Account of the last owner won't go away ?

br0kensp3ar · 2025-03-17T20:01:27-0400

I got this laptop (see my specs) from my uncle who already built his own gaming PC. He gave it to me as is, and the only files inside are just gaming stuffs (Steam, Walkthrough Docs, Cheats, etc.) nothing important.

I requested my more tech-savvy friend to reinstall windows on this machine, but he refused saying if there's nothing big wrong with it, then it's unnecessary. So I went on deleting stuffs, including my uncle's account. From settings app to control panel, all I see is just my account, there's no other account, not even guest ones.

Yet, every time I turn this laptop on, the first account that greet me is my unc old email... It's not until I either click my own profile picture on the bottom left corner or wait for the lock screen to stop displaying the account, then it will display my own.

I have no idea what's left that I didn't do to remove that old account, and it's only on the lock screen, the account doesn't appear anywhere else. It just bothers me lol

Something new that I just realized is that when I check the Windows Version using winver command, it says that this Windows 11 is registered to my uncle's old gmail account... maybe it has something to do with that ? how do I change it ? or at least just a way to remove the nonexistent account in sign-in screen ?

dacrone · 2025-03-17T20:08:42-0400

check Settings > Accounts > Emails & Accounts
remove his email if linked

open command prompt and type:

Code:

net user

what accounts show?

andrew129260 · 2025-03-17T20:32:18-0400

I would just do a built in reset of the pc and start over.

Reset Windows 11 PC

This tutorial will show you how to reset Windows 11 and Remove everything or Keep my files. You can reset Windows 11 when your PC isn’t working well and it’s been a while since you installed an app, driver, or update. Resetting reinstalls Windows 11, but lets you choose whether to keep your...

www.elevenforum.com

Use the remove everything option.

Then set up the pc from scratch.

idgat · 2025-03-17T20:46:35-0400

The above options are valid

However, for me, whenever I take over a computer - no matter from whom - a clean install is absolute

Clean Install Windows 11

This tutorial will show you step by step on how to clean install Windows 11 at boot on your PC with or without an Internet connection and setup with a local account or Microsoft account. Windows 11 has all the power and security of Windows 10 with a redesigned and refreshed look. It also comes...

www.elevenforum.com

glasskuter · 2025-03-17T21:08:46-0400

A reset and remove everything completely wipes Windows and boots up to OOBE just like a clean install. You start fresh just like a clean install. You can do that from recovery.
settingss>system>recovery

colinp · 2025-03-18T07:27:46-0400

andrew129260 said:
I would just do a built in reset of the pc and start over.

Reset Windows 11 PC

This tutorial will show you how to reset Windows 11 and Remove everything or Keep my files. You can reset Windows 11 when your PC isn’t working well and it’s been a while since you installed an app, driver, or update. Resetting reinstalls Windows 11, but lets you choose whether to keep your...

www.elevenforum.com

Use the remove everything option.

Then set up the pc from scratch.

I can attest that that works just fine. The only thing that is left from the old account (my son) is what I backed up to another drive before resetting the computer.

Scannerman · 2025-03-18T08:04:41-0400

A factory reset will only work so far on most proprietary systems before it starts reaching for old defaults. Seems to me it's pulling from the backup that was registered to the original installation. Taking full ownership of your PC is rarely advised due to security risks, but this is an entirely different matter. There is a reason why people don't want to set up their Windows Installation with a Microsoft account. You are always safer with a local account. Safer from adware, safer from bloatware, and safer from bots that "think" they know better than you do. This doesn't mean that you can't make a Microsoft account later and access it from your local account. You will certainly have more control of your PC doing it this way.

Personally, I would do a fresh install on a separate, clean drive. If Windows asks for a different key after letting it scan for one I'd get a different activation key. But that's just me. User preference prevails.

Bree · 2025-03-18T08:06:07-0400

br0kensp3ar said:
....or at least just a way to remove the nonexistent account in sign-in screen ?

A nonexistant account on the sign-in screen is usually due to having set it up to automatically sign in. Remove it from automatic sign in and it should go away.

Enable or Disable Automatically Sign in Account at Startup in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable automatically sign in to a specific account at startup to boot directly to the desktop in Windows 11. By default at the startup of Windows 11, you need to dismiss the Lock screen, select the account you want to sign in to on the Sign-in...

www.elevenforum.com

br0kensp3ar · 2025-03-18T20:18:58-0400

dacrone said:
check Settings > Accounts > Emails & Accounts
remove his email if linked

open command prompt and type:

Code:

net user

what accounts show?

Emails & Accounts just show my hotmail account.

Code:

net user

only show
Administrator: my name
DefaultAccount: WDAGUtilityAccount
Guest: -empty-

Bree said:
A nonexistant account on the sign-in screen is usually due to having set it up to automatically sign in. Remove it from automatic sign in and it should go away.

Enable or Disable Automatically Sign in Account at Startup in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable automatically sign in to a specific account at startup to boot directly to the desktop in Windows 11. By default at the startup of Windows 11, you need to dismiss the Lock screen, select the account you want to sign in to on the Sign-in...

www.elevenforum.com

do I need to see the nonexistent account in netplwiz menu ? because there's no other users there--not the old uncle email account--there's only 1 account, and it's mine.

andrew129260 said:
I would just do a built in reset of the pc and start over.

Reset Windows 11 PC

This tutorial will show you how to reset Windows 11 and Remove everything or Keep my files. You can reset Windows 11 when your PC isn’t working well and it’s been a while since you installed an app, driver, or update. Resetting reinstalls Windows 11, but lets you choose whether to keep your...

www.elevenforum.com

Use the remove everything option.

Then set up the pc from scratch.

yeah I think I'd do this if nothing else works, might have to finish the installed games and do backup first lol.

Bree · 2025-03-18T20:28:05-0400

br0kensp3ar said:
do I need to see the nonexistent account in netplwiz menu ? because there's no other users there--not the old uncle email account--there's only 1 account, and it's mine.

Netplwiz will only list accounts that exist. If it had previously been set up to automatically sign in an account that has now been deleted it won't appear in netplwiz, but it will still appear on the sign in screen. Just tick the box for 'Users must enter a username and password to use this computer' and click OK to remove the previous automatic sign in.

Account of the last owner won't go away ?

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