Troubleshoot - Clear Windows Profile Meta Data

Synopsis: Prior Windows profile meta data, interferring with new profile creation.

Published December 18th, 2025
Last Modified: December 18th, 2025

Issue Symptons:
  • Preperation for a new profile with the same username format during profile migration


  • User signs in and is consistenly assigned a temp profile.





    • Troubleshooting Sections

      1.) Create TempAdmin user

      2.) BackUp Profile Data Folder

      3.) Clear MetaData (Registry Keys)

      4.) Sign in as User

    Create TempAdmin user.

      Create a temp admin user to sign in as, and to perform the data backup + reg key changes. Any other admin account on the machine can also be used.


    BackUp Profile Data Folder.

      Rename the legacy C:\Users\Username folder to prevent overwriting legacy data with new profile information. Appending '_BACKUP' or '_OLD' should suffice.

      Based on profile size, taking folder ownership via script might be preferred. (SEE GITHUB - SCRIPTS - FOLDERS TAKEOWN)


    Clear MetaData

      Find the user specific registry key in:
      HKLM:SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENTVERSION\ProfileList

      Check the ProfileImagePath varible for a plaintext display of the username. NOTE THE SSID of the KEY! Usually the last 4 digits will do.

    • Remove the entire Registry key for that profile from ProfileList

    • Remove the corresponding key in ProfileGuid if it exist. Don't blindly remove keys in this section, it should match the SSID of the removed profile.

    • Remove the corresponding key in ProfileService\References if it exist. Don't blindly remove keys in this section, it should match the SSID of the removed profile.

    Sign in as the User and move data.

      After clearing the previous Metadata, signing in as the user should create a new profile.

      If permission ownership was assigned to the tempAdmin account, switch back to that account to move the needed files.
      • Desktop
      • Documents
      • AppData\Local\Google\Chrome
        • Don't forget the default apps if you're feeling generous.

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