A Comprehensive Guide to Backing Up User Profiles or Transferring Profiles to a New PC in Windows 10/11

• Question 1: "Can I use something like backing up Windows 10 to an external hard drive to back up the user profile folder in Windows 10?"
• Question 2: "I want to move my user profile from my current Windows 10 Pro computer to a new one. How can I do that?"

On this page, you will find a comprehensive guide on how to back up user profiles and transfer them to a new computer or another user account in a reliable manner. If you have the same requirement, please proceed with the respective method:

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Overview - What is a User Profile?

What is a user profile? According to Microsoft's Windows system, “A user profile stores settings and information that are specific to your user account, such as desktop personalization and files.”

You can create a different profile for each computer that you use, or you can choose to roam the same profile on each computer that you use.

What's in a user profile folder? It contains:

• Your personal data
• System requirement information
• General data such as desktop, downloads, documents
• System limitations, app data, and applications

As you can see, these are important to most Windows users, and it is indeed necessary to back up user profile data.

Here's how you can do it successfully and completely back up a user profile.

?Related reading: How to backup entire hard drive Windows 10

Part 1: How to Backup User Profile in Windows 10 - 3 Methods

Here, you will see 3 ways to backup user profiles in Windows 10/8/7:

• #1. Use Windows Backup Software - Easy
• #2. Use the Windows Backup Utility - Moderate
• #3. Utilize Windows Advanced System Properties - Moderate

Method 1: Back Up a User Profile in Windows 10 with the Windows Backup Utility

Applies to: All Windows users, especially beginners.

The simplest way to backup Windows user profiles is to use reliable Windows backup software, and here we recommend you try Todo Backup.

It offers two methods to backup Windows user profiles, applicable to Windows 10/8/7. Let's check them out:

1. Back up a Windows system with user profiles in Windows 10

With Todo Backup, you can create a full backup of both user profile data and the Windows system. It's wise to back up both your operating system and user profiles to an external storage device:

Step 1. On the main screen, tap "Select Backup Content".

Step 2: Click on Operating System in the list of four options.

Create System Backup Step 2

Step 3. Todo Backup will automatically select your system partition; you just need to choose a backup destination.

Step 4. You can choose to save the backup file on your local disk or NAS.

Step 5. Once the backup is done, you can check the backup status, restore, open, or delete a backup by right-clicking on the backup task on the left.

2. Back up User Profile Data (Documents, Desktop, etc.) in Windows 10

If you only need to back up some visible user profile data, such as user folders, files, etc., on the desktop, you can use the File Backup feature in Todo Backup.

Step 1: Tap the Select Backup Content button to begin the backup process.

Create File Backup Step 1

Step 2. There are four types of data you can back up: files, disks, systems, and mail. Click on Files.

Step 3: You'll see a list of files on your computer and network. Expand the folders and select the ones you want to back up.

File Backup

Step 4: Choose where you want to save your backup, following the on-screen instructions.

Click on "Options" to set a password for your backups under "Backup Options," schedule your backups with "Backup Plan," and choose to start a backup after certain events. There are plenty of other options here to explore, so customize your backup job as needed.

You can store the backup on your local hard drive, in the cloud service of the backup app, or on a network-attached storage (NAS) device.

Step 6: Todo Backup lets you back up your data to third-party cloud storage as well as its own.

If you want to back up to a third-party cloud, choose “Local Disk,” then scroll down and add a cloud device, logging into your account.

You can also choose to use the tool's own cloud storage. Click "Tool Cloud" and sign up and log in with your tool account.

Click “Back Up Now” to start the backup. When the task is done, it will show up as a card on the left panel. Right-click the backup task for more management options.

#3. Restore a backup of the user profile

When you lose user data or documents from your desktop or User folder, you can restore them immediately from a File History backup:

Launch the tool Todo Backup > Click “Browse Recovery” > Select the backup image of the user profile and the target location > Click “Recover”.

Method 2: Back Up a Windows 10 User Profile with the Windows Backup Utility

Who it's for: Experienced Windows users who want more control than Todo Backup offers.

Windows Backup and Restore, also called Backup and Restore (Windows 7), lets you create manual backups of your Windows system and user profiles.

With it, you can create a complete copy of all user profiles and data on Windows 10.

Step 1: Back up your Windows 10 user profile

Step 1: Connect an external hard drive or USB drive to your computer to save the backup image of your user profile.

Step 2: Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Backup and Restore.

Step 3: Tap “Set up Backup” on this screen.

Click “Set up backup” to copy the user profile.

Step 4: Choose an external drive or a local disk as the save location for your backup image and click “Next” to proceed.

Choose where to save the user profile that you want to move or copy.

Step 5: On the next screen, choose “Let me pick one” and click “Next.”

Click to select the user profile you want to backup.

Step 6: Choose to transfer specific user libraries or all created user profiles.

To back up only user profiles, clear the Include system image check box, and then click Next.

Step 7. Next, it will show a summary of the backup operation. If everything looks good, click “Save settings and run backup.”

Wait for that process to complete.

#2. Recover User Profile in Windows 10:

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive containing the user profile backup to the PC running Windows 10.

Step 2. Open the Control Panel and click “Backup and Restore (Windows 7).”

Step 3. Click “Choose another backup to restore files from,” then select the backup that contains the user profile and click “Next.”

Step 4: Click on “Browse for folder,” then choose the “User Profiles” folder. Click “Next.”

5. Click “Restore to Original Location,” then click “Restore.

Restore user profile backup with Windows Backup and Restore

Method 3: Back up and copy a user profile in Windows 10

Step 1: Right-click on “This PC,” select “Properties,” and then click “Advanced system settings.”

