How to delete User Account in Windows 10

When a computer is used by many, it results in multiple Windows accounts. Some are used frequently, while some not so much. At some point, you will need to delete a user profile, primarily if they are not used at all or if its taking a lot of space. In this post, I will show you how to delete a User Account in Windows 10. We will also share how to backup existing profile data and files wherever necessary.

What happens when you delete a User Account?

All user accounts data is available in a folder inside C:\Users. The folder name will be the same as the name of the user. You can verify the exact name of the user by executing “net user” command on PowerShell or Command Prompt. When you delete a user account, this folder along with everything inside is deleted.

How to take a backup of User files?

The best way to take a backup is to copy the folder to an external drive or other partition partition. Later you can go through it, and keep whatever is necessary, and delete the rest. Here is how a typical user folder looks.

You can navigate to each folder, and copy whatever you like. Some of the potential folders are Desktop, Downloads, Pictures, Music, etc.

How to delete a User Account in Windows 10

There are two ways by which you can delete a User Account in Windows 10:

1. Windows Account Settings
2. Command line.

Let us take a look at them in details.

1] Delete User Account via Windows Account Settings

1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users
2. Select the account you want to delete and click on Remove button
3. It will open a confirmation window and display a warning message, along with “Delete account & data” or Cancel button.
4. Click on the Delete account and data button to remove the user.

The warning is about the deletion of data of the user. When you remove an account, it will delete all the user data, including items like Desktop, Documents, Photos, Music, and other folders. If you haven’t backed up, there will be no way to recover those files.

2] Delete User Account using Command line

If you are deleting multiple user accounts, using the Command Prompt or PowerShell is efficient.

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell with admin privileges

Type the following and press the Enter key:

It will reveal the exact usernames on the computer.

It will delete the account and all the data without any warning. Remember to replace with the name of the user account.

When using the Command Prompt or PowerShell, be very careful that you do not end up deleting an incorrect account.

I hope the tutorial was easy to understand and helped you not only to delete a user account in Windows 10 but also take a backup of files of that account.

Date: September 1, 2019 Tags: User Account

Related Posts

How to remove deleted User Account from login screen in Windows 10

How to recover deleted User account profile in Windows 10

Users must enter a username and password to use this computer missing in Windows 10

[email protected]

Ashish is a veteran Windows, and Xbox user who excels in writing tips, tricks, and features on it to improve your day to day experience with your devices.

Как удалить учетную запись пользователя в Windows 10

Читайте, как удалить ненужную, старую или чужую учётную запись в Windows 10 . Рассмотрим три способа – используй наиболее удобный. Windows 10 это последняя доступная версия операционной системы от компании Microsoft. Она значительно расширила функционал для полного использования возможностей вашего компьютера. Были добавлены и изменены разные функции, упрощающие работу в системе и синхронизирующие учетную запись пользователя на разных устройствах. Многие функции просто были усовершенствованы.

Например, в «Windows 10» , как и в ее более ранних версиях, присутствует функция, позволяющая добавлять нескольких пользователей в одну систему. Для доступа к компьютеру, «Windows 10» предлагает подключить ваш идентификатор к учетной записи пользователя «Microsoft» , чтобы расширить ваши возможности в новой операционной системе. Но вы можете его не подключать и работать в «Windows 10» только в качестве локального пользователя. Вы также можете добавлять других локальных пользователей, тем самым расширяя круг людей, имеющих доступ к компьютеру. Тем не менее, когда вам больше не нужна чья-либо учетная запись в вашей системе, вы не должны ее просто так оставлять. Учетная запись пользователя занимает определенный объем дискового пространства, которое используется под конкретного пользователя. Вы можете удалить не используемую учетную запись, тем самым высвободив дополнительное пространство. Ниже мы покажем, как вы можете удалить запись пользователя в «Windows 10» .

Удаление учетной записи пользователя в Windows 10

Откройте приложение «Параметры Windows» , нажав в нижней части экрана кнопку «Пуск» и выбрав в левом боковом меню кнопку с изображением шестеренки.

В приложении «Параметры Windows» перейдите в группу настроек «Учетные записи» .

How to delete local user accounts on Windows 10?

After having issues with Win 10 taskbar, which still dosen’t function normally, I allowed a MS tech access to my PC. To correct the taskbar issue, he created another User account as administrator, stating that the original user account was probably corrupted. Not all user accounts can access all programs and files. Can I delete all user accounts and have only the administrator account with total access to every function of my PC? I do not have a need for multiple user accounts.

OS: Windows 10 Home Edition CPU: Intel 2.80GHz RAM: 3.00 GB System Type: 32-bit OS, x 64-based processor

Original title: Multiple user PC access

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community and being a part of Windows 10.

I understand your concern about delete the multiple user accounts on your device. We will help you with this issue.

Try few of the below troubleshooting steps to delete local user account and check if it helps.

Note: When you want to delete a user account from your computer:

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to delete a user account.

You will not be able to delete a user account that is currently signed in. You will need to sign out the user first.

