Why cant I delete a user profile?

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Why cant I delete a user profile?

Norris72 40

A new (admin) user account has been added to the PC, then logged out of all accounts. All documents, music and apps were copied from this user then checked.

New User has been logged into and attempted to delete this profile but the option is greyed out on this user (1of 5 available).

The reason that this route has been started is that it is impossible to get this profile to "let go" of some kind of link with Office 365. By selecting [start] then [manage my account] shows expired Office 365 (user has never had a subscription) whilst going into any of the Office apps themselves shows a lifetime licence of 2024 pro plus

Grateful for help

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Answer 1

Anonymous

Hi Norris,

If the Delete option is greyed out, it’s usually because the profile is still in use, even in the background. Try restarting the PC and make sure you're logged in with a different admin account you can't delete the one you're currently using.

If that doesn’t work, boot into Safe Mode or use Command Prompt run it as admin and try this command net user [username] /delete

As for the Office issue: The expired Office 365 message likely comes from a Microsoft Account that was once signed in. The “2024 Pro Plus” license showing in the apps is separate and valid.

To clean it up:

Go to Settings > Accounts > Email & Accounts and remove any linked Microsoft accounts.
In Office apps, go to File > Account and sign out of any expired accounts.

Hope that helps!

Norris72 40 Reputation points

2025-10-28T16:55:33.41+00:00

Thank you this did allow me to delete the profile but I now have 2 account unknown profiles. There are now 6 accounts, 2 unknown, 1 default profile, 1 that is the new one I created, 1 local admin I created and a WsiAccount
Anonymous

2025-10-28T17:07:43.9366667+00:00
Hi Norris,

Glad that worked! The two “Account Unknown” profiles usually appear when a user profile was deleted but its SID (security identifier) still exists in the system registry.

You can clean them up by:

Opening System Properties > Advanced > User Profiles > Settings If they show up there, you can delete them.

If not, they may need to be removed via Registry Editor:

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Look for entries with .bak or without a readable name

Make sure they’re not tied to active accounts before deleting
Norris72 40 Reputation points

2025-10-28T17:53:33.5233333+00:00

That’s fabulous. My last step (you’ll be pleased to know is sign into the one drive and when I do this it says email address is used by both One Drive AND One Drive for business. If I try to verify my account first then it auto populates to send to a different email address

thanks for your time, I’m sorry there seems to be a domino effect on this
Anonymous

2025-10-28T18:30:35.5533333+00:00

Hi Norris,

That OneDrive message usually means the same email is linked to both a personal and a work/school (OneDrive for Business) account. It’s common, and Microsoft tries to separate them, but it can get confusing.

When verifying, if it auto-populates a different email, it’s likely using cached credentials or a linked alias.

Try signing out of all Microsoft accounts in your browser and Office apps. Then go to https://onedrive.live.com and sign in fresh with the intended account. If prompted to choose between “Work or School” and “Personal,” pick the one that matches your license or intended use.

Let me know if it keeps redirecting or if you want to fully unlink the business account.
Norris72 40 Reputation points

2025-10-28T18:59:50.42+00:00

fully unlink sound great as I retired 20 years ago and I didn't have either email addresses for at least 7 years after this date
Anonymous

2025-10-28T19:03:25.1066667+00:00

Hi Norris,

Thanks for the update! Since you're no longer using those email accounts and want to fully unlink OneDrive. You can unlink it by clicking the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner). Select the gear icon > Settings. Go to the Account tab. Click Unlink this PC and confirm.

This will stop syncing files but won’t delete anything from your computer.
Norris72 40 Reputation points

2025-10-28T19:11:20.95+00:00

thanks for that, really do appreciate your help
Anonymous

2025-10-28T19:12:39.86+00:00

You're very welcome Norris72.

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Why cant I delete a user profile?

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