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.
Temporarily Disable User Account on Windows 11 From Computer Management/ Local Users and Groups Management Console From Settings App From Command Prompt From Windows PowerShell Hide a User Account Closing Words
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.
In the case of Computer Management Console: System Tools » Local Users and Groups » Users In the case of Local Users and Groups Console: Users
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. 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:
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: The selected user account will now be disabled. In case you want to re-enable it, use the following cmdlet:
From Windows PowerShell
Perform the following steps to disable a user 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:
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. 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.
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.
