ProfilesDirectory
ProfilesDirectory
specifies the path to the user profile folder (normally C:\Users).
When you use a folder name other than "Users", like C:\Documents and Settings
, then Windows creates the Users folder on that drive (C:\Users), and also creates an redirect folder (C:\Documents and Settings) that points to the Users folder.
Important usage notes
We don’t recommend using this setting, except perhaps in a test environment.
When this setting is changed, Microsoft Store apps are not supported.
Using drives other than the system drive:
Use this setting to move the user-profile folder (typically %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Users) to another location during deployment. The destination path can be on a volume other than the system drive, as long as it meets the following requirements:
It must be on an NTFS volume.
It can’t point to a drive that has a different copy of Windows on it.
Beginning with Windows 10, OS upgrades are supported even if user profiles have been redirected to another drive. For example, if you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 with
ProfilesDirectory
set to D:\, you can upgrade to Windows 10.However, this is not supported when using push-button reset.
This setting can be used to keep system data separate from user data. If Windows is re-installed on the system volume, a user with administrative rights can manually recover data from this location.
Values
Path_to_profiles_directory |
Specifies the path to the user profile folder. Path_to_profiles_directory is a string with a maximum length of 256 characters. |
This string type does not support empty elements. Do not create an empty value for this setting.
Valid Configuration Passes
oobeSystem
Parent Hierarchy
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | FolderLocations | ProfilesDirectory
Applies To
For a list of the Windows editions and architectures that this component supports, see Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup.
XML Example
The following XML example shows how to set the paths to folder locations.
<FolderLocations>
<ProfilesDirectory>%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Profiles</ProfilesDirectory>
<ProgramData>%SYSTEMDRIVE%\ProgramData</ProgramData>
</FolderLocations>