How to Safely Delete User Profiles in Windows 10 and 11 Using System Properties or PowerShell

Deleting a user profile via System Properties removes the local profile data and settings stored on the PC, freeing disk space, while leaving the underlying user account (local, Microsoft Account, Active Directory, or Microsoft Entra ID) intact unless you also remove the account in Windows Settings.

Prerequisites and Pre-Removal Checks​

Before opening System Properties to remove a profile, verify that your environment meets these conditions to prevent data loss or a locked deletion state:

• Administrator privileges: You must be signed in to an account that is a member of the local Administrators group. Standard user accounts cannot view or delete other users' profiles.
• A separate active sign-in session: Windows cannot delete the profile of the account currently in use, nor can it delete a profile that remains loaded in the background via Fast User Switching. You must sign out of the target account completely—or restart the computer—and sign in using a different administrator account.
• Difference between a User Profile and a User Account:
• User Profile: The local workspace stored under C:\Users\<Username> (including Desktop, Documents, Downloads, AppData, and the user's NTUSER.DAT registry hive) along with its registration in the Windows Registry. Deleting the profile reclaims disk space and resets the user's local environment, but the account itself can still sign in and generate a fresh profile unless removed.
• User Account: The security identity managed in Settings > Accounts (or Active Directory / Entra ID). If you want to permanently revoke a local user's ability to sign in to the PC, you must also remove the account itself after or alongside cleaning up the profile.

Step 1: Identify the Target Account and Back Up Personal Files​

Before removing any profile, confirm which C:\Users folder maps to the account you intend to clean up and back up any needed files. Removing a profile permanently bypasses the Recycle Bin and erases everything inside that user's profile folder, including hidden application data.

Verify the Current Account and Profile Path​

• Press Windows + R, type cmd, and press Enter to open a Command Prompt window.
• Run the following command to verify the exact account and profile folder you are currently using so you do not accidentally target it:
  whoami && echo %USERPROFILE%
• To see a full list of every user profile on the PC along with its exact folder path (LocalPath), Security Identifier (SID), and whether it is currently loaded in memory (Loaded), open an elevated PowerShell window (Windows + X, then select Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin)) and run:
  Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_UserProfile | Where-Object { -not $_.Special } | Select-Object LocalPath, SID, Loaded, LastUseTime
• Check the Loaded column in the output. Any profile showing True is currently in use and will have a greyed-out Delete button in System Properties until that user signs out or the PC is restarted.

Back Up Personal Files and Hidden AppData​

Warning: Deleting a user profile permanently erases all files inside C:\Users\<Username>, including browser bookmarks, saved game states, local email archives (.pst files), SSH keys, and configuration files stored in the hidden AppData directory.

• Open File Explorer (Windows + E) and navigate to C:\Users\<TargetUsername>.
• If prompted with a message stating You don't currently have permission to access this folder, click Continue to grant your administrator account read access, or copy the files using an elevated command line.
• Copy contents from standard user folders to an external drive or a shared backup folder (such as C:\Backup\<TargetUsername>):
• Desktop
• Documents
• Downloads
• Pictures, Music, and Videos
• To inspect hidden application data before deleting the profile:
• In Windows 11: In File Explorer, click View on the command bar, select Show, and check Hidden items.
• In Windows 10: In File Explorer, click the View tab on the ribbon and check the Hidden items box.
• Open C:\Users\<TargetUsername>\AppData and review Local, LocalLow, and Roaming for any custom application profiles, local database files, or templates that have not been synced to the cloud.
• Important for OneDrive users: If the target profile used OneDrive Known Folder Move (backing up Desktop, Documents, or Pictures), deleting the profile through System Properties removes the local copies cleanly without deleting files from the user's cloud OneDrive storage. Do not manually open the user's synced OneDrive folder and delete files inside it while the OneDrive sync client is active, as that can synchronize deletions to the cloud.

Step 2: Remove the User Profile Using System Properties​

Once your backup is verified and the target user is completely signed out, use System Properties to delete the profile and reclaim its disk space.

