accessing my old user folder.

Question

I was having issues installing drivers on my machine so I was advised to create another admin account to try and unlock the permissions. I used my phone number and created a new user with the same email. I ended up overwriting my log in and no longer have my old account. I have a bunch of files saved in my user folder and now I can't access them. it says I don't have permission even though I'm still an administrator. HELP!!!!

Answer 1

Hi Rob, I get why that’s stressful. What happened is that when you created the new account, Windows treated it as a separate profile even though it uses the same email, so the old user folder is still tied to the original account’s security permissions. That’s why you’re seeing the “no permission” message. The quickest fix is to take ownership of that old folder. Right-click the folder, go to Properties > Security > Advanced, then change the Owner to your current account and check “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects.” After that, give yourself Full Control under Permissions. If that doesn’t work, let me know. Are you on Windows 10 or 11, and is this a local account or Microsoft account?