How to migrate a Windows 7 user home folder to a new Windows 11 system?

Context

• The Windows 7 machine can’t be upgraded to Windows 11

• I have admin access to both the old Windows 7 and the Windows 11 hardware

• The home folder was copied over to the Window machine, via a backup-restore app. All permissions and settings have been preserved.

I tried to add the old folder in the place of a new user and let Win11 identify and upgrade it.

TLDR: Windows 11 will log in, work for a few minutes, then throw a generic “can’t login error” and log me in as guest

Long story and steps:

1. Log in as another admin user on Win11

2. Create a new user, set the name and home folder to <win7UserHomeFolder>

3. Rename the new fresh folder to “win7UserHomeFolder.backup”

4. Drop in the same location the old folder <win7UserHomeFolder>

5. Log in as the new user

EXPECTED: Windows 11 finds the folder, identifies it as an older version and upgrades it.

RESULT: After log in, Windows will work for a few minutes, then throw a generic “can’t login error” and log me in as guest.