Open System Properties (sysdm.cpl)​

You can open the classic System Properties dialog identically in Windows 10 and Windows 11 via the Run dialog, or through the Settings app:

• Direct method (Windows 10 and Windows 11):
• Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
• Type sysdm.cpl and press Enter (or click OK). If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes.
• Via Windows Settings (Windows 11):
• Open Settings (Windows + I) and ensure you are on the System tab.
• Scroll down to the About section at the bottom and click About.
• Under the Device specifications section, click the Advanced system settings link.
• Via Windows Settings (Windows 10):
• Open Settings (Windows + I) and click System.
• Select About at the bottom of the left navigation pane.
• Under Related settings (on the right side or bottom of the window, depending on window width), click Advanced system settings.

Delete the Profile​

Warning: Proceeding with the next step permanently deletes the selected profile folder under C:\Users and unregisters the profile from the system registry. This action cannot be undone.

• In the System Properties window, select the Advanced tab at the top.
• Locate the User Profiles section (Desktop settings related to your sign-in) in the middle of the dialog and click the Settings... button.
• The User Profiles window opens and lists every profile stored on the computer, showing its Name, Size, Type (Local, Roaming, or Temporary), Status, and Modified date. Note that if a machine has large profiles, Windows may take 15 to 60 seconds to calculate folder sizes before the list becomes interactive.
• Select the target profile in the list (<ComputerName>\<Username> or <DomainName>\<Username>).
• Do not select Default Profile or your currently active administrator account.
• If an entry displays as Account Unknown, the underlying user account has already been deleted from Windows Settings or Active Directory, leaving an orphaned profile folder behind. You can safely select and delete Account Unknown entries once you have confirmed no files are needed from the orphaned folder in C:\Users.
• Click the Delete button.
• In the Confirm Delete dialog asking Are you sure you want to delete <Profile Name>'s profile?, click Yes.
• Wait for Windows to remove the directory tree and registry entry. For profiles containing tens of gigabytes of small files (such as developer caches in AppData), the window may appear unresponsive for several minutes while the deletion completes.
• Click OK to close the User Profiles window, and click OK again to close System Properties.

Step 3: Remove the Underlying User Account (If Retiring the User Completely)​

Using System Properties removes only the profile files and registry registration; if the account is a local Windows account or a linked Microsoft Account on the PC, the user will still appear on the Windows sign-in screen. If they sign in again, Windows will simply build a brand-new profile folder for them.

If you want to remove a local or personal user account from the computer altogether, remove it through Settings as well:

In Windows 11​

• Open Settings (Windows + I) and select Accounts in the left sidebar.
• Click Other users.
• Locate the account you want to remove and click the chevron arrow on the right to expand it.
• Next to Account options, click the Remove button.
• Read the confirmation prompt and click Delete account and data. (Because you already backed up the data and removed the profile in System Properties, this step finishes removing the local security principal.)

In Windows 10​

• Open Settings (Windows + I) and click Accounts.
• Select Family & other users in the left pane.
• Under Other users, click the target account name to reveal its buttons, then click Remove.
• In the confirmation dialog, click Delete account and data.

Verify Profile Removal and Disk Space Recovery​

Confirm that the profile was completely removed from both the file system and the Windows Registry:

• Check the file system: Open File Explorer and inspect C:\Users. The <TargetUsername> folder should no longer exist.
• Check the Registry ProfileList:
• Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
• Navigate to the following registry path:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
• Expand ProfileList in the left pane and click through each subkey starting with S-1-5-21-....
• Check the ProfileImagePath value in the right pane for each subkey. Confirm that none of the remaining subkeys point to C:\Users\<TargetUsername>.
• Check WMI/CIM registration: In an elevated PowerShell prompt, run:
  Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_UserProfile | Where-Object { -not $_.Special } | Select-Object LocalPath, SID
  Confirm the deleted profile path no longer appears in the output.

Alternate Method: Remove a User Profile Using PowerShell (Win32_UserProfile)​

When System Properties takes too long to enumerate profile sizes on systems with many accounts, or when you need to remove a specific profile without waiting for the GUI, use the Win32_UserProfile CIM class in PowerShell. Calling Remove-CimInstance against Win32_UserProfile invokes the same underlying Windows User Profile Service API as the Delete button in sysdm.cpl, cleanly removing both the C:\Users directory and the ProfileList registry key.

Warning: Do not use Remove-Item C:\Users\<TargetUsername> in PowerShell to delete a user profile. Always use Remove-CimInstance on the Win32_UserProfile object so the registry state stays synchronized with the file system.

