How to find my old Windows user profile after installing or updating to the Windows 8 operating system?

If you have performed a clean install, your user profile and personal data will be located in the backup you created before performing the clean install of the Windows 8 operating system.

If you upgraded to the Windows 8 operating system, you can find a folder containing your user profile and personal data in the C:/Windows.old directory. That folder should contain, and allow you to access, most of the favorites, pictures, music, video and some of the data which was contained on Desktop and in the Documents folder of your previous Windows operating system version.