how to remove an obsolete account from my pc

Question

I have a pc running windows 11 and I keep getting a pop up asking me to sign in to a windows account that I used to have for my business. I am now retired and want to stop this pop up as the account and associated email address no longer exist.

In your FAQ it says go to start/settings/accounts/your accounts and select access work/school accounts. This does not appear when I access your accounts the only options I see are to add an account or manage accounts. If I go to manage accounts it requires me to sign in the very account I want to get rid of using a code sent to the email address I can no longer access!!

Please help.

Bob

Answer 1

Hi @Bob Wadey,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum.

It appears that your old business account is still linked to Windows, even though it is no longer active or usable. I’d like to reassure you that you do not need access to that old email address to stop these sign‑in pop‑ups.

To resolve this, you can follow the steps below to clear the cached credentials on your device, which will help ensure the account is fully removed and the system starts fresh.

1. Please sign out your accounts from Office applications, then close all Office applications.   
2. Open File Explorer, paste the following path, and delete all files and folders. %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.AAD.BrokerPlugin_cw5n1h2txyewy   
3. In the Windows search bar, search for "Access Work or School".   
4. Check if you can see your school account in "Access Work or School".   

If you don't see it, please select Connect and add your business account.   

If you can see it, please select it and select Disconnect. After that, please click "Connect" and log into your account again to register the device if needed.

• Open the Control Panel on your PC.   
• Go to User Accounts > Credential Manager.   
• Under both Windows Credentials and Generic Credentials, look for any entries related to your Microsoft 365 business account and Office apps.   

• Select and remove those entries.   
• Restart your computer and try adding your account in Office again.  

Download OLicenseCleanup.vbs and run it. In this way, you can use this package to remove the license, clear the stored identities in the registry, and remove the credentials. You can follow this: Reset activation state for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise - Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft Learn to reset activation state 

Restart your device.

Reopen Office apps and sign in with the correct account.

I hope this provides enough clarity and helps you stay inform with your current situation.

In the meantime, if you see my replies bring helpful information, please kindly accept it as an answer and vote it up by your original account, which raised this question. Once marked, it will automatically pin to top. As other users will also search information in this community, your valuable vote up will definitely also help other users who have similar queries easily to find the correct channel and useful information more quickly.   

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.   

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Answer 2

To stop Windows 11 asking for sign-in to the old business (work/school) account, remove that account from the device at Windows level. Do not try to sign in to the obsolete email; just disconnect the work/school account from Windows.

Use Access work or school (this is a different place than “Email & accounts” / “Your accounts”):

1. Open Settings on the PC.
2. Select Accounts.
3. Select Access work or school (not Email & accounts / Your info).
4. In the list, find the old business/work/school account.
5. Select the account, then choose Disconnect.
6. Confirm when prompted.

This removes the work/school account from the device and stops Windows and apps from trying to use it, without needing to receive a code at the old email address.

If the account also appears under Email & accounts:

1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts.
2. Under Accounts used by email, calendar, and contacts, select the obsolete account.
3. Choose Remove account.

If the prompts are coming from specific apps (for example Outlook or Teams), also remove the account inside those apps:

• Outlook for Windows (new or classic): go to File > Account info > Accounts/Account Settings, select the obsolete account, and choose Remove. This only removes it from Outlook, not from Microsoft servers.
• Teams: follow the steps under “Remove an account from Windows” to sign out/remove it from the device.

After these removals, restart the PC to ensure the sign-in prompts stop.

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References:

• Add Your Work or School Account to a Windows Device
• Manage User Accounts in Windows
• Sign out or remove an account from Microsoft Teams
• Add an email account to Outlook for Windows