• Right-click the Start button and select Terminal (Admin) (Windows 11) or Windows PowerShell (Admin) (Windows 10).
• List all non-system profiles to confirm the exact LocalPath:
  Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_UserProfile | Where-Object { -not $_.Special } | Select-Object LocalPath, SID, Loaded
• Store the target profile in a variable by matching its exact folder name (replace TargetUsername with the actual folder name) and verify that only one profile is returned:
  
  Code:

  $TargetProfile = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_UserProfile | Where-Object { $_.LocalPath -eq 'C:\Users\TargetUsername' }
  $TargetProfile | Select-Object LocalPath, SID, Loaded

• Ensure Loaded is False. Once confirmed, remove the profile:
  Remove-CimInstance -InputObject $TargetProfile -Confirm
• Type Y and press Enter at the confirmation prompt to execute the deletion.

Troubleshooting Common Profile Removal Failures​

Symptom 1: The "Delete" Button Is Greyed Out in User Profiles​

If you highlight the target profile in System Properties > User Profiles and the Delete button is disabled, Windows considers the profile's registry hive (NTUSER.DAT or UsrClass.dat) or a background process to be actively loaded.

How to fix it:

• Perform a full restart: Using Switch user keeps the previous user's session running in the background. Restart the computer completely (shutdown /r /t 0 from an elevated prompt) and sign in directly to your administrator account without signing in to the target user first.
• Check Task Manager for lingering processes: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and select the Users tab. If the target user appears there, right-click the user and select Sign off (or Disconnect). Next, switch to the Details tab, sort by the User name column, and confirm no background services or scheduled tasks are running under that user's credentials.
• Delete the profile from Safe Mode: Sometimes third-party antivirus software, cloud sync clients, or management agents hold an open handle on NTUSER.DAT at boot. Hold Shift while clicking Restart in the Start menu, navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart, press 4 to enter Safe Mode, and run sysdm.cpl from Safe Mode to delete the profile.

Symptom 2: "Profile Not Deleted Completely. Error — The Directory Is Not Empty"​

Sometimes System Properties removes the registry registration and most of the files, but displays an error stating that the directory is not empty because a deep subfolder or locked file in C:\Users\<TargetUsername> could not be erased.

How to fix it:

• Restart the computer to release any file locks held by the Windows Search Indexer or background services.
• Open sysdm.cpl > Advanced > User Profiles > Settings and confirm the profile is no longer listed. (This confirms the registry entry was already removed.)
• Open an elevated Command Prompt and remove the leftover folder structure from C:\Users using takeown and icacls if permission errors block deletion:
  
  Code:

  takeown /F "C:\Users\TargetUsername" /R /D Y
  icacls "C:\Users\TargetUsername" /grant Administrators:F /T /C /Q
  rmdir /S /Q "C:\Users\TargetUsername"

  (Be certain to replace TargetUsername with the exact leftover folder name; never run takeown or icacls on the parent C:\Users directory itself.)

Symptom 3: Someone Deleted C:\Users\<Username> in File Explorer Instead of Using System Properties​

If an administrator manually deleted the user's folder in C:\Users without using sysdm.cpl, the user's SID remains registered under ProfileList. If that user signs in again, Windows cannot find the registered path, logs them into a temporary profile (C:\Users\TEMP), and displays the error We can't sign in to your account.

How to fix it (Orphaned Registry Key Cleanup and Rollback):
Warning: Modifying ProfileList incorrectly can prevent valid accounts from signing in. Back up the ProfileList key before deleting any subkey, and never delete the parent ProfileList key itself or any system SID (S-1-5-18, S-1-5-19, or S-1-5-20).

• Open Registry Editor (regedit) as an administrator and navigate to:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
• Create a rollback backup first: Right-click the ProfileList key in the left pane, select Export, and save it as ProfileList-Backup.reg on your Desktop. If you remove the wrong subkey, double-clicking this .reg file restores the registry entries immediately.
• Expand ProfileList and inspect each S-1-5-21-... subkey (including any ending in .bak).
• Look at the ProfileImagePath value in the right pane until you find the subkey pointing to the missing C:\Users\<TargetUsername> folder.
• Right-click only that specific S-1-5-21-... subkey in the left pane, select Delete, and click Yes to confirm.
• Close Registry Editor and restart the PC. If the user still exists and signs in again, Windows will now cleanly generate a new profile directory without creating a TEMP profile.