How to List User Profiles and Accounts in Windows 11

This guide explains how to see and match user profile folders with account names in Windows 11.

When you sign in to Windows for the first time, the system creates a profile. This folder stores your files, desktop icons, and app settings. These folders are usually kept in the C:\Users folder.

Why do this? If you rename a user account, Windows does not rename the folder. This can make it hard to tell which folder belongs to which person. Matching these helps you keep your files organized.

What happens when done? You will have a clear list that links every user account to its specific data folder on your hard drive.

Step 1: Find Your Profile Folders

To see all the profile folders currently on your computer, navigate to this location in File Explorer:

C:\Users

Step 2: Match Profiles to Account Names

To see which folder belongs to which account, follow these steps. Note: You must have admin privileges to run these commands.

First, open the Windows Terminal app and select the PowerShell tab.

Copy and paste the command below into the terminal window and press Enter:

Get-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\*' | Select-Object -Property PSChildName, ProfileImagePath

Next, run this command to see your user account names and their security IDs:

wmic useraccount get name,SID

Compare the list from the first command with the list from the second command. The ProfileImagePath should point to the folder for that specific user account (such as C:\Users\username).

Summary

Windows saves user settings in individual profile folders. Because these folder names do not change when you rename an account, it can become confusing to identify them. By using the terminal commands provided above, you can easily match each profile folder to the correct user account. This makes managing your storage and user settings much easier.