How to Enable or Disable User Accounts in Windows 10
User accounts help control which files and apps each person can use and what changes they can make to the PC.
If you have a user account that you want to make unavailable without deleting it, you can disable the account. A disabled account can be enabled again later. Disabling an account is different from deleting an account. If you delete an account, it can't be restored.
When a user account is disabled, it's name will be removed from the sign-in screen and Start menu switch user areas so that it can no longer be signed in to.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable a user account in Windows 10.
You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to enable or disable a user account.
Contents
- Option One: To Enable or Disable User Account in Command Prompt
- Option Two: To Enable or Disable User Account in Local Users and Groups
- Option Three: To Hide or Unhide User Account in Registry Editor
- Option Four: To Enable or Disable User Account in PowerShell
1 Open an elevated command prompt.
2 Do step 3 (disable) or step 4 (enable) below for what you would like to do.
A) Type the appropriate command below in the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
(To disable a local account)
Net user "User Name" /active:no
OR
(To disable a domain account)
Net user "User Name" /active:no /domain
Substitute User Name in the command above with the actual user name (ex: "Brink2") of the account you want to disable.
For example:Net user "Brink2" /active:no
This is the default setting.
A) Type the appropriate command below in the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
(To enable a local account)
Net user "User Name" /active:yes
OR
(To enable a domain account)
Net user "User Name" /active:yes /domain
Substitute User Name in the command above with the actual user name (ex: "Brink2") of the account you want to enable.
For example:Net user "Brink2" /active:yes
5 You can now close the elevated command prompt if you like.
The Local Users and Groups is only available in the Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.
1 Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog, type lusrmgr.msc into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Local Users and Groups.
2 Click/tap on Users in the left pane, and double click/tap on the Name (ex: Brink2) of the user account you want to enable or disable. (see screenshot below)
3 Check (disable) or uncheck (enable (default)) the Account is disabled box for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
4 You can now close Local Users and Groups if you like.
If you hide an account using this option, the account's details will not show it as being disabled.
You can still sign in to a hidden account using Other User on the sign-in screen.
1 Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.
2 Browse to the key location below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
If you do not have the SpecialAccounts key, then right click on the Winlogon key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type SpecialAccounts, and press Enter.
If you do not have the UserList key, then right click on the SpecialAccounts key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type UserList, and press Enter.
3 Do step 4 (hide) or step 5 (unhide) below for what you would like to do.
A) Right click on an empty space in the right pane of the UserList key, click/tap on New, and click/tap on DWORD (32-bit) Value. (see screenshot below step 2)
B) Type the name (ex: Brink2) of the user account you want to hide for the name of the DWORD, press Enter, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below step 2)
If needed, you can type net users in a command prompt and press Enter to see a list of all user account names on your PC.
This is the default setting
A) In the right pane of the UserList key, right click on the name (ex: Brink2) of the user account you want to unhide, and click/tap on Delete. (see screenshot below step 2)
B) Click/tap on Yes to confirm, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)
6 You can now close Registry Editor if you like.
For more Disable-LocalUser and Enable-LocalUser command options and details, see:
Disable-LocalUser - Microsoft Developer Network
Enable-LocalUser - Microsoft Developer Network
1 Open an elevated PowerShell.
2 Do step 3 (disable) or step 4 (enable) below for what you would like to do.
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
Disable-LocalUser -Name "UserName"
Substitute UserName in the command above with the actual user name (ex: "Brink2") of the account you want to disable.
For example:Disable-LocalUser -Name "Brink2"
This is the default setting.
A) Type the command below into the elevated PowerShell, press Enter, and go to step 5 below. (see screenshot below)
Enable-LocalUser -Name "UserName"
Substitute UserName in the command above with the actual user name (ex: "Brink2") of the account you want to enable.
For example:Enable-LocalUser -Name "Brink2"
5 When finished, you can close the elevated PowerShell if you like.
That's it,
Shawn
Related Tutorials
- How to Do Not Display Last Signed-in User Name on Sign-in Screen in Windows 10
- How to Allow or Block Microsoft Accounts in Windows 10
- How to Add a Local Account or Microsoft Account in Windows 10
- How to Delete a User Account in Windows 10
- How to Add a Guest Account in Windows 10
- How to Enable or Disable Built-in Elevated Administrator Account in Windows 10
- How to Change Account Type of Users in Windows 10
- How to View Full Details of All User Accounts in Windows 10
- How to Unlock a Local Account in Windows 10
- How to Add or Remove Users from Groups in Windows 10
- How to Change User Name of Account in Windows 10
- How to Allow or Prevent Users and Groups to Sign in Locally to Windows 10
- How to Deny Users and Groups to Sign in Locally to Windows 10
Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10
-
New #1
I used net user Administrator / active:no to hide the super user.If I restart the computer it correctly only shows my account on the logon screen. But if I then sign out, rather than logoff, the administrator account shows as a choice. It does not let me in though. It shouldn't be showing at all, right?
Sorry I had it backwards. The switch user is OK. It's the restart after shutdown that shows the super admin choice, even though the password is not accepted.Last edited by Dirty Butter; 17 Jun 2018 at 19:31.
-
New #2
Hello Dirty Butter,
Were you able to disable the built-in Administrator to have it no longer show?
Enable or Disable Elevated Administrator account in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials
-
New #3
I was not able to get rid of being asked for the nonexistent password to the Administrator account. But I could click in the left corner and get access to my account. I got around it by activating the Administrator account again and turning off the requirement to login each time I input my password there in netplwiz. When I restarted the computer it went straight to my account. I then used net user Administrator /active:no to hide the super user account.
-
-
New #5
Minor remark (small copy/paste mistake): At #option1s4, with /active:yes, the verb should be "To enable", not "To disable".
-
-
New #7
I used option 3 to hide account from the registry. Any idea how I can log on to this accounts by specifying the username and password in the logon screen?
-
-
-
New #9
@Brink: It is not disabled it is hidden. If I enable this option in the Local Policy Editor: Interactive logon: Do not display last user name" I can log into the hidden account. But that causes the userlist on the logon screen to disappear.
I would like to have the user list and maybe an option "other user" on the list...
Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10
How to Enable or Disable User Accounts in Windows 10Published by Shawn BrinkCategory: User Accounts
07 Apr 2021
Quote
Tutorial Categories
Related Discussions
