Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10  

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    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10

    How to Enable or Disable User Accounts in Windows 10
    Published by Category: User Accounts
    07 Apr 2021
    Designer Media Ltd

    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






    OPTION ONE

    To Enable or Disable User Account in Command Prompt


    1 Open an elevated command prompt.

    2 Do step 3 (disable) or step 4 (enable) below for what you would like to do.


     3. To Disable a User Account

    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

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-disable_account_command-1.png


     4. To Enable a User Account

    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

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-enable_account_command-1.png

    5 You can now close the elevated command prompt if you like.






    OPTION TWO

    To Enable or Disable User Account in Local Users and Groups


    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)

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-enable-disable_account_lusrmgr-1.png

    3 Check (disable) or uncheck (enable (default)) the Account is disabled box for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-enable-disable_account_lusrmgr-2.png

    4 You can now close Local Users and Groups if you like.






    OPTION THREE

    To Hide or Unhide User Account in Registry Editor


    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.

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-enable-disable_account_registry-1.png

    3 Do step 4 (hide) or step 5 (unhide) below for what you would like to do.


     4. To Hide a User Account

    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.
    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-net_user.png



     5. To Unhide a User Account

    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)

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-enable-disable_account_registry-2.png

    6 You can now close Registry Editor if you like.






    OPTION FOUR

    To Enable or Disable User Account in PowerShell


    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.


     3. To Disable a User Account

    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"

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-disable_account_in_powershell.png


     4. To Enable a User Account

    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"

    Enable or Disable Account in Windows 10-enable_account_in_powershell.png

    5 When finished, you can close the elevated PowerShell if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn






  1. Posts : 32
    10 Anniversary
       #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.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 68,657
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #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
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 32
    10 Anniversary
       #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.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,657
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

    Great news.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 1
    Windows 10 Technical Preview 64-bit
       #5

    Minor remark (small copy/paste mistake): At #option1s4, with /active:yes, the verb should be "To enable", not "To disable".
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 68,657
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #6

    paulemil said:
    Minor remark (small copy/paste mistake): At #option1s4, with /active:yes, the verb should be "To enable", not "To disable".
    Oops. Thank you Paul. Now corrected.
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 456
    Windows 10
       #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?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 68,657
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #8

    ricardobohner said:
    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?
    Hello Ricardo,

    I'm afraid if an account has been disabled, you will not be able to sign in to that account until it has been enabled again.
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 456
    Windows 10
       #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...

      My Computer


 

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