did you already remove it?

Please provide a full listing of the C:\Users profile if there still is one.

Open a standard Command Prompt and type the following command

dir /a /s > ListCuser.txt

Then attach %USERPROFILE%\ListCuser.txt to your next post.

If you already removed the C:\Users profile, don't worry about that. I'll try to think of something else

Did you export your registry and look for C:\Users ? It might not be as straightforward as that, the key might use a GUID to reference C:\Users - I'm not sure. I'm also not exactly sure what, if any, registry entry might cause the symptoms ... all I know is that it happened a few times on my machines (after reinstalls and moving the profiles). It is not detrimental, as you've seen there are inconsequential files placed in the 'old' location. I have the suspicion that the files are install or update related - once installed or updated, the files in the 'old' location are not longer needed. I'll know more if I can see a list of files.

Slartybart said:

Thanks Hadramawt,

Does the C:\Users\ profile still exist or did you already remove it?

Please provide a full listing of the C:\Users profile if there still is one.

Open a standard Command Prompt and type the following command

dir /a /s > ListCuser.txt

Then attach %USERPROFILE%\ListCuser.txt to your next post.

If you already removed the C:\Users profile, don't worry about that. I'll try to think of something else

Thanks a lot for continuing replying to me.

First of of all: With respect to 'ListCuser.txt:' I face an error uploading it since my file of 1.98 MB bytes exceeds the forum's limit of 1.00 MB for this filetype. Thus, I had to upload to my onedrive.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...int=file%2ctxt.

I really don't know what difference is there between 'dir /a /s > ListCuser.txt' and 'dir /s /aL > listJunct.txt' since the resulted file seems as thought it contains the same contents.

IF you checked this file, you will see all information saved in the sub-folders saved in 'D:\users\Existing user account'.
But there are no entries like these ones below which are only in C:\the same path'
'D:\Users\Mohammad\AppData\Local\Hewlett-Packard\HP Support Framework\Reg"
'D:\Users\Mohammad\AppData\Local\iSkysoft\ISHelper'
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As said before, when I moved all user accounts' profile folders about 8 months ago, and I then removed the entire old default locations, which are:
'C:\Users\ Existing accounts'
'C:\Users\Public.'

over the past eight months, there were no things inside 'C:\Users' aside from 'Default' which is hidden user account'

However, they are recreated when I recently installed HP support assistant, Sharp printer driver, iSkysoft PDF Editor, then the old default location recreated by those programs since they put some information of theirs in 'App' folder. Some others put their information in 'Public Document'. As a result, only 'App' folder inside the existing account recreated in 'C:users\existing account\.....'. Also, 'Documents' folder was only recreated in 'C:\Users\Public'
These are the details:

First: when I recently installed 'HP Assistant v(6.1.12.1)', then I updated it into 'V(7.4.45.4) , I noticed that HP Support Assistant created only a file called 'RegistrationInfo' under the old default location('C:\Users\.....') which of cousrs no longer exists The full path created by installing HP Support Assistant is "C:\Users\Mohammad\AppData\Local\Hewlett-Packard\HP Support Framework\Reg"

NOTE: The Registarationifor' only was created on '11/03/2014' once I updated or installed HP support assistant(I really don't recall very well if this file was created when I installed HP Support assistant or when I updated it since HPSA was installed first, then it was update into a new one vesion newer)
The file called 'RegistrationInfo' created in the old default location above is still being saved alone without any additional files saved in the same old location, and it is still dated with the the same date, although HP support assistant related to that file is always opened.



View Screen Capture



Second: when I installed the iSkysoft PDF Editor version 4.0.1, then it also re-used the old default location "C:\Users" for the current existing user account I am logged in to while installing the program. This is the full path recreated when I installed iSkysoft PDF Editor
C:\Users\Mohammad\AppData\Local\iSkysoft\ISHelper

However, when I open 'ISHelper' I found it empty and there is no data or information inside it.


