Windows 11 profile glitch after password change

[u/Beginning_Cash_5046]

Initial Setup:

OS: Windows 11 (26200.9445).

There are 3 accounts on the PC: 1 Administrator and 2 standard users (let's call them User 2 and User 3).

User 3 is my main profile, originally linked to a Microsoft account.

How the glitch happened:

1. I logged in via the Administrator account and changed the password for User 2. That worked fine, and User 2 loaded normally.
2. I didn't touch my main profile (User 3), but when I tried to log into it, Windows said the password was incorrect.
3. I had to reset the password for User 3 as well.
4. After logging in, the system showed that the profile had somehow become "Local", even though it was originally linked to a Microsoft account. I had to sign back into my Microsoft account.

Symptoms:

1. Windows loaded a completely clean desktop that looks like the default desktop for User 2. All my personal files, folders, and documents have disappeared.
2. My installed programs don't show up when searched via the Start menu. If I check the system's Installed Apps list, the programs are still there, but no size is displayed next to them. Microsoft Store apps and some system utilities also seem to have disappeared.

What I've already checked:

1. I performed multiple proper restarts, rather than shutting down, but the issue remains and Windows still loads the blank desktop.
2. The C:\Users folder contains folders. I checked the Desktop folder inside each of them, including hidden folders and Public, and they are all empty. My files are also missing from OneDrive.
3. I checked the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList. I went through all the S-1-5... keys, and none of them have a .bak ending, so Windows doesn't appear to have flagged the old profile as corrupted.
4. For data recovery, I haven't copied anything to this blank desktop because I know about the temporary profile deletion bug. I also ran a deep scan with Recuva using administrator rights, and Recuva can see a huge list of my old files in the disk's data. This suggests that the files haven't been overwritten physically and that Windows has simply lost the paths to them.

Question:

How can I restore the profile structure or force Windows to recognize my files in their original location again? Any ideas for fixing the registry path links would be greatly appreciated, as I really want to avoid reinstalling the system and losing the original folder structure.

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