Updated to 1903 but 'user'.000 now created and holds all my user files

Question

Hi, as per the title. All my pre-update User files are now in a folder with ".000" added to the name. I've already run into problems with programs using the non .000 path e.g. Dropbox. Is there an easy fix for this?

Answer 1

Just wanted to comment saying this is still happening in May 2020.

Answer 2

This might not work for everyone, but I had this problem too, and was able to "fix" it.

I saw that the newly created second username folder only had a few files in it, belonging to Zune. Just as an experiment, I did 2 things:

Firstly, I rolled back windows, and then uninstalled Zune, and removed any old Zune file/folder I could get to (a lot of old Zune files are out of reach because Windows won't let you in those folders), and then restarted my computer freshly.

Secondly, I also unplugged my external hard drives, because someone from Windows had this mentioned in a list of actions I could do, and this was a simple thing to try, so that is why I did it.

Then I let Windows download and install the update (which was now called 1909 for some reason, in stead of 1903), and it worked. I had my normal username folder, and no .000 folder.

So I am not sure which was the exact fix. I remember though that it happened before that Windows 10 updates had problems when hard drives were plugged in, so this could very well be the issue again.

Thank you for this information, just went through this same issue after upgrading from Win7 to Win10 1909. After the upgrade my user was {User}.000, which was super annoying.

I noticed that I had 2 user folders after the upgrade:

C:\Users{User}

C:\Users{User}.000

The C:\Users{User}.000 folder contained ALL of my data but for some reason got renamed to .000

The C:\Users{User} folder (without the .000) was completely empty except for the following files:

C:\Users{User}\AppData\Local\Temp\WMZuneComm.etl.001 (.001 though .005)

The filename with "Zune" in it, let me stumble upon this post.

What I did to resolve the issue:

1. Uninstalled Windows 10 and rolled back to Windows 7 (you have a few days to do this after the upgrade). This is done by going to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Go back to Windows 7 (for me it was 7, could be 8 or 8.1 depending on what you upgraded from)
2. Once it downgraded back to Windows 7, I uninstalled the Zune software.
3. I then made sure to delete all of those nasty C:\Users{User}\AppData\Local\Temp\WMZuneComm.etl.001...005 files
4. Disconnected all of my USB drives (except the one I was using for the Win10 Upgrade)
5. Re-ran the Windows 10 upgrade
6. POW! no more .000 username this time after upgrading to Windows 10
7. I then reinstalled the Zune software (I had trouble finding the installer. Ended up doing a google search for and found a post on reddit with the installer. You can find the post by Googleing "site:reddit.com Zune Complete Package (270MB)")

Fixed!

Thank you for getting me started in the right direction, and hopefully this helps someone else in the future!

Answer 3

Hi Arch

Honestly, I think the only way to resolve this mess created by Windows Updates, is to create a new user profile, move your data to that profile and delete the other profiles from netplwiz, there is going to be no other way at this point, since restarting did not fix this bug . . .

Answer 4

Hi Bob,

Yes, thankfully the roll back process appears to have returned everything back to the way it was. My C:Users folder contains my original username folder and a couple of practically empty folders (Default.migrated and DefaultAppPool) - I can't remember if these were there before but they don't take up any space. The process was fully automatic and pretty fast. Google search with "roll back windows 10 1903" takes you straight there.

It's very frustrating and obvious that MS only caters for the apparent masses/default configurations when doing this type of upgrade. Anyone who's used their PC for some time and/or who has configured their system on even a slightly more advanced level is going to be very annoyed. For myself I do have a system upgrade pending - moving onto Zen2 from Intel, maybe 3950x or the new Threadripper (16 core only) for more PCIe lanes etc. I'll be reinstalling Windows 10 so I'd like to think 1903 or later will come with the MS download. Getting the latest W10 (with 1903 built in) and re-installing might be an option for you providing reinstalling and configuring all your current software and options isn't too much of a headache.

Answer 5

Hi ArchStant, most likely you are logged into a temporary profile, because that update failed to remove the temp profile used for the update and restore your user profile . .

Before you do anything or move any files around

Restart (not shut down) your PC 3 or 4 times, this will fix this issue a lot of the time, because it will prompt Windows to restore your default profile . ..

Otherwise:

Please open Windows File Explorer

Navigate to C:\Users

Do you see two user folders that look like yours?

Open those folders and check inside Pictures, Documents . . . etc. and see if your files are there

If your files are there:

Create a new user profile with Admin privileges

Log into the new user profile

Copy all your data from the old profile to the new profile (Documents Library, Pictures Library . . . etc.)

If you still have not found your files, look for a Windows.old folder on your C Drive, expand that to open the users folder contained inside - check there for your files, icons . . .etc.

If you do find your files . . . etc. there, copy them out as soon as possible as Windows will remove the Windows.old folder in time

NOTE VERY IMPORTANT: Do Not copy your files into the Temporary profile you are currently in, when the situation is corrected, your files will be deleted with the Temporary Profile and will not be recoverable !!