Be sure to always have at least one enabled administrator account on the PC to avoid not being able to perform actions that require administrator rights.

Step 1: Steps to Remove a User Account in Settings

Press Windows key, click on Settings.

Click on Account, click on Family and other users.

Select the user you want to delete under Other users and click on Remove.

Accept the UAC (User Account Control) prompt.

Select Delete account and data if you wish to delete account and the data and follow onscreen instructions.

OR

Step 2: Steps to Delete a User Account in Command Prompt

Press Windows + X keys from the keyboard, select Command Prompt (Admin).

Type net user and hit Enter to list the user accounts on your device.

Type net user «User account » /delete and hit Enter to delete the user account.

Hope it helps. Reply to the post with an updated status of this issue for further assistance.

How to Delete User Account in Windows 10

Windows 10 lets you easily create or delete user accounts with ease. Generally, it is not only advised but a best practice to create a user account for every user using your system. For instance, if you are sharing your computer with your brother or sister, it is better to create their own user account so that they can customize the desktop and applications to meet their needs. That being said, if you have unused user accounts, it is better to delete them to minimize any unauthorized use. Follow the below steps to delete user account in Windows 10.

Deleting a user account will delete all the files in their home folders like documents, pictures, videos, etc. So, back up those files before deleting the account.

Jump to:

Delete User Account in Windows 10

There are multiple ways to delete a user account in Windows 10. Those ways include using the settings app, control panel, advanced user accounts tool, command prompt, and PowerShell. I will show all these methods. Use the one you are comfortable.

Method #1 – Use Settings App to Delete User Account

The settings app provides the easiest way to delete a user account in Windows 10.

1. Press Win + I to open the settings app. You can also search for it in the start menu. Once the settings app has been opened, click on the “Accounts” option.

2. In the Accounts page, go to the “Family & other users” tab appearing on the left panel. On the right panel, find the user account you want to delete under the “Other users” section and click on it.

3. Next, click on the “Remove” button under the user account name.

4. Windows will now show a confirmation window. Click on the “Delete account and data” button.

As soon as you click on the delete button, Windows will delete all the files in that user’s home folders and delete the user account. The user account will disappear from the settings page.

Method #2 – Use Good Old Control Panel to Delete Windows 10 User Account

Though Windows 10 is slowly moving towards the settings app, you can still remove a user account from the control panel. The good thing about this method is that you are offered to keep the user-specific files while deleting the user account.

1. Search for the control panel in the start menu and open it. In the control panel, make sure that the “View by” is set to “Large Icons”. Next, find the “User Accounts” option and click on it.

2. You’ll be taken to your account management page. Since we want to delete another user, click on the “Manage another account” link.

3. In this screen, select the user account you want to delete. In my case, I want to delete a user account named “WindowsLoop”.

4. Now, click on the “Delete the account” link.

5. When prompted, to keep the files, click on the “Keep Files” button. To delete the files, click on the “Delete Files” button. If you chose to keep the files, you will see a new folder with all the backed up files on your desktop.

6. To confirm the deletion, click on the “Delete Account” button.

That is it. You are done deleting a user account in Windows 10. The deleted user account will be disappeared from the control panel.

Method #3 – Netplwiz to Remove User Account

Windows has an advanced user control tool that makes it quite easy to create and remove user accounts a breeze. This tool is mainly aimed at power users and administrators. As such, the advanced user accounts tool is buried deep within Windows.

1. To open the advanced user accounts tool, press Win + R , type netplwiz in the blank field and press the Enter button.

2. In this window, select the user account from the list under “Users for this computer” and click on the “Remove” button.

3. You will see a confirmation window something like the below one. Click on the “Yes” button to continue.

As soon as you click on the button, the user account will be removed and deleted. Of course, all the user-specific files will be deleted too.

Method #4 – Command to Delete User Account

Just as you can use the command prompt to create a user account, you can also delete a user account from the command prompt.

1. You need admin privileges to delete a user account with commands. So, search for the command prompt in the start menu, right-click on it and select the “Run as administrator” option.

2. Before you can delete a user account, you need to know the actual user name. So, execute the below command and it will show a list of all the user accounts in your system. Find the user account you want to delete and note down the name. We are going to need that username in the next command.

3. Now, execute the below command while replacing “UserName” with the actual username. As soon as you press the Enter button, the user account will be removed along with any user files of that user account.

4. To verify, use the first command and see if the user is still in the list.

Method #5 – PowerShell Command to Remove User Account

You can do almost everything and more with PowerShell. Deleting a user account is nothing special. So, if you are PowerShell guy, follow the below steps.

1. Search for “PowerShell” in the start menu, right-click on it and select the “Run as administrator” option.

2. Just like with the command prompt, you need to know the exact username to delete the account. So, use the below command. It will list all the user accounts in your system. Note down the username you want to delete.

3. Now, execute the below command while replacing “UserName” with the actual user name. You will not see any output, but the user account is deleted in the background.

4. To verify the deletion, use the first command.

That is it. It is that simple to delete a user account in Windows 10. If you face any problems or have questions, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.