How do I delete an 'Unknown Account'?

Question

I am running a new Dimension 9200 with Windows Vista Home Premium.

Initially I had two user accounts, my wife’s and mine. For reasons I will not get in to, I had to delete my wife’s account, which I did from “Control Panel”, “User accounts” and “Manage another user account”.

The problem is, although my wife’s login is no longer present at start-up, or can be seen as a valid user account, the folder is still visible from Explorer, under C:\users.

Furthermore, if I inspect “Configure advanced user profile properties” from “User accounts” there is my ‘live’ account plus one that is named “Account Unknown”. It cannot be deleted as it is ‘grey-ed out”, as is my (administrator) account.

I have racked my brains to think of how I can delete this ‘ghost’ account but every avenue I try I get an error message saying that “I do not have the correct permissions”. How so? I am an administrator?

Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

muhboy · Answer

Even though I don't have Vista at the moment, I'm guessing, that the unknown user account is the one needed to boot in safe mode, and therefore is undeleteable.   And your wife's user account is still there, because when you deleted her account, you chose to not delete the files. This ought to be possible by just deleting the map.

Uxbridge · Answer

Thanks for the reply muhboy.

I did try and delete my wife's account AND delete the files however Vista would not let me. It would only allow me an option to delete the account if I saved the account files, which have appeared on the desktop as a folder.

As the first account to be opened and as the administrator I would expect some resistance to deleting my account but not my wife's?

I'm afraid my knowledge base is too shallow to know how to "delete the map". I am aware of what a map is but not how to delete it.

Thanks anyway, appreciated.

Message Edited by Uxbridge on 04-17-2007 02:59 AM

muhboy · Answer

Strange no one else is answering, e.g. someone who has Vista (right now)???

Windows General

How do I delete an "Unknown Account"?

Was this post helpful?