Kali Linux freezes after I log in, but not if I log into root first and then switch user

I recently changed the default kali username and password via following a tutorial that used usermod commands. However, after logging back into the newly named account, the screen freezes on the wallpaper and is not responsive. However, if I boot up my PC and log into the root user first and then switch user into my new account it works fine. The issue only occurs when I try to log into the account directly. I'm very new to Linux so I'm pretty confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.