Cannot delete a second administrative user account


  1. Posts : 78
    Win 7/Pro 64-bit
       #1

    Cannot delete a second administrative user account


    I have two user accounts

    • "Bob"
    • "Delete Me"

    Both are administrative accounts; I just installed "Delete Me" today and no longer need it. Neither has a password.

    While logged on as "Bob" I tried to delete the user account, and failed. I then searched this forum for help, and got this page. I tried all of the proposed methods, but none of them worked. For the two (as I recall) that required using a command prompt, I was careful to open that as an administrator.

    I'm lost. How can I get rid of this thing?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 71,980
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #2

    Hello Bob,

    What happened when it failed? Any error messages?

    Is the one you want to delete still listed in User Accounts (Control Panel) like below, or is it just it's C:\Users\Delete Me folder still there?
    If so, then go ahead and create a password for the Bob account that you want to keep. Afterwards, try deleting the other one again.

    Hope this helps for now, :)
    Shawn
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 78
    Win 7/Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Ah, it gets interesting now. Before I tried to delete it, I renamed the account from "Administrator" to "Delete Me" ... That's when I started to try to delete the account. Prodded by your response, I checked what was in the "Users" folders, and did not find "Delete Me" but "Administrator" -- so, when I renamed the user it did not rename the folder.

    Suggestions?

    PS: I added a password to the other account, but that didn't let me delete "Delete Me" ... I also tried to rename "Delete Me" to "Administrator" -- but it would not let me. Yikes !!
    Last edited by websquad; 17 Oct 2012 at 14:06. Reason: Added PS
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 71,980
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #4

    Ah, ok.

    If this was the built-in "Administrator" account, then you can't delete it. You can only enable or disable it.
    Since the account has already been previously activated, you could use OPTION FOUR in the tutorial below to rename it back to Administrator, but it will not change the name of it's folder.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 78
    Win 7/Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    I think that the issue is that just after I installed Windows 7, I changed the name of the built-in administrator account to "Bob" -- because before I created the "Administrator" account there was only the following:

    Bob (Administrator)
    Guest (Guest account is off)

    When I go to Bob's account page, there are options to change the account name, create a password, change the picture, set up parental controls, change the account type, and delete the account.

    When I go to Delete Me's account page, there are NO options to change the account type or delete the account. And, unlike Bob, there is no Delete Me subdirectory under Users; only Administrator --- and I can't rename it.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 71,980
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #6

    Ok, first we need to find out which account it the built-in Administrator or not. Take a peek using OPTION TWO or OPTION THREE in the tutorial below to just see what name is assigned to the built-in Administrator.

    Built-in Administrator Account - Change Name
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 78
    Win 7/Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Got caught up with a more pressing job for last few days ... and to defer working on this. Here is the "Local Users and Groups" from "Computer Management" (.png file attached)... Yep, the file I renamed was indeed the built-in administrative account.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Cannot delete a second administrative user account-capture.png  
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 71,980
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #8

    No problem. I understand how busy it is out there. :)

    Are you able to rename it back to Administrator in lusrmgr.msc?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 78
    Win 7/Pro 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Don't know what lusrmgr.msc is (I assume it is a command that I would execute from a command window when started as an administrator) ... and don't know the command syntex.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 71,980
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
       #10

    Sorry, lusrmgr.msc is the Local Users and Group window in your screenshot, or OPTION TWO in the tutorial above.

    You can't delete the account since it's the built-in Administrator (renamed: Delete Me) account, but you can disable it. Afterwards, you should be able to delete it's C:\Users\Delete Me or Administrator folder if it or it's contents are not be shared.

    File Sharing - Set to "Share with" and "Stop Sharing" in Windows 8
      My Computer


 

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