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How to Delete User Profile in Windows 10

August 16, 2019

By Peter Barnett

No matter the reasons behind your decision to change or reset all the preferences and settings for all apps and Windows for a particular user, we’ll guide you through the task of how to delete the user profile without deleting the user account.

Note: If you are searching for a step-by-step road map for deleting a user account, then read up on our How to Enable or Disable a User Account in Windows 10 article.

The magic of removing the user profile and still keeping the user account in place is that a new profile is automatically created for the same user account when you sign back in. To check out the account details, you go to the local drive C: \ and then double-click Users (C: \ Users \). Among the folders, you pick up the one that matches the respective username to go through its hidden folders and subfolders — AppData, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, etc.

Before deleting the required user profile, we recommend that:

  • You don’t try to remove the profile you’re currently using.
  • You’ve signed in with a different user account having administrator rights.
  • You copy the user directory (extracting if need be).

What Are the Methods to Delete User Profile (Windows 10)

Firstly, we’ll introduce you to the two methods to delete user profile:

Method 1. How to Delete User Profile (Windows 10) via Advanced System Properties

  • Step 1. Open Advanced System Properties Window
  • Step 2. Move to the User Profiles section
  • Step 3. Select and Delete User Profile

Method 2. Delete User Profile in Windows 10 Manually

  • Step 1. Open the File Explorer window
  • Step 2. Open the Users folder 
  • Step 3. Delete the Required User Profile
  • Step 4. Open Register Editor
  • Step 5. Navigate to ProfileList
  • Step 6. Remove ProfileImagePath linked to the Deleted User Profile

Method 1. How to Delete User Profile (Windows 10) via Advanced System Properties in 3 Steps

Step 1. Open the Advanced System Properties Window

Press the keyboard shortcut Windows + R to open the Run command window immediately. After you’ve typed SystemPropertiesAdvanced into the box, click OK, or press Enter to run Advanced System Properties.

SystemPropertiesAdvanced kb

Step 2. Move to the User Profiles section

In the System Properties window (the Advanced tab), we first spot the User Profiles section and then hit the Settings button.

Move to User Profiles section

Step 3. Select and Delete User Profile

Now is the time to select the user profile in the User Profiles window and remove it from the list. After pressing Delete, you’ll have to confirm your action by pressing Yes in the prompt.

Step 3 to delete user profile is to Selecting the Profile and Deleting
confirm the deliting of win profile

Once the user signs back into the system, the user profile will be restored with the default settings in place. 

Delete User Profile in Windows 10 Manually in 6 Steps

Step 1. Open the File Explorer window

We go to File Explorer (also referred to as Windows Explorer or This PC) and double-click on the icon.

Open the File Explorer window

Step 2. Open the Users folder

Among the folders in the C drive (C:), we need to find Users and click on the icon.

Select Users folder

Step 3. Delete the Required User Profile

Firstly, you right-click on the user profile you plan to remove, then among the offered operations, select Delete.

delete profile folder in file explorer

Step 4. Open Registry Editon

Use the keyboard shortcut Win + R. In the Run dialog box, type the command regedit and press Enter (click on the OK button).

The next step to delete user profile is to Open Registry Editor Window

Step 5. Navigate to ProfileList

In the address bar of Registry Editor, place the following Registry Key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Find the Following Registry key

Step 6. Remove ProfileImagePath linked to the Deleted User Profile

Under Profile List in the left pane, there are the subkeys, by clicking on which we need to detect the ProfileImagePath string value linked to the deleted user profile. Once we locate the required ProfileImagePath in the right windowpane, we need to remove it from the list.

Remove the Deleted Profile's Subkey
The system will automatically restore the user profile with the default settings once the user signs back in.

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