[WORKAROUND] Cowork works on secondary drive by redirecting %USERPROFILE% via registry — tested on Windows 10 with Deep Freeze

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Environment

• Windows 10 (19044)
• Deep Freeze (C: frozen, D: thawed)
• Claude Desktop (latest)

Problem
Cowork rejects any workspace folder outside %USERPROFILE% (C:\Users\username). On machines with Deep Freeze or similar freeze software where C: is protected, all writes to C: are lost on reboot — making Cowork unusable since the VM bundle and workspace data don't persist.

Symlinks and junction points do not work — Cowork resolves the real path and still rejects.

What Should Happen?

Prerequisites
Log in as a different admin account before starting. The target user must be completely logged off — if the profile is loaded in memory, Windows will ignore the registry change and load a temporary profile on next login.

Workaround that worked

Redirect %USERPROFILE% to the thawed drive by updating the registry entry directly. This must be done while the target user is logged off (log in as a different admin account first).

1. Copy the profile to the new location:

robocopy "C:\Users\username" "D:\Users\username" /E /COPYALL /XJ /LOG:D:\migra_perfil.log

1. Get your SID:

wmic useraccount where name="username" get sid

1. Update the registry (replace SID with yours):

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\YOUR-SID-HERE" /v ProfileImagePath /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "D:\Users\username" /f

1. Reboot and log in as the user.

1. Verify:

echo %USERPROFILE%
echo %APPDATA%
echo %LOCALAPPDATA%

All should point to D:\Users\username\...

1. Open Cowork and select a folder on D: — it will be accepted and the VM will install there.

Why it works
Cowork validates the workspace against %USERPROFILE%. By moving the profile root to D:, the restriction is satisfied and all VM data (rootfs.vhdx, sessiondata.vhdx) installs on the thawed drive — persisting across reboots.

Important notes

• Do NOT delete C:\Users\username until you've confirmed everything works after a few reboots.
• Some apps with hardcoded C:\Users paths may need reinstallation.
• The profile change must be made while the user is logged off — otherwise Windows loads a temp profile on next login.
• This was tested on Windows 10 19044 with Deep Freeze. Should work on any similar freeze/snapshot software.

Related issues: #29583, #27697

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Install Deep Freeze (or similar freeze software) with C: frozen and a secondary drive (e.g. D:) thawed
Install Claude Desktop on C: (default location)
Open Cowork tab
Try to select a workspace folder on D:
Observe error: "The selected folder is outside your home directory. Only folders within your home directory can be used."
Try creating a symlink or junction point inside C:\Users\username pointing to D:\ — Cowork resolves the real path and still rejects

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

Claude 1.569.0

Claude Code Version

Claude 1.569.0 (49894a) 2026-04-02T20:01:42.000Z

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

_No response_