Solved User account - don't know where it came from or how to get rid of it

Whenever I sign into my Windows 11 Pro version 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2861) laptop, I am asked to enter a password for a user account that has the same name as my regular account but doesn't display my email address. I have attempted to enter a couple of possible passwords but none of them have worked so far. I was trying to sign in to this account thinking I could then find a way to delete it, but I'm not sure if there is a limit to the number of failed attempts before I get locked out.

I usually end up clicking on my regular account on the bottom left of the screen and entering my PIN to access my laptop. I have checked the settings and found only one user account listed under 'Settings > Accounts > Other users, and netplwiz also shows only one account. I don't recall configuring my laptop to not require a password for login, and I have come across similar issues on online forums where people have faced this problem after making changes to their password requirement settings. I have configured my laptop to skip the lock screen though, if that could make a difference.

I attempted to follow Brink's tutorial to fix this issue, but I wasn't able to. I only have one account, while the tutorial showed two. Also, I don't have the option to choose whether a password is required or not and the tutorial asks you to tick that box.

I am unsure of how I managed to create this problem in the first place, and I would appreciate it if someone could assist me in resolving this issue.

Hi, Carfar. Did you recently use Brinks tutorial to auto log into windows via Netplwiz?

Hello Carfar,

If you used netplwiz and entered an incorrect password or changed the password afterwards, it'll show a double account like that since netplwiz was unable to sign in with the wrong password.

Also… how many times have you rebooted since discovering the excess user account? But the auto log in question; I get this sometimes after activating auto log in using Netplwiz.
My fix is to undo then redo the process in the tutorial (above) about 5 or six times without closing Netplwiz. Apparently, Windows sometimes needs a kick, no idea why.
I fist read about others that had the same issue as I did, in the Ten Forums. I didn’t bookmark the thread.

Several months ago I had to clean up a Notebook, the owner was advised to create a second account [forgot what the reason was] and he used the exact same name. Turned out Users had only one account listed and all the data saved with either login went to the same folders, couldn't separate/remove the second account without all data being lost.

Login with your administer Microsoft Account (Email address) On the local account that you can't remember the password, You can change the password if you want to keep that account or you can remove it.

To the best of my knowledge, I never used netplwiz to configure my machine to sign on automatically, and have no idea how the rogue user account got onto my machine in the first place. I have been trying for months to get rid of the rogue account but have failed every time. I am not sure about everything I have tried, but I have tried many things. ChatGPT used to be great in helping me solve problems like this, but it's been lobotomized and not so useful anymore.

I had given up on getting rid of the rogue account and decided to live with it. However, recently I needed to get into safe mode, but every time I tried the advanced startup feature, it tried to sign in on the rogue account, which was not possible. Hence, I logged in to my regular account, and it skipped letting me get into safe mode. So I started my online search again and that's how I learned about the netplwiz solution people had used and gave it a try.

Maybe that makes some kind of sense? What else do you guys think I can try? I don't have time right now, but are you saying Spunk, that I should be able to sign in to the rogue account with my admin Microsoft password? I will try that later if so. If I can do that, how would I go about deleting the rogue account because it doesn't show up anywhere on my machine as an account?

Thanks,,

carfar said:

What else do you guys think I can try?

Click to expand...

Have you even tried Brink's solution? It works.
If you will open netplwiz and follow Brinks tutorial to Disable automatically sign in, the duplicate account will disappear after a restart.
Then if you actually do want to automatically sign in, open netplwiz again and follow the tutorial instructions to re-enable it

Press the Windows key +I in Settings, go to Accounts/Your Info and confirm that you are logged in with an Adminitostrar account. not a Standard User. If so,
go to Search and type sysdm.cpl and press Enter
In System Properties go to the Advanced tab.
Under User Profiles click Settings button.
Highlight the account you want to remove and click the Delete button.
It will not allow you to delete the account you are logged into.
Be sure to not touch the Default Profile or Hidden Administrator. Which you need for troubleshooting.
Restart the computer. The offending account will no longer be available.

I can't try Brink's solution. I don't have the checkbox available like in the write up and I only have one user account listed. I am indeed signed in as administrator.



I see this:

Well.... I got it now. I never saw the caveat that the checkbox might not appear in some instances until it finally dawned on me reading the tutorial again. Not sure how I overlooked it, but followed the tutorial on what to do in that instance and it worked like a charm!

Thank you to everyone for helping me get it figured out.

carfar said:

Well.... I got it now. I never saw the caveat that the checkbox might not appear in some instances until it finally dawned on me reading the tutorial again. Not sure how I overlooked it, but followed the tutorial on what to do in that instance and it worked like a charm!

Thank you to everyone for helping me get it figured out.

Click to expand...

Well… Huzzah! Always great when someone achieves their objective. Very cool.