4 Ways To Disable User Account In Windows 11

Disable user account Windows 11Disable user account Windows 11

You can share a Windows 11 computer with multiple people and have a dedicated user account for each. Each of these accounts retains the configurations and settings applied to them. However, if an account is no longer required, you can disable it instead of completely removing it.

Regardless of the reason, if a user account may be needed in the future, but has no use right now, Windows 11 provides several ways to disable it.

Disabling an account will allow you to reinstate it if ever required in the future, with all the settings and data as-is. This, of course, cannot be accomplished if you permanently delete a user account.

Note: This is not the same as disabling/blocking a Microsoft account on a Windows computer. If you disable a Microsoft account, you can still sign in using a local user account. However, this article discusses how to temporarily disable a user account, regardless of whether it is a Microsoft account or a local account.

Continue reading this article to learn how to disable an account on a Windows 11 PC .

Temporarily Disable User Account on Windows 11

From Computer Management/ Local Users and Groups Management Console

Windows comes with Microsoft Management Consoles used to manage and monitor different components of the OS. 2 of these consoles are the Computer Management Console and the Local Users and Groups Console which can be used to disable a user account.

  1. Open either the Computer Management Console or the Local Users and Groups Console by typing in compmgmt.msc or lusrmgr.msc in the Run Command box, respectively.

    compmgmt
    Open Computer Management Console
    lusrmgr
    Open Local Users and Groups Console
  2. Now navigate to the following location from the left pane:

    • In the case of Computer Management Console:

      System Tools >> Local Users and Groups >> Users
    • In the case of Local Users and Groups Console:

      Users
  3. Now right-click on the user account you want to disable and click Properties from the context menu.

    properties 6
    Open account properties
  4. From the Properties window, check the box next “Account is disabled” and then click Apply and Ok.

    check box
    Disable account from its properties

The selected user account will now be disabled unless manually re-enabled. If you want to enable the same account in the future, simply uncheck the box next to “Account is disabled” from its Properties window. You should then be able to access the account once again.

From Settings App

The Settings app slowly replaces the Control Panel in Windows. Not only that, but it now offers a much-centralized control of the operating system and its configurations. Follow these steps to temporarily disable a user account from the Settings app:

Note: You can only disable user accounts from the Settings app that have been added to the Family group. Local or Microsoft accounts cannot be disabled using this method .

  1. Navigate to the following:

    Settings app >> Accounts >> Family and other users
  2. Here, click on the family account that you want to disable to expand it, then click Block sign in under it.

    block sign in
    Disable user account
  3. When asked for a confirmation, click Block.

    block
    Confirm account disabling

The account will now be disabled, as the user is prevented from signing in. However, all data and settings will be maintained on your PC.

To re-enable the account, perform these steps:

  1. Navigate to the following:

    Settings app >> Accounts >> Family and other users
  2. Click on the family account to expand it, then click Allow sign in under it.

    Allow 1
    Enable user account
  3. When asked for a confirmation, click Allow.

    allow 2
    Confirm account enabling

From Command Prompt

If you are more comfortable using the Command Line Interface (CLI), follow these steps to disable a user account from the Command Prompt:

  1. Launch the Command Prompt with elevated privileges.

  2. Paste the following cmdlet to get a list of the user accounts on your PC .

    Net User
    Get list of all user accounts
    Get a list of all user accounts
  3. Now use the following command to disable a user account while replacing Username with the account’s name:

    Net User Username /Active:No
    Disable account
    Disable account

The selected user account will now be disabled.

In case you want to re-enable it, use the following cmdlet:

Net User Username /Active:Yes
Enable user account from Command Prompt
Enable user account from Command Prompt

From Windows PowerShell

Perform the following steps to disable a user account using PowerShell:

  1. Launch Windows PowerShell with elevated privileges.

  2. Now paste the following cmdlet to get a list of user accounts on your computer:

    Get-LocalUser
    Get user account list
    Get user account list
  3. Now use the following command to disable an account while replacing Username with the account’s name:

    Disable-LocalUser -Name "Username"
    Disable account using PowerShell
    Disable account using PowerShell

The user account will now be disabled while retaining its settings and personalization.

If you ever want to re-enable it, simply run the following command in PowerShell:

Enable-LocalUser -Name "Username"
Enable user account from PowerShell
Enable user account from PowerShell

Hide a User Account

Hiding a user account is not the same as disabling it. This simply means that the hidden account will not be displayed on the Lock Screen, and thus the user won’t be able to click on it to log in. However, since the account won’t be disabled, one can still log in by clicking Other users, and then manually entering the user account details.

You can hide a user account in Windows through the Windows Registry. Here is how:

Note: Misconfiguration of critical values in the system’s registry could be fatal for your operating system. Therefore, we insist that you create a system restore point before proceeding with the process.

  1. Open the Windows Registry Editor by typing in regedit in the Run Command window.

    regedit
    Open Registry Editor
  2. Now paste the following in the address bar at the top for quick navigation:

    Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    nav
    Paste location in Registry Editor’s navigation bar
  3. Right-click on the WinLogon Key in the left pane, expand New, then click Key. Name this new key “SpecialAccounts.”

    new key 1
    Create a new Key under WinLogon
  4. Now right-click the SpecialAccounts Key, expand New, and then click Key again. Name this Key “UserList.”

    new key 2
    Create a new Key under SpecialAccounts
  5. Right-click the UserList Key, expand New, then click DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this new DWORD the name of the user account that you want to disable.

    Create DWORD with user account name under UserList Key
    Create DWORD with user account name under UserList Key
  6. Now restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

When the computer reboots, the specified user account will no longer be among the list to log in on the Lock Screen.

In the case you want to undo these changes and unhide the user account, simply return to the UserList Key in the Registry Editor and delete the DWORD with the user account’s name.

Delete DWORD to unhide user account
Delete DWORD to unhide user account

Closing Words

Hiding or disabling a user account from your computer does not free up any additional space on your hard drive, as the data of the profiles are still retained on your computer.

You can still need to disable a user account if it is no longer in use, or you simply do not want to allow the user to use your computer anymore. This is an excellent way for parents to restrict their child’s computer usage, for instance, disabling their account during their examinations.

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Subhan Zafar is an established IT professional with interests in Windows and Server infrastructure testing and research, and is currently working with Itechtics as a research consultant. He has studied Electrical Engineering and is also certified by Huawei (HCNA & HCNP Routing and Switching).

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