Windows 10: Why would User folder be inaccessible externally ?

Hard drive was removed from failing laptop screen failure, not drive failure to recover data/files. After Bitlocker key used to access the drive through an external enclosure the Users folder was accessible but the only the Public subfolder within was accessible. Attempting to access the individual user drive n=1 yielded absolutely no response. Attempts to access via PS terminal yielded the follow error. See picture below,

:)

 

Move Users Folder Location in Windows 10  

If not the best way to do that but at least the way I recommend:

• "Empty" your user profile folders as much as you can, copying documents, pics, videos, music and all other personal data from all user profiles to external HDD. As following steps require you to relocate Users folder two times, the less data is left in user profile folders, the faster the relocation process. Important: Leave system folder AppData for each profile intact, do not empty / move its content!
• Reverse the relocating, doing exactly as told in tutorial Method Two but this time relocating Users folder back to C: drive
• Shut down the PC, replace the disk where you had Users relocated
• Mount the new disk, boot to Windows, assign new disk the same drive ID letter than the old one had
• Again, do as told in Method Two, now relocating Users to new disk
• Restore the backed up personal user data from external drive to respective folders under each user profile

 

Moving the USERS folder

Sysprep (Windows System Preparation Tool) is the native built-in Windows tool that does the job in this procedure, getting instructions about what it is expected to do from a script called Answer File.

If you have external storage available for backing up your personal data, the easiest way is to copy your files to external storage.

I edited my previous post, making the list in it numbered. Check that list: In step 1 you can copy your files to external storage instead of making a new partition on your hard disk. In step 7 you can either remove all partitions and create new ones or simply format existing partitions and use them. In step 9 you can copy your personal data from external storage to your new user folders. You can then forget the step 10.

These tutorials are from our sister site the Seven Forums but they apply to Windows 10, too:

• Partition or Volume - Delete - Windows 7 Help Forums
• Partition or Volume - Create New - Windows 7 Help Forums
• Partition or Volume - Shrink - Windows 7 Help Forums
• Partition or Volume - Extend - Windows 7 Help Forums

 

How to move the user profile folder to an external hard drive


*Confused I found a Windows 10 Forums article online about how to move the Users profile folder to an external drive, but it was not something easily understood by a not-too-techie user.

If there are some easy to follow step-by-step instructions on how to do this for a recently upgraded Windows 10 (not Windows Professional or Windows Enterprise) OS, I would be happy to get them.