Windows user profile broken after swapping SSDs to test hardware

[YourChocolateBar]

I ran into a weird issue with my PC after testing some components for a friend.

So recently, I wanted to test my friend’s SSD, PSU, and GPU to make sure they all work. I plugged the power supply and graphics card into my motherboard, and because my friend’s SSD needed a different driver (my graphics card is an NVIDIA while his is an AMD), I temporarily replaced my main SSD (the one with Windows installed) with his SSD and installed Windows 11 on it.

The games I wanted to test were on my own main SSD, so I put my SSD into the second slot.

When I first plugged my main SSD in as the second drive (for testing), it didn’t show up until I manually assigned it a drive letter, I gave it E: since D: was already used by another SSD.

Everything worked fine during testing. games worked. benchmark ran fine.

But when I put my components back into their original setup and booted from my main SSD (which I put back in the first slot) again, that’s when things started going wrong:

• On boot, I got a Chromium pop-up saying: “Profile error occurred. Your preferences cannot be read. Some features may be unavailable and changes to preferences won’t be saved.”
• I can’t open any of the installed apps from the Start menu. Programs in Program Files (and Program Files x86) still work if I open them directly from their folders.
• Apps installed in AppData (like Discord) give this error: “Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.”
• All my browser data is gone, opening Edge looks like a fresh install.
• My user folders (Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, etc.) no longer show up in File Explorer’s quick access, though the data is still there under C:\Users\[username].
• The system is really laggy, like drivers aren’t properly loaded.
• Running chkdsk gives: “Cannot open volume for direct access.”

comparing the SID from whoami /user and the one in regedit under ProfileList is a match.

Interesting part:
If I create a new user profile through netplwiz, that profile works fine, all apps and folders behave normally.

So clearly, something’s broken with my original user profile.

Does anyone have an idea what could’ve caused this, and how I can fix it without reinstalling Windows or losing my existing profile data?

 

[HelloNNNewman]

@YourChocolateBar
I'm not a huge fan of the over-hyped AI services, but in this case I plugged your full post into ChatGTP and received the following solution:

______________

Excellent, detailed write-up — and you’ve already done the right diagnostics.
Based on your description, here’s what’s going on, what likely caused it, and how to repair your original user profile without reinstalling Windows or losing data.


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What Happened (Root Cause)

When you booted Windows from your friend’s SSD, Windows wrote new system-specific permissions (SIDs, registry paths, and ACLs) across volumes that were attached at that time — including your own SSD, which was mounted as E:.

Even though your account’s SID still matches correctly in whoami /user and ProfileList, the NTFS permissions on your user folder (C:\Users\[username]) and possibly on parts of the registry hive (NTUSER.DAT) were altered or orphaned.

That’s why:

Apps in Program Files (system-wide installs) still launch fine — permissions are intact.

Apps in your user profile (AppData) or using your registry hive fail — the OS can’t read/write there properly.

“Profile error occurred” and “Windows cannot access the specified path” confirm your profile data is being loaded but with partial or denied access.


The chkdsk error (“Cannot open volume for direct access”) just means something (antivirus, or Windows Defender) is holding a handle — not related to the corruption itself.


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Fix Plan (Step-by-Step)

> Before starting: make a full backup or image of your main SSD. Don’t skip this — some steps below affect user permissions.



Step 1 — Boot into Safe Mode

1. Hold Shift and click Restart → Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart.


2. Choose 4: Safe Mode (or 5: Safe Mode with Networking).



This ensures nothing interferes while resetting permissions.


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Step 2 — Take Ownership of Your Profile Folder

1. Open Command Prompt as admin.


2. Run these (replace username with your actual name):

takeown /F "C:\Users\username" /R /D Y
icacls "C:\Users\username" /reset /T /C /Q
icacls "C:\Users\username" /grant administrators:F /T

This reassigns ownership and restores default ACLs on all subfolders/files.

Then reboot normally and check if apps start opening again.


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Step 3 — Rebuild Corrupted Registry Hive (if Step 2 isn’t enough)

Sometimes NTUSER.DAT (your per-user registry) becomes unreadable by Windows.
If symptoms persist:

1. Log in with the new working user you created.


2. Browse to your original profile folder:
C:\Users\username


3. Copy out these key data folders to a safe place:

Documents, Desktop, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Videos

App settings you care about from AppData\Roaming



4. Then rename your broken profile folder:
C:\Users\username_broken


5. Open regedit, navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Find the key with your broken SID (look at ProfileImagePath), delete that entire key.


6. Log out and log back in with the original account name (Windows will rebuild a fresh profile folder automatically).


7. Copy your saved files back into the new C:\Users\username folders.



This recreates your profile cleanly, avoiding a full Windows reinstall.


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Step 4 — Repair System Files (Recommended)

Run these from an elevated Command Prompt:

sfc /scannow
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

That ensures system DLLs, registry defaults, and service permissions are all restored.


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Optional: Fix “Cannot open volume for direct access”

If this persists:

Temporarily disable third-party antivirus.

Run:

chkdsk C: /f /r

It will schedule on reboot — confirm with Y and restart.



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Why the New Profile Works

The new account was created fresh, so:

NTFS permissions match the new SID.

Registry hive (NTUSER.DAT) is clean.

AppData has valid access tokens.


That’s why everything feels normal there.


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Summary of the Best Path

If you want to keep the same username:

1. Try resetting ownership and permissions (Step 2).
→ If that works, you’re done.


2. If not, rebuild your user profile (Steps 3 + 4).
→ Copy your data, apps, browser profiles back in manually.



This fixes 95% of cases like yours.


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Would you like me to write the exact commands and copy/move steps to safely rebuild the user profile while keeping all your data intact (so nothing gets lost accidentally)?

NOTE: if you would like the commands above, simply paste your posting into ChatGTP and follow the prompts. Good Luck!