I have now run this script as suggested (via Host > SQL). I received the message "The Query completed successfully!" and I then restarted the DNN application.

The Users table lists the display names correctly (without the " (1)"). Additionally, when logged in as an affected user, under edit profile the display name is listed correctly. So I don't currently see anywhere from which to remove the " (1)". However all dnn webpages continue to show display name with the " (1)" appended at top right of the page.

One other piece if info/evidence: yesterday, after having deleted the user folders as described above, when logged in as an affected user I was unable to upload files to the user folder. That is, I tried going to the user's activity feed webpage and uploading a photo to share. The upload progress bar would reach 100% but then the page would hang. Looking at the server's user folders, I would not see the file appear in the destination. However today, the same thing seems to work fine: I can upload files via the activity feed and they show normally on the webpage and appear in the user folders in the expected locations (same path as before this incident for the same user). I have not made any changes or taken any actions other than those described above.

So the only symptom I am aware of at this time is the " (1)" in the display name, which is very important for me to resolve.

Thanks in advance for your continued help.

Ah, you are correct -- it was simply the message center for these users. So simple -- I'm sorry that possibility didn't occur to me. Display name problem solved. Many thanks for your help!

Regarding the original problem: time out due to slow performance of GetFoldersByPermissions, I see that even though I restored all the original user folders, the timeout problem has not recurred. Should we expect that this problem will reoccur in the future as more folders accumulate (e.g., due to new user accounts; we currently have ~10k)? Is there any solution to this other than intermittently deleting unused folders? Finally, if deleting unused folders is the best way, can you confirm that it is ok to delete the top level User/### folders (assuming all subfolders are empty) as opposed to just deleting the leaf subfolders?

Thank you very much,
Adam