Not able to delete user account

redwrench202 · #1 11-22-2004, 01:35 PM

Goodafternoon all,

First time user here. I am trying to delete my daughters account from our home pc. When I go thru the control panel and users accounts,"delete". Once I choose to delete her files awell and say delete account it locks up the machine. All other accounts are perfect. Ad-Aware has been run. Installed SP2 about a month or so ago. I even made a new account logged onto it. Then I was able to delete that account just fine. Machine boots and runs well in all other users, 3 more by the way. Is there anyother way to remove this account and the icon on the log-in screen in a somewhat tidy way? I don't think I should go in and just delete stuff thru explorer. Please, any help would be greatly appreciated. I am running XP home for what its worth. Thanks again.

vidster · #2 11-22-2004, 06:26 PM

Welcome to thr forum redwrench202

.

Have you tried deleting the account in safe mode?.

Safe mode: Reboot pc and press f8 repeatedly/ When the options screen comes up, select Safe mode.

almazlamaz · #3 11-22-2004, 10:30 PM

if u cant delete it right away,
u may change her password to another one and prevent her using computer

redwrench202 · #4 11-23-2004, 09:09 AM

The account I am trying to delete is a limited user account. When in safe mode the only accounts that are available are the admin and myself (admin. priv.). Why does this thing lock up when i try to delete an account. The rest of the machine works great. Thanks again

waresoft · #5 11-23-2004, 09:25 AM

Are you logging in as an admin to delete the account?

redwrench202 · #6 11-23-2004, 09:32 AM

Yes waresoft I am. Thanks for replying.

waresoft · #7 11-23-2004, 09:45 AM

How long until the computer "locks up"? If there are alot of files and registry settings for this particular user account it can take a while to delete the account and the system will seem like it is not responding.

Have you tried clicking the button to delete the account and just walked away? Come back in 10 to 15 minutes.

Is it still locked up after doing this, or did it finish what it was supposed to and now the account is deleted.

You may also want to disable system restore when deleting the user account. I bet it is creating a restore point as it is deleting the account, making it take longer, seeming like it may be locked up.

redwrench202 · #8 11-23-2004, 09:57 AM

I will go home for lunch, try to figure out how to disable my system restore and then try to remove the user account once again. I'll let it set for an hour or so or until I can get away from work to go check it. While you are mentioning system restore, when I try to use the restore calendar, I cannot choose any hilighted date or when I try to go to a previous month nothing happens when I press the back back on the calendar. I'll get back to you after lunch EST. Thanks for your help.

redwrench202 · #9 11-23-2004, 05:16 PM

Bada BING! Waresoft! That was the ticket. Once I disabled system restore and walked away from the machine for a few minutes after deleting account it worked. Thank you very much for your help. I hope you and your family have a nice holiday and thanks very much again.

Sid

waresoft · #10 11-23-2004, 06:33 PM

I'm happy to hear that it worked out for you! I hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving also.

PsrPimp · #11 05-13-2005, 08:01 AM

hey guys

im havn the same issue, ive turned off system restore, but no luck.

i get upto the point where it sez 'delete account' and i click it, then it does something for a whiel, then just sez not responding.

im running XP Pro

PsrPimp · #12 05-13-2005, 08:02 AM

hrmmm

should i try deleting in safe mode w/o system restore,

or just delete whilst logged in normelly?

waresoft · #13 05-13-2005, 09:46 AM

Wouldn't hurt to try it in safe mode. Keep this in mind, just because Windows XP says that it is not responding does not mean that it is not responding. It could just mean that it is busy.

vidster · #14 05-13-2005, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waresoft

Wouldn't hurt to try it in safe mode. Keep this in mind, just because Windows XP says that it is not responding does not mean that it is not responding. It could just mean that it is busy.

I have heard cases of this too. Sometimes people have to leave their computer for hours (or even overnight) before windows sorts itself out.

theflamingfist · #15 05-24-2005, 05:54 PM

i tried doing the safe mode malarky, but am having problems. if i log on as an admin in safe mode, then the accounts i wish to delete dont show up in the list. however, when i start my pc in normal mode, these accounts are still viewable and semi-accessible (all the files and settings are gone, but the account still works) and dont seem to delete in normal mode as admin.

is there any way to manually remove these accounts (as in deleting certain files) without damaging my pc permanently? or is my pc just permanently screwed?

reply to my email as well as here please - theflamingfist@hotmail.com

thanks very much - theflamingfist