Delete a User Account in Windows 11 Without Losing Files

You might want to delete a user account in Windows 11 when a family member gets their own PC, an old test account is cluttering the sign-in screen, or you are preparing a laptop to hand on. The removal itself takes a few clicks, but it also deletes everything stored in that account’s folders on the PC, so the important part is what you do before you click.

This guide covers the Settings method, the Control Panel method that can keep files, the command line, and the usual reasons the Remove button does not work. The steps apply to Windows 11 Home and Pro.

What deleting an account removes

Every account on a PC has its own profile folder, for example C:\Users\sam, holding its Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Music, Videos, app settings and browser data. When you remove the account in Settings, Windows deletes its sign-in and that data. Microsoft’s account management page says removing an account removes its sign-in information and data from the device.

What it does not remove:

• The Microsoft account online. Email, OneDrive, purchases and the account itself are untouched. Closing a Microsoft account is a separate process on Microsoft’s website.
• Files in OneDrive. The cloud copies stay; only the local copies on this PC go.
• Apps installed for all users. Desktop programs installed for everyone stay installed.

Before you start: save the files

1. Sign in as an administrator (not the account you are removing).
2. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Users. Open the account’s folder; Windows may ask for permission, so select Continue.
3. Copy anything worth keeping to an external drive or to a folder in your own profile.
4. If the person uses OneDrive, check on the web that their files are there before you delete the local account.

Microsoft’s Windows Backup app can also back up an account’s folders to OneDrive, as long as you run it while signed in to that account. If you are clearing out a PC to give away, Reset this PC with Remove everything is a better choice than deleting accounts one by one.

Method 1: delete a user account in Settings

1. Press Win+I to open Settings.
2. Select Accounts, then Other users. (Typing ms-settings:otherusers in the Run box opens the same page.)
3. Under Other users, select the account to expand it.
4. Next to Account and data, select Remove.
5. Read the warning and select Delete account and data.

The account disappears from the sign-in screen straight away. If the account is a member of your Microsoft family group, it may appear under Accounts > Family instead; to stop a family member signing in on this PC without changing the family group, use the option for that member on the Family page, and manage the group itself at family.microsoft.com.

Method 2: Control Panel, with Keep Files

The older Control Panel route is useful because it offers to save some of the person’s files for you.

1. Open Control Panel and select User Accounts, then User Accounts again.
2. Select Manage another account and choose the account.
3. Select Delete the account.
4. Choose Keep Files to save the account’s Desktop, Documents, Favourites, Music, Pictures and Videos into a folder on your desktop, or Delete Files to remove everything.
5. Select Delete Account to confirm.

Keep Files does not save everything, such as email stored in desktop mail apps or app settings, so copy anything else you need first.

Method 3: the command line

For local accounts, an administrator can use net user:

1. Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin).
2. Run net user to list the local accounts.
3. Run net user sam /delete, replacing sam with the account name.

This removes the account but can leave its folder behind in C:\Users. Remove the profile afterwards from System Properties: press Win+R, type sysdm.cpl, open the Advanced tab, select Settings under User Profiles, select the unused profile and choose Delete. On Windows 11 Pro, lusrmgr.msc (Local Users and Groups) also lets you delete local accounts.

Remove button greyed out or missing

• You are signed in to that account. Sign out, sign in as another administrator and try again.
• You are not an administrator. Only administrators can remove accounts. Microsoft’s page shows how to change an account type under Account options > Change account type.
• It is the last administrator. Before removing an admin account, make sure at least one other account on the PC is an administrator, or you can lose the ability to change settings or install software.
• It is a work or school account. Accounts added through Access work or school are disconnected there, and a PC managed by an organisation may block removal; ask your IT team.

Removing an email or app account instead

Sometimes the “account” you want gone is not a Windows user at all but an email or app sign-in, such as a second Microsoft account used by Mail or Store. Those live under Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts; select the account and choose Remove. That does not affect any user’s files.

After the account is gone

Restart the PC and check the sign-in screen. If you were removing an old account because of a name you no longer want, see change user name in Windows 11 for a less drastic fix. To keep the remaining accounts secure, review Windows Hello sign-in options and our Windows 11 security hub, and if you are moving to a local account rather than a Microsoft one, see switch to a local account.