Win11 - Remove User - Azure AD

ChrisLoudon · May 14

Hi guys,

Is there a way of removing a user / user files from a Windows 11 machine when they don't show up in the Control Panel > Users list?

I have a laptop that's been returned to me from an ex-employee and I'd like to pass it on to someone else.

Users in my business all log into their machines via AzureAD with their Office 365 credentials selecting 'Work or School' account. This seems to setup some sort of local profile for them including a C:\Users\UserName folder which I can delete by logging in as me (admin) and deleting it but is there another / cleaner way of doing this?

I could just leave it but if the laptop goes through the hands of more employees I'm just going to end up with a computer filled with the old files of long gone staff.

Cheers

C

Needfuldoer · May 14

16 minutes ago, ChrisLoudon said:

Is there a way of removing a user / user files from a Windows 11 machine when they don't show up in the Control Panel > Users list?

Deleting the C:\Users\Username folder and the key under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList that goes with it should remove everything as though that account never logged in.

You can do the same thing in a GUI if you run control userpasswords2 as admin from an elevated command prompt. That will present you with a list of all the local and domain accounts that have logged into that particular machine. You can highlight the ones you don't want and click "Remove", which will automatically delete the local files and the key under ProfileList for you.

Just deleting the folder will remove the files, but if that account ever logs in again they'll get the "you're running a temporary account" alert and their files won't persist. (I know that's not relevant in this particular case, but it's a good tool to keep in your back pocket for troubleshooting profile issues. Rename the old C:\Users\Username folder, export and delete the registry key, then have the user log back in. They'll get a fresh profile and you can recover their documents, AppData folders, and anything else that didn't sync with OneDrive.)

ChrisLoudon · May 14

10 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Deleting the C:\Users\Username folder and the key under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList that goes with it should remove everything as though that account never logged in.

You can do the same thing in a GUI if you run control userpasswords2 as admin from an elevated command prompt. That will present you with a list of all the local and domain accounts that have logged into that particular machine. You can highlight the ones you don't want and click "Remove", which will automatically delete the local files and the key under ProfileList for you.

Just deleting the folder will remove the files, but if that account ever logs in again they'll get the "you're running a temporary account" alert and their files won't persist. (I know that's not relevant in this particular case, but it's a good tool to keep in your back pocket for troubleshooting profile issues. Rename the old C:\Users\Username folder, export and delete the registry key, then have the user log back in. They'll get a fresh profile and you can recover their documents, AppData folders, and anything else that didn't sync with OneDrive.)