# Cannot delete extra user account



## I_Broke_My_Mhz (Jul 9, 2004)

When I setup WinXP it forced me to make another account, so I did planning to delete it later. I just want one user, the administrator account and no other users. Unfortunately I cannot delete the other account I made (which is also an administrator), nor can I change it from being an administrator. It won't let me from the user management thingy in the control panel. How can I delete that other useless account?


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## Volt-Schwibe (Jan 12, 2003)

ok, when you set this account up, you set it to be an administrator...

so now you have two accounts that are administrator...

you should be able to log into the main one and delete the other one...

if you can't, then one of them must not have admin priviledges.

i don't know why it would be posing a problem in your situation, as i do this all the time, making accounts with admin priviledges, and then deleting them after some time...

to delete an account, it must _NOT_ be logged on at the time, and the account that _Is_ logged on must have admin priviledges...

let me know what happens, error messages and all.


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## I_Broke_My_Mhz (Jul 9, 2004)

But that is the problem, I can't delete the account. I login as administrator, then go to the control panel, then user accounts, then click on the other account. There is no option to delete the account when I click it. There is only an option to change the account. When I click that option, the radio button "limited" is grayed out, so I can't change it to anything  Is there another way to delete accounts maybe?


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## Rumraket (Oct 27, 2004)

*Did you solve the problem*

Hi I have the same problem in windows XP, and I would like to know if you solved the problem. I think the problem is that once you've created another account, the administrator account "hides" and then it is not possible to delete the extra administrator account because it is the last non hidden account. pls help.

Andreas


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## coofercat (Oct 27, 2004)

*Solved!*

I had the same problem, but knew it could be solved because a pre-install on a different machine only has Administrator.

To solve the problem, go to My Computer (right click) -> Manage
Then go to "Local Users and Group" -> Users and right click the "extra" account. Select delete, and it's gone.

It's great to see that there's wonderful consistency between tools in Windows XP. You've just got to love it (not!).

If you're hacking around with users and the like, you might also find this useful:
http://www.winnetmag.com/Article/ArticleID/16151/16151.html


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## disordered (Jan 30, 2005)

I tried that ^^ and it said "Cannot perform this operation on built-in accounts"

Weird? Help?


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## jul0cakes (Jul 2, 2008)

disordered said:


> I tried that ^^ and it said "Cannot perform this operation on built-in accounts"
> 
> Weird? Help?


1. Go to Start
2. Run
3. Type "control userpasswords2" (without the quotes)
4. Then in the User Account screen, select the user you want to delete
5. Click "Remove"
6. When it asks you "Are you sure?" click Yes.

and that will delete that account..


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## Mingomya (Apr 17, 2009)

Go into safe mode and it will work.


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## elf (Jul 19, 2002)

> I tried that ^^ and it said "Cannot perform this operation on built-in accounts"


You cannot delete the default Administrator account. You can disable it through the registry, but you cannot delete it.

You should have no problems deleting user accounts (or even accounts with admin priveleges) by following coofercat's instructions


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## Mingomya (Apr 17, 2009)

So how can the Administrator account be disabled in the registry.
Would you give us a step by step highway to it please?


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## elf (Jul 19, 2002)

I believe it can be done through the registry, but this is faster/easier
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281140



Microsoft said:


> *How to Disable the Local Administrator Account on Windows XP*
> Note Before you disable the local Administrator account, make sure that there is at least one other local or network user who can gain access to the computer with administrator permissions. Otherwise, you will not be able to reverse this action in the future.
> 
> Log on as Administrator, or as a user with administrator permissions.
> ...


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## RWCharp (Jul 18, 2010)

jul0cakes said:


> 1. Go to Start
> 2. Run
> 3. Type "control userpasswords2" (without the quotes)
> 4. Then in the User Account screen, select the user you want to delete
> ...


Thanks this worked for me.!


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## Coolfreak (May 27, 2008)

Thread is over 6 years old. Thread Closed.


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