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Featured Tutorial | | | How to Delete an User Account in Windows 7 and Windows 8
 Information This tutorial will show you different ways on how to delete an user account or domain user account in Windows 7 and Windows 8.
You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to delete a user account.
 Warning - You will not be able to delete a user account that is logged in. It must be logged off first.
- Do not delete all administrator accounts on the computer. You need to have at least one administrator account created on the computer.
- Before deleting the user account, be sure to backup anything that you do not want to lose in it's C:\Users\(user-name) profile folder and subfolders.
 OPTION ONE 
To Delete an User Account in Control Panel "User Accounts"
1. Open the Control Panel (icons view) in Windows 7 or Windows 8, and click/tap on the User Accounts icon.
2. Click/tap on the Manage another account link. (see screenshot below)
3. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.
4. Click/tap on the user account (ex: Example-Standard) that you want to delete. (see screenshot below)
5. Click/tap on the Delete the account link. (see screenshot below)
6. Click/tap on the Delete Files button. (see screenshot below)
7. Click/tap on the Delete Account button. (see screenshot below)
8. The user account and it's C:\Users\(user-name) profile folder has now been deleted. 
9. When finished, you can close the User Accounts window.
OPTION TWO
To Delete an User Account in "Local Users and Groups"
1. Open Local Users and Groups, and click/tap on the Users folder in the left pane to open it. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: In Windows 8, "Local Users and Groups" is only available in the Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise editions.
2. In the middle pane of Users, right click or press and hold on the user account (ex: Example-Standard) that you want to delete, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot below)
3. Click/tap on Yes. (see screenshot below)
4. The user account has been deleted. When finished, close the Local Users and Groups window. (see screenshot below)
5. In Windows Explorer (Windows 7) or File Explorer (Windows 8), navigate to the deleted user account's C:\Users\(user-name) profile folder (ex: Example-Standard), right click or press and hold on it, click/tap on Delete, and approve. (see screenshot below)
OPTION THREE
To Delete an User Account in an "Elevated Command Prompt"
NOTE: This option will use the net user command to delete an user account with.1. Open an elevated command prompt in Windows 7 or Windows 8.
2. Do either step 3 or 4 below for how you need to delete the user account.
3. To Delete a User AccountA) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
 Note Substitute UserName in the command below with the user name of the user account (ex: Example-Standard) within quotes that you want to delete.
If this is a Microsoft account in Windows 8 that you want to delete, then you would need to substitute UserName in the command below with the name of it's C:\Users\(user-name) profile folder instead.
net user "UserName" /delete
B) Go to step 5.
4. To Delete a User Account on a Domain
NOTE: This is for only if your computer is on a domain.A) In the elevated command prompt, type the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
Note Substitute UserName in the command below with the user name of the user account (ex: Example-Standard) within quotes that you want to delete.
If this is a Microsoft account in Windows 8 that you want to delete, then you would need to substitute UserName in the command below with the name of it's C:\Users\(user-name) profile folder instead.
net user "UserName" /delete /domain
B) Go to step 5.
5. The user account has now been deleted. When finished, close the elevated command prompt.
6. In Windows Explorer, navigate to this user account's C:\Users\(user-name) profile folder (ex: Example-Standard), right click or press and hold on it, click/tap on Delete, and approve. (see screenshot below)
OPTION FOUR
To Delete an User Account in "Advanced User Accounts" (netplwiz)
1. Press the Windows+R keys to open the Run dialog, type netplwiz in the search box, and press Enter.
2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on Yes.
3. Check the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer box. (see screenshot below)
4. Select (highlight) the user name (ex: Example-Standard) of the user account that you want to delete, and click/tap on the Remove button. (see screenshot above)
5. Click/tap on Yes to approve. (see screenshot below)
6. If you had a user account set to be logged on automatically at startup, then you will need to set this again.
7. When finished, click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
8. The user account has now been deleted.
9. In Windows Explorer, navigate to this user account's C:\Users\(user-name) profile folder (ex: Example-Standard), right click or press and hold on it, click/tap on Delete, and approve. (see screenshot below)
That's it,
Shawn
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