Duplicate user folders after reinstalling

Question

So I reinstalled mac osx because I threw away some files that werent supposed to be thrown away.
Anyway, reinstalled, all my files are oke BUT
The user folder that's now being used it called Thomas 1, and Thomas (where all my files are) is now above it, and not being used as desktop for example.
I've been draggin over some files but my apllication support etc cant be moved.
Question, can i set my old folder as the main one to be used somewhere and delete the new one? I wont need that one anyway, there's nothing in it except for the apllication support
Thanks for the help, and i hope i made myself clear, if not i'll make some screenshots or something, thanks

Answer 1

There are some things you need to understand about user accounts that should help resolve this:
1. Each user account has a "home" folder in the root level Users folder. Only the account you are logged into will show the house icon. For example, if you are logged in as Thomas 1, the Thomas account will show a plain folder icon & the Thomas 1 one will show the house. Conversely, if you are logged in as Thomas, the Thomas 1 account will show a plain folder icon & the Thomas one will show the house.
2. Each user account has a unique account name, also called a *short name*, as well as a unique *full name*. The account's home folder uses the short name, & this should not normally be changed once that folder is created -- doing so may make the account unavailable. The full name can be changed at any time in the Accounts System Preference without doing any harm. In this sense, the short name is the primary one; the full name is more for convenience & personalization. Your user account's full name is "Thomas de Rijk." It appears to be associated with the short name "Thomas 1" & the home folder of the same name.
3. Each user has limited access to the home folders of other users. For example, Thomas 1 won't normally be able to open the Music, Movies, Documents, Library etc. folders in the home folder of Thomas. (Remember, the account name you are logged into is who you are from the computer's perspective, so Thomas 1 is an entirely separate entity from Thomas.)
4. Normally, one would expect to see in the Accounts System Preference one account name for each home folder in the Users folder. But you cannot simply add a home folder with a different name to Users & expect the OS to automatically recognize it as a legitimate user account (which sounds like what you have done). As the Advanced sheet of the Accounts preference shows, there are several parameters (user & group ID, UUID, etc.) that the OS must explicitly create before a user account is recognized as valid.
5. Normally, all this is taken care of automatically when you create a new user account in the Accounts preference or use Migration Assistant to copy an account from another Mac or Time Machine backup. (This is what you should have done.)
6. If you are sure there is nothing of importance to you in /Users/Thomas 1 (what you refer to as the new one), you can delete it. BUT, you can't do that if it is the only account recognized in the Accounts preference -- the OS will not allow you to delete the only account it recognizes as valid.
There are several ways out of this dilemma. None is without some risk, so it is important that you have a good backup of everything important to you before you proceed. If that is understood, I suggest you try the following:
• Open the Accounts System Preference while logged in as Thomas 1. Unlock the lock so you can make changes. (Note: Thomas 1 must be an admin account. If it is not STOP here & report back.)
• Click the plus button near the bottom of the preference window to create a new account.
• Enter whatever you want for the *full name*, keeping in mind it cannot be "Thomas de Rijk" since that is in use.
• Enter "Thomas" (or "thomas") for the *short name*. Hopefully, you will see a message that a home folder already exists for this short name & a query asking if you want to use it. If so, this is what we want, so say yes. Important: If you do not see this, cancel the operation & report back.
• If the new account is created, make sure you give it admin privileges by checking the "Allow user to administer this computer" box. Quit System Preferences, log out of Thomas 1 & into the 'new' Thomas account. Check that everything you want & expect is available & works right.
• If it does, you can now (as Thomas) open the Accounts System Preference, authenticate as admin user Thomas, & delete the Thomas 1 account. You may also now change the Thomas account's full name back to "Thomas de Rijk" since that is no longer in use for the now deleted Thomas 1 account.
I believe this is the simplest way to get what you want. Don't be concerned about the Thomas 1 library folder -- every account must have one, but there is nothing useful in it if you aren't using that account.
If any of this is unclear, feel free to ask about it.