What to Do When a Deleted User Still Appears on the Windows 10/11 Login Screen?

Windows allows you to create several user accounts according to your needs, which can be useful if you are sharing your PC with many people. With that said, having multiple user accounts on your computer can also be distractive. By default, Windows 10/11 lists every user account on the login screen. So, you might find it annoying if you have to click on your username icon each time you start up your PC.

Apart from this, many user accounts on the login screen can be a security risk, as it provides crucial information to potential attackers. If the Remote Desktop feature is enabled, a malicious person can remotely identify a logged-in user from what is listed on the sign-in screen.

For most users, the easiest way to remedy this situation is to delete unnecessary accounts. But what can you do if a deleted user still appears on the Windows 10/11 login screen? Some users have reported that their Windows 10/11 login screen shows deleted users. This problem is our topic of discussion in today’s article. We will try to walk you through the steps to get rid of the deleted user accounts that keep reappearing on the sign-in screen.

Pro Tip: Run a dedicated PC optimization tool to get rid of incorrect settings, junk files, harmful apps, and security threats that can cause system issues or slow performance.

Why Delete User Profiles on Windows?

Deleting other user profiles in Windows 10 can help resolve several issues. For example, if your user profile becomes corrupted, certain apps stop working, or you want to reset your profile’s settings to default, this may help.

User profiles are a collection of folders that allow you to personalize your user account. If you want to delete your user profile, make sure you do so from another user account, not the one that will be deleted soon.

Furthermore, the account you will use to delete the user profile must have administrative privileges. When a user profile is deleted, all photos, videos, documents, and other types of files are also deleted. That is why it is critical to back up all of these files or make copies of them that can be stored in a secure location.

What to Do When an Old User Profile Still Appears on the Login Screen?

Whether you are using a Microsoft account or a local account, there are several ways to remove a user account on the login screen. Let’s get started.

When you have multiple users on the same computer, having multiple accounts comes in handy. It not only prevents the disruption caused by an online administrator account, but it also provides some privacy protection. However, if you believe that multiple accounts have outlived their usefulness, you are not required to keep them.

The following are the various methods for deleting user accounts in Windows 11.

Method 1: Delete the User Account via Settings

Multiple user accounts can be deleted from Windows Settings. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Go to the Start menu search bar, type ‘settings,’ and then click the Best match You can also use the Windows key + I keyboard shortcut.
2. Choose Accounts > Family and other users.
3. Select the user account you want to delete and press the Remove
4. Finally, press the Delete account and data

If you do this, your user account information will be removed.

Method 2: Delete the User Account from the Control Panel

If the Settings method from above does not help you solve the problem, you can use the Control Panel. This is how you begin.

Here’s how it goes for Windows 10 users:

1. Press the Windows + R keyboard combo to open the Run dialog box.
2. Next, type control and press Enter to launch the Control Panel.
3. Once it opens, navigate to System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings.
4. Under the User Profiles section, hit on the Settings button.
5. Now, choose the user account you want to delete and tap on the Delete button.

For Windows 11 users, follow these steps:

1. Open the Control Panel by clicking the Start button.
2. Remove user accounts by heading to User Accounts.
3. Choose the account you want to delete and click Delete the account.
4. Finally, go to Delete files > Delete Account.

If you do this, your account and all files associated with it will be successfully deleted.

Method 3: Remove the User Account Using Netplwiz

Netplwiz (or netplwiz.exe) is a user account management program (tool) that comes standard with almost all Microsoft Windows operating systems. Netplwiz is an abbreviation for Network Places Wizard. Netplwiz is a useful program for managing user accounts in most Windows operating systems.

We can use this tool to create new users, modify existing ones, and modify their access and groups. Any existing user’s name can also be changed. So, if you’re experiencing any issues with your user profile, the first thing you need is the Netplwiz utility.

