When your device boots up the first thing that you come across is your account name. One can forget to put in the account name details during the initial set up of the device. In some cases, people who use their devices on a public network do not want to show their usernames to other people. Windows 10 offers a lot of options to change the username of your PC.

In this article, we will be going through the three ways using which a user can change your account name in Windows 10. But there is a catch here as well, changing your username will not change the name of your user folder in C drive. Following the three methods to change your username, we’ve also compiled a step-by-step guide to help you change the name of the user folder in Windows 10.

Once you’re done changing your Windows account name using any of the three methods mentioned below, you might need to restart the PC for the changes to appear.

Also read: How to migrate the OS from HDD to SSD?

Method 1

The easiest way to change the username for your device is to use the control panel. You can follow the following steps to change your account name.

Step 1: Go to Start menu and search for the Control Panel; click on it once it appears.Step 2: Open the Control Panel and click on User Accounts.Step 3: A new window will open, click on Change your account name.Step 4: Type the name for your new account name in the given text field and then click on Change Name. Now you can restart your device to be greeted with your new account name.

Also read: How to hide system partitions in Windows 10?

Method 2   

There is another way to change your account username by using legacy user account settings. To use this method to change your account name follow the steps given below

Step 1: Go to Start and search for Run; click on it once it appears.Step 2: To access the legacy user settings type netplwiz and click on the OK button or press enter.Step 3: A new window will appear. Select your user account and click on Properties. Step 4: Type your new username in the username and full name field. Then click on the Apply button and then on OK. Also read: How to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10?

Method 3

This method uses your Microsoft account to change your username. It does not work on the newest windows update. But you can definitely try this method out as well. To change your username using this method follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Go to Start menu and and click on the Settings (gear) icon.Step 2: Now, click on Accounts.Step 3: Under Your Info click on Manage my Microsoft account.

You will now be redirected to log into your account on a web browser. Step 4: Once you have logged into your account click on More Actions.Step 5: From the dropdown menu, click on Edit profile then on Edit name. Then you can logout from your account and restart your computer to see a changed username. This method might take some time to work as it needs to sync from the cloud to all your devices.

Also read: How to change your display name in Fortnite? How to delete your account?

Changing the user folder name 

To change the name of the user folder in C:/ drive, follow the steps mentioned below.

Note: Changing registry settings can cause system malfunctions. These settings work on some systems, in some cases, apps can stop working on devices. We would recommend backing up all data before going forward

Step 1: Open the Command Prompt by going to the Start menu and typing cmd.Step 2: Once it is open type wmic useraccount list full. Step 3: This will display a list of items copy the SID number. Save it in notepad as we will need this information later. Step 4: In command prompt type cd c:\users and hit enter. In the next line, type rename “old file name” “new file name”.Step 5: Once this is done go to start and search for Regedit; right-click on it once it appears and select Run as administrator. Step 6: On the registry editor, click on Hkey_Local_Machine and then on Software. Step 7: Then click on Microsoft and then Windows NT. Step 8: Under Windows NT, go to CurrentVersion and then select ProfileList and from the dropdown select the SID number that we copied in Step 3. Step 9: Click on the file named ProfileImagePath and change the name under Value data to the new file name. Then click on OK. You have now successfully changed your account name and user folder name for a more personalised windows experience.

Also read: How to disable Windows laptop keyboard?