Step 2: Click on “Settings” under the “User Profile” section.

Step 3: Select the default profile and click Copy To.

Step 4. Click “Browse” to save the user profile folder elsewhere – preferably an external disk.

Part 2: Moving a Windows 10 User Profile to Another Computer

Applies to: Transferring user profiles in Windows 10 to another computer, for users of all skill levels.

If you're looking for an easy way to transfer user profile data from one Windows 10 PC to another, here are two methods you can use:

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#1. Free direct transfer of user profiles to a new computer

Free PC Transfer Software - With the Todo PCTrans Free tool, you can transfer files to a new computer for free, including user profile data, user account settings, personalization, power options, lock screen wallpaper, account passwords, and more.

To move your user profile data to another computer, follow these steps:

Step 1: Install and run Todo PCTrans on both computers. On the source computer, choose “PC to PC” to proceed.

Step 2: Choose whether it's your old or new computer.

Select the transfer direction:

Ensure that both computers are on the same local area network. Connect them via IP address or by manually adding the target computer. Enter the login credentials of the target computer and click connect to establish the link between the two computers.

Transfer files from one laptop to another - Step 2

Step 3. Tap on the “Accounts” section, and choose the user account and settings you want to transfer.

Step 4: Enter the source computer's user account and password, and select which “User Account Settings,” “User Data,” and so on, you want to transfer.

Step 5. Once you've made your selection, tap “Transfer” to start the transfer of your user accounts and settings.

Wait for the transfer to complete, and then you can view and use your user profile data and settings on the new computer.

Step 2: Create an image of the system with user profiles, and transfer it to the new computer

The tool Todo Backup can transfer a Windows operating system with user profiles to a new computer under Windows 10/8/7. To do this, you need:

1. Backup your system image and save it to an empty external hard drive or USB device. 2. Follow the guide listed here: [Transfer a System Image to Another Computer](/backup-utility/restore-image-to-a-different-computer.html).

Part 3: Copy User Profile to Another User in Windows 10

Applies to: Copy and move user profile data to another user on the same computer.

This article will focus on how to copy a user profile in Windows 10 to another user. Here, you'll learn how to do it yourself, the easy and free way. Let's get started:

Step 1: Restart your computer and log in to the user account whose profile you want to move.

Step 2. Connect an external hard drive with a lot of free space to your computer, and then open File Explorer.

Step 3. Navigate to the following path and copy your user profile data: This PC > Local Disk (C:)> Users > Your Username.

Copy everything in your “Users” folder to an external hard drive.

Step 4. Click the Windows logo, then click the user icon.

Step 5: Sign in with the other user account you want to copy the user profile to.

5. Copy and paste the User Profile data into the new user's folder: This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Users > NewUserName.

Now you can restart your computer to save all of the changes. When your computer turns back on, you should be able to access the user profile on the new user account on this computer.

Conclusions

This page offers three complete guides that show you how to back up user profiles, move them to a new PC, or transfer them to a new user account in Windows 10.

Using Todo Backup to back up user profiles in Windows 10 is both simple and effective.

• To transfer user profiles to a new PC, you can use the PC-to-PC mode of the Todo PCTrans tool, which is reliable.
• To copy user profiles to a new user account, you can manually copy and paste them yourself.

User data is indeed valuable. Follow these guidelines to secure it now.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on User Profile Copy and Transfer

1. How do I transfer everything from my old computer to a new one running Windows 11?

If you need to transfer data from an old computer to a new one, you can use cloning tools to create an identical copy of the old computer and then restore it on the new one. Todo Backup is a reliable utility that makes the cloning process easier.

How to copy a Windows 10 user profile to another user? To copy a user profile in Windows 10 to another user, follow these steps: 1. Open File Explorer. 2. Navigate to the `C:\Users` directory. 3. Locate the original user profile folder you want to copy, for example, `OriginalUser`. 4. Create a backup of the original folder by renaming it, such as `OriginalUser_Backup`. 5. Find the target user profile folder, for example, `TargetUser`. 6. If the target user is currently logged in, log out or switch to another user account. 7. Right-click on the `TargetUser` folder and select "Properties." 8. In the "Properties" window, go to the "Security" tab, then click "Advanced." 9. In the "Advanced Security Settings" window, click "Change" next to "Owner." 10. In the "Select User, Computer, Service Account, or Group" dialog, enter your username or administrator account name, then click "Check Names" to verify, and then click "OK." 11. Make sure "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" is checked, then click "OK." 12. Next, under "Permissions entries," click "Add." 13. Enter your username or administrator account name again, select "Full Control," click "Check Names" to verify, and then click "OK." 14. Check "Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object," then click "Apply" and "OK." 15. Close all properties windows. 16. Cut or copy the contents of the `OriginalUser_Backup` folder, and paste them into the `TargetUser` folder, overwriting existing files. If any permission prompts appear during the process, choose to allow or continue. 17. Restart your computer and log in as the target user to verify if the profile was successfully copied. Please note that this method may not apply to certain built-in system settings and application data. Additionally, ensure you back up important data before proceeding, as this might cause some settings or data for the target user to be lost or affected.

There are three ways to copy a Windows 10 user profile to another user. You can back up your user profile, you can migrate a user profile, or you can copy the user profile and then paste it onto a new computer.

How do I restore backup profile settings in Windows 10?

The method to restore the backup profile depends on how you backed up the Windows 10 profile in the first place. If you used third-party software like Todo Backup, simply open the application, click "Browse to Restore," locate your backup, and it will automatically help you restore the backup profile to Windows 10.