Follow the steps below to remove a user profile using the netplwiz utility:

1. Launch the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows + R keyboard combination.
2. Now, type netplwiz into it and hit Enter.
3. If prompted by UAC, click Yes.
4. Under the Users tab, check the ‘Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer’ box. Otherwise, it will be impossible to access the user list.
5. Next, highlight the user account you want to delete and tap on the Remove button. Also, click Yes to confirm your selection.
6. After that, navigate to the Advanced tab and activate the Require users to click CLT-ALT-DEL option, under the Secure sign-in section.
7. Click Apply > OK to activate the changes.

Method 4: Remove or Deactivate Your Antivirus Program

It is often the case that a deleted user still appears on the Windows 10/11 login screen for users who have installed the ESET Smart Security. If you have this program on your computer, then you need to delete your ESET phantom account first via the ESET settings. Here is how to do it:

1. Open your preferred browser, and then log into ESET Anti-Theft.
2. Now, choose the ‘I recover my device’ option.
3. Next, select the relevant device from the list of devices protected by ESET Anti-Theft.
4. Click View details and select Settings.
5. After that, select the phantom account and hit on the Delete button.
6. Besides this, you can also turn off the ESET Anti-Theft setting. To do that, open ESET Smart Security, then select Setup and Security Tools.
7. From here, turn off the Anti-Theft option.

Method 5: Use Command Prompt to Delete the User Account

If the above tricks did not work, try deleting the account via an elevated Command Prompt. The command line is a text-based interface that allows you to run and manage all Windows programs with a few keystrokes.

To begin, navigate to the Start menu search bar, type ‘command prompt,’ and then run it as administrator.

Enter the following command into the interface: net user

It will display all user accounts on your computer. Choose the one you want to delete, then enter the following command: net user <username> /delete

Replace <username> with the username of the account you want to delete. If you follow the steps above, the account will be deleted immediately.

Method 6: Delete the User Account Via the Registry

A user account can be deleted by a computer administrator without the use of a password. This is a significant disadvantage, but it is also by design giving admin users ultimate authority. It is possible that you deleted a user account, but its User Account Picture is still visible on the Windows Logon screen for some reason. In this case, attempting to log in will fail. This post will show you how to remove the User image from the list. Press the Windows + R shortcut to open the Run dialog box.

The problem does not occur if you delete a user account using the correct method, i.e., Settings > Accounts. However, if the administrator deletes the folder manually, the registry entry is not deleted. To fix it, follow these steps:

To open the Registry Editor, type regedit in the Run prompt (Win +R) and press the Enter key. Then take the following route: HKLM\Software\ Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ProfileList.

Take note of the number of folders under the ProfileList; those with extended names beginning with S are the user accounts.

Expand one of the folders and look for the string—ProfileImagePath—to confirm it belongs to the deleted user account. When you double-click to open, you’ll see a user folder path that ends with the user name.

Once confirmed, delete the Registry Entry that contains the ProfileImagePath.

After that, restart the computer, and you should no longer see the user account listed.

Friendly Warning: The Registry Editor is a powerful utility, such that, any misuse can render your system inoperable. But as long as you follow the right instructions, performing the above trick is a pretty simple hack, and you shouldn’t expect any problems. However, if you haven’t worked with the Registry Editor before, then it is safer to use a PC repair tool to automate everything for you. Sometimes, a deleted profile can be seen on the Windows 10/11 login screen because of corrupted registry files. We recommend that you use the Outbyte PC Repair tool for this task.

Method 7: Disable or Hide the User Profile

If you still have problems deleting the user account, why not disable it instead? This option will remove the user account from the sign-in screen. Follow these steps to disable your user profiles:

1. Restart your PC.
2. When the Windows 10/11 login screen appears, click Cancel.
3. Next, tap on Start > Settings, then open the Control Panel.
4. Now, double-click on Passwords.
5. Navigate to the User Profiles tab, and then select All users of this PC use the same preferences and desktop.
6. To activate the changes, click OK.

There you go. You have just removed a deleted user that keeps reappearing on the Windows 10/11 login screen. With this issue sorted, it may also be beneficial to learn how to fix errors that may occur when signing into your Windows 10/11 account.

Hopefully, the above solutions worked for you. Please note that you can’t delete your old user account if you have signed into Windows 10/11 with that account. If you still have any question or issue, leave a comment below.