View Screen Capture



Third: Here is different When I installed the driver of Sharp printer, it recreated the old default location for the public user account, not for existing user account: And then 'Sharp printer' program created these files 'Printers' and 'Printers_sample' in: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Printer Status Monitor


View Screen Capture

Did you export your registry and look for C:\Users ? It might not be as straightforward as that, the key might use a GUID to reference C:\Users - I'm not sure. I'm also not exactly sure what, if any, registry entry might cause the symptoms ... all I know is that it happened a few times on my machines (after reinstalls and moving the profiles). It is not detrimental, as you've seen there are inconsequential files placed in the 'old' location. I have the suspicion that the files are install or update related - once installed or updated, the files in the 'old' location are not longer needed. I'll know more if I can see a list of files.

In which entries do you want me to export my registry and look for 'C:\Users'.
I only checked these etnries:

1. 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
2. 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\S-1-5-21 for my existing account",

I checked out at registry and look up in the entry 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList'
However, I found that profilesdrirctoy for the newly created accounts, and public user account is "D:\Users\..."

Also, at registry I look up in the entry 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\S-1-5-21 for my existing account", I found the new default location of the existing account is 'D:\Users\My Existing account".

Finally: as I expect all those are inconsequential files placed in the 'old' location, can I delete them. Even if I had deleted them, hadn't faced problems with the programs, I wouldn't find a perfect stable moving of the old default location into a new one location for a user account's profile folder.

UsernameIssues said:

Hadramawt said:

By the way, you didn't answer me about what benefit there is from 'default user account' and why always its subfolders have dates with 2009, and only one folder has a date of 2014, and two files of which one is dated with 2014, and the other one is dated with '2011'(if you have seen my screen shot, you will understand me.)

When you create a new profile, that Default user profile is copied to the new profile.

Maybe some app that was installed, uninstalled or updated made a change to the Links folder... thus, a new date on that folder.

Thanks a lot,
This is good think. You mean that the default account which is always hidden file is the responsible for creating any newly account.
Wherever the Default user is located, then whenever I created a newly created user account in any location, then only the ten sub-folders of the default account will be copied into the newly created user account's profile folder to prepare my new account user's profile.

If so,
First: I would be saying that I have created a new user account, but I found the ten subfolders were dated with the time when they were created.

Second: I only found the ten sub-folders were copied to new account folder, however, the three files(screen shot below) were not copied.



Also, I really must now agree with you that When you create a new profile, that Default user profile is copied to the new profile' Since The default user account is the responsible for creating any newly account. I Copied the default user account's profile folder from its original location(systemDrive\ users) to the new location D:\users\default.' Then, I deleted the default user account's profile folder via the Windows explorer without changing the new location in the registry. As a result, I found this error below whenever creating any newly user account::

The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded.

Which means that When you create a new profile, that Default user profile is copied to the new profile.
So I think If you copied the default user account's profile folder from its original location, which is in system partition, to another location and then deleted the folder without changing the location [%SystemDrive%\Users\Default] to the new location in the registry, You will receive this above error whenever creating any newly account.


Conclusion:: Since the default's profile folder is now copied on new location, and deleted from the old location. However, the old location of the default account's profile folder is still in the registry. As a result, whenever a newly account was created, then that error would be shown since System wanted to copy Default user profile to the new account, but it didn't find the default's folder in the Windows explore, as opposed to its location in the registry.

Regarding why some programs create parts of their data files to C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData instead of the current location of your user profile, please read this post: User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation. Although explaining why some data is saved in C:\ProgramData even when the ProgramData folder is relocated to another drive, the same explanation applies to your situation.

In your case, those few programs use the absolute path C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData instead of the relative path %USERPROFILE%\AppData. In my opinion you should accept the fact and leave the C:\Users there, it will never grow to be big enough to really "eat the storage space" on C: as most of the stuff going to your user profile will use the current location instead.

Kari