How to remove old email accounts from outlook

CalebLarue

New Member
Joined
May 26, 2023
Messages
6
Dear All,

I've been attempting in vain to delete old email accounts that are stored in outlook. Please view the 2 pictures that are attached.

1: After selecting "add account," (Picture 1) I can choose five to six outdated email addresses, many of which I no longer have access to in the drop-down list (Picture 2).

2: Even though I have activated two-factor authentication to logon the email account that is still active. Outlook immediately adds the email account and grants access to email content without requesting two factor authentication? (If trying to logon the email using the browser, it asks for two factor authentication)

How do I remove the saved accounts from the drop-down list in Picture 2?
Additionally, I want to make sure that two-factor authentication is required before any new accounts can be added to Outlook?
 

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Solution
Hello,
To remove the saved email accounts from the drop-down list in Picture 2, please follow these steps:
1. Open Outlook and click on the "File" tab.
2. Click on the "Account Settings" button and select "Account Settings" from the drop-down menu.
3. In the "Account Settings" window, select the "Email" tab.
4. Under the "Email" tab, select the email account that you want to remove from the drop-down list.
5. Click on the "Remove" button and confirm the action by clicking "Yes."
6. Repeat this process for all the email accounts that you want to remove from the drop-down list.
Regarding the issue with two-factor authentication not being required to access email content in Outlook, please check if the "remember password" option is checked...
Hello,
To remove the saved email accounts from the drop-down list in Picture 2, please follow these steps:
1. Open Outlook and click on the "File" tab.
2. Click on the "Account Settings" button and select "Account Settings" from the drop-down menu.
3. In the "Account Settings" window, select the "Email" tab.
4. Under the "Email" tab, select the email account that you want to remove from the drop-down list.
5. Click on the "Remove" button and confirm the action by clicking "Yes."
6. Repeat this process for all the email accounts that you want to remove from the drop-down list.
Regarding the issue with two-factor authentication not being required to access email content in Outlook, please check if the "remember password" option is checked in the account settings. If so, please uncheck it and try again. If the issue persists, you may want to contact the email provider's support team for further assistance.
To ensure that two-factor authentication is required before any new accounts can be added to Outlook, you may need to enable this setting in the email provider's account settings. Please refer to the email provider's documentation or support team for instructions on how to do this.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.
 
Solution
No, these measures have already been tried and were unsuccessful. I also made an effort to delete the Outlook file and that did not help either. Also tried to run online repair with the same result.
 
what kind of accout is this outlook account i.e, is it linked to a Microsoft account or a work managed account of some kind
 
On point 4: Since there is no information in those subkeys that indicates that, how am I supposed to know what email account each one represents?
 
These steps did not help either.
 
These steps did not help either.
 
Thanks for clarifying, and it looks like you've taken all the logical initial steps to address this! Since the usual methods (removing accounts through Account Settings, deleting the Outlook profile, and running an online repair) haven’t resolved the problem, let’s dig deeper.

1. Look Beyond Account Settings

If the drop-down list still shows old accounts even after you think they’ve been removed, these accounts might be residual autofill entries or stale data stored in the Outlook or Windows registry.

Solution: Clear Cached Credentials​

  • Close Outlook completely.
  • Open the Windows Credential Manager (Win + S → type Credential Manager):
    1. Click on Windows Credentials and Generic Credentials tabs.
    2. Locate entries related to the old email accounts (they may start with Outlook or MS.Outlook:emailaddress).
    3. Remove these credentials.
  • Restart Outlook and check if the accounts still appear.

2. Clear Cached Auto-Complete Entries

Sometimes, cached data stored in configuration files can propagate autofill options.

Solution: Delete the .dat File Manually​

  1. Close Outlook.
  2. Navigate to this path:
    C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook
  3. Look for files like Stream[I]Autocomplete[/I]<GUID>.dat.
  4. Rename or delete them (Outlook will recreate a clean file on next launch).
  5. Open Outlook and check if the accounts are finally gone.

3. Reset the Outlook Profile Completely

If the problem persists, the issue might be linked to the Outlook profile itself, even though you’ve tried some profile-related fixes.

Solution: Fully Recreate the Outlook Profile​

  1. Go to Control Panel > Mail (Microsoft Outlook).
  2. Click Show Profiles.
  3. Select the profile, click Remove, and confirm.
    (Don’t worry—your actual email and data are safe; this only resets configuration.)
  4. Restart Outlook and create a new profile from scratch, re-adding only the accounts you currently use.

4. Registry Check for Leftover Data

If none of the above works, it’s time to check for possible leftover registry entries.

Warning: Proceed with caution or back up your registry first!​

  1. Open Registry Editor (Win + R → type regedit).
  2. Navigate to:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\<YourOfficeVersion>\Outlook\Profiles
  3. Inspect the keys for any traces of old accounts and delete ONLY the entries corresponding to them (do not delete generic Outlook or profile keys).

5. Test in Safe Mode

Corrupted add-ins could cause weird behavior like this. Launch Outlook in Safe Mode:
  • Press Win + R → type Outlook.exe /safe.
  • Test to see if the issue persists. If safe mode works fine, disable any suspicious add-ins under File > Options > Add-ins.

Give these steps a try, especially clearing cached credentials and residual registry entries, and let me know if any of them work!