Windows 10: Will changing my computer username cause any problems?

I want to change my computer username on Windows 11 but don't know if it will cause any issues. I noticed for files stored locally on my computer, like in the downloads section it has my computer username in it, so I am wondering 2 things:Will changing my computer username change the path of the files with the username in it or will all current files stay the same but new files' path have the new username, or will something different happen?A possible issue that is bothering me is with Windows Firewall. I have made it so a certain application does not have access to an internet connection and

:)

 

Username change caused serious problems

Hello Folks,
I was wondering if anyone has experienced similar problems after a Username change.

My daughter got a new Lenovo Ideapad 520 for her computation studies at university about a week ago, and this i7 Octacore with 16Gb RAM and Windows 10 is certainly fast, and has great graphic quality.

Everything was going perfectly until she decided to change her Username last night, the process of which she obediently followed correctly after looking it up on the Microsoft page.

Just after that, on the next startup, things started going seriously wrong.

Updated comment:
Sorry, it was even before the next startup. Immediately after the name change, the task bar, Cortana, and the configurations menu stopped working, and things got worse on later startups.

The computer slowed down and icons stopped working on the menu bar. She was lucky enough to be able to make a backup of her work onto an external HDD in time, just before everything stopped working.

The only thing that worked after a start-up was the short cut (shift+left mouse-click on the re-start option of the shut-down box), to be able access the recovery menu.

First, we tried the restoring point she created after she got her computer working last week. Things seemed to work for a while before things started slowing down again, and even shutting down took ages.

The next thing we tried, was load up the hard-disk-image she had made a week ago, and when that was done everything was back in working order at the usual speed - just for a while.
After half an hour things started going wrong again, along the same lines.

So... the third thing we are trying, is a total factory reset, which is of course taking ages.
We started it at 1 o´clock in the morning, and now it is 8.45 in the morning, and it is still at 12%.

Updated comment:
Over an hour later it is still at 12%. This is very strange. It has been so for 8 hours.
Is that normal even on a 2 Tb hard disk? How can a Username change break a computer?

The impression I get, is that the Username change last night coincided with a Win10 forced update (all updates seem to be forced with Win10...), and that this update has really made a mess, and continues to mess up all remedial actions.

The problem with the updates is that it doesn´t even tell you what´s going on, let alone allow you to choose whether you want it or not, or even postpone it.

Updated comment:
That is of course, IF it is a Win10 update that is to blame. What started it all was a simple Username change done strictly following the steps published by Microsoft, using netplwiz.
But, how can a Usename change cause such havoc? Will it affect the related Microsoft account, because my daughter´s 6-year-old AMD QuadCore laptop (Windows 10 and still working), also uses it.

I wonder what will happen once it finishes its factory-reset (tomorrow, perhaps?) and Windows 10 starts updating itself. It seems like a vicious circle.

I wonder if anyone has any ideas... apart from returning the laptop, which is still on guarantee...

I would be very grateful for suggestions, opinions or anything that could help.
Thank you very much in advance for your possible answers.

Cheers,

 

Username change caused serious problems

Hello NavyLCDR,
Thanks for your post - I was afraid of a HDD failure too... but it seems so strange on an eight-day-old
laptop than has not been mistreated. Not impossible, of course.

Anyway, now we have managed to re-install Windows 10, we will watch out for further issues, and should things continue going wrong, the shop has agreed to take the laptop back within the next three weeks, although they are now out of stock, and my daughter really likes it. Maybe it will be OK, though.

Hello dalchina,
OK, thanks for the warning!
My daughter is just preparing to create a new disk image. She was getting quite paranoid, so she created another Username and User Account, and thus won´t use the old disk-image anyway.

The Username change that triggered this whole issue was done following Microsoft´s indications using
netplwiz. It was the single user/administrator name - there are no further users on the laptop.
My other daughter suggested that the Username change caused this Win10 confusion, but there shouldn´t really be any HDD trouble caused.
We shall see...

Cheers,
Van

 

Username change caused serious problems

For reference (though you should not now need this):
How to change user name:
Change User Name of Account in Windows 10 | Tutorials

Please confirm you did not rename the folder C:\Users\<name>

I would guess if you followed the correct procedure, it was the upgrade that caused problems (assuming it was an upgrade).





Red- do an update scan - the buttons to the right are ways to act on the updates.
Blue- include or omit drivers
Green - status of your Windows Update. If you have disabled it, should indicate disabled. Mine indicates I have a group policy (Notify) in force.

Guides can be found easily:

How to use Windows Update in Windows 10 | TechRadar
(11 pages)