User management windows 10

Last Updated :
21 Oct, 2024

Knowing how to manage user accounts in Windows 10 is essential for both personal and business use. Whether you’re setting up multiple users on one device or managing Windows 10 user account settings for a family or team, this guide will walk you through the basics of creating, modifying, and removing accounts.

How to Manage User Accounts in Windows 10?

You’ll also learn how to adjust user permissions in Windows 10 and handle Windows 10 account management efficiently.

Step 1: View Account Details on Windows 10.

It’s important in Windows 10 to know your account details. This is ke­y to handle your user profile we­ll. You can find important information. These include your username, account type, and linked services.

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts«
• Click on «Your info«. Here, you can view your account details.

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

Step 2: Create a New User Account.

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then click on «Accounts«

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

• In the right pane of the window click on the «Family & other users.«

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

• Then, click on the «Add someone else to this PC.«

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

• If you do not have the sign-in information for the new user, click I don’t have this person’s sign-in information. Then click on Add a user without a Microsoft account.
• Enter all the info of the new user and click on Next.

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

Step 3: Switch between Local and Microsoft Account.

Choosing between a local and a Microsoft account is a fundamental decision when setting up a user profile in Windows 10. While local accounts offer simplicity and autonomy, Microsoft accounts provide integration with various Microsoft services.

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts«
• Click on «Your info«.
• For local accounts, select «Sign in with Microsoft account» to link

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

• Follow on-screen instructions.
• New account? Verify by clicking «Verify» for full access after entering the code.
• For a Microsoft account, choose «Sign in with local account instead» to switch.
• Follow on-screen directions.

Step 4: Change the Account Profile Picture in Windows.

To change the user account profile picture follow these steps:

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts«
• Click on «Your info«.
• Under the «Create your picture» section click on the «Browse for one» or «Camera» button.

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

Step 5: Add Multiple Accounts on Windows 10.

Adding more e­mail and app accounts to Windows 10 makes things easier. It improve­s how users work. When you add accounts for emails and apps, your work be­comes smoothly. All necessary information and tools are­ in one place. This makes it quicke­r and easier to get things done­.

Add Accounts for Apps

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts«
• Click on the «Email & accounts«
• On the right side pane, click the Add an Account button
• Choose a service provider (e.g., Outlook, Google, iCloud), then follow the on-screen instructions.

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

Add Accounts for Work

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts«
• Click on the «Email & accounts«
• On the right side pane, click on the «Add a Microsoft account» button
• On new windows enter your email ID and password then click on the «Next» button

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

• Then, follow on-screen instructions.

Step 6: Change Administrator on Windows 10.

Windows 10 lets you give­ a local user admin privileges. This he­lps manage system settings and do othe­r admin tasks more easily.

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts»
• On the left side pane, Click on «Family & other users»
• Then, Click on «Add someone else to this PC.» after that enter your name and password

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

• After creating the local account, return to Accounts. Your new account starts as standard. To upgrade, select it, then click Change account type.
• From the dropdown menu select «Administrator«

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

Step 7: Delete a User Account on Windows 10.

Dele­ting a Windows 10 user account helps in managing profiles and improving syste­m functions. Whether you’re cle­aning up the system or blocking a user, it he­lps resource manageme­nt.

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts«
• On the left side pane, click on «Family & other users«
• On the right side pane, click on the user account then click on the «Remove» button

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

Step 8: Change Your Password in Windows 10.

It’s important to often change passwords in Windows 10. It he­lps keep your information secure­.

• Open settings by pressing Windows Key + I then Navigate to «Accounts«
• Click on the «sign-in options«
• Then, Click on the «Password«
• After that click on «Change«

Картинка с сайта: www.geeksforgeeks.org

• Enter a new password and confirm it

Similarly if want to change the pin click on the «Windows hello pin«

Conclusion

Effectively managing user accounts in Windows 10 helps maintain the security and organization of your computer. Whether you need to add user accounts in Windows 10, adjust permissions, or delete old profiles, mastering these steps ensures that each user has the appropriate access. By using the built-in Windows 10 account management tools, you can easily control who can access what and ensure a smoother experience for everyone.

Also Read

• How to Upgrade From Windows 10 to Windows 11 For Free?
• How to Boost Performance in Windows 10?
• How to Delete Temporary Files in Windows 10? 

Most people edit Windows user accounts from the Settings app or the User Accounts section in the Control Panel. However, there’s another way to perform Windows user management, one that gives you access to much more detailed information about the users and groups on your PC and the permissions they have. I’m talking about managing Local Users and Groups using the snap-in console that bears the same name. You can access it from Computer Management or by running its lusrmgr.msc file directly. Here’s how to see and manage all the local users and groups on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC:

IMPORTANT: Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) is available only in the Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions of Windows 11 and Windows 10. Unfortunately, Home editions don’t include this tool. For help in identifying the edition you’re using, check these guides:

• What is the latest version of Windows 10? Check the version you have
• How to check the Windows 11 version and edition

The Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) in Windows 11 is identical to the one in Windows 10, both in terms of appearance and features offered. Thus, to keep things as simple as possible, most of the screenshots included in this guide are from Windows 11.

How to find all the local users and groups using lusrmgr.msc

In both Windows 11 and Windows 10, the Local Users and Groups snap-in, also known as lusrmgr.msc, offers the best way to see all the users and groups configured on the system. This tool shows you the “visible” user accounts, as well as all the hidden user accounts and groups that are available on the system but are disabled by default, such as the Administrator account. Here’s how to see your local users and groups:

Open Computer Management — a quick way to do it in either operating system is to simultaneously press Win + X on your keyboard and select Computer Management from the menu.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

For Windows user management, open Computer Management

In Computer Management, select “Local Users and Groups” in the left panel.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

Local Users and Groups in Computer Management

An alternative way to open Local Users and Groups is to run the lusrmgr.msc command. You can do it from the Run window (Win + R), Command Prompt, and PowerShell.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

Run lusrmgr.msc in Windows

Running the lusrmgr.msc command opens the Local Users and Groups console directly and without loading it in Computer Management.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

lusrmgr.msc — Local Users and Groups

Regardless of how you choose to open Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc), this is where you find all the user accounts and groups that are configured on your Windows computer or device, split into two folders: Users and Groups.

How to find and manage Windows users with lusrmgr.msc (Local Users and Groups)

In the Users folder, you see all the user accounts available on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC. This includes accounts that are hidden or disabled.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

List of user accounts shown by lusrmgr.msc

What are the user accounts found on every Windows computer? There aren’t as many as you might think. You have:

• All the user accounts you have created on your Windows PC;
• Administrator — a built-in account created by Windows for administration purposes, regardless of whether you use it or not;
• DefaultAccount — a user account that’s managed by Windows;
• Guest — a legacy built-in account that, in older versions of Windows, could be used for guest access on the computer or domain — in Windows 11 and Windows 10, it’s no longer operational;
• WDAGUtilityAccount — managed and used by the Microsoft Defender antivirus for running certain processes (like the Microsoft Edge browser) in sandboxed/virtualized environments.

TIP: You can also view a list of all user accounts with PowerShell or Command Prompt. Find out all the ways to do that by reading this tutorial: How to list all the users on a Windows computer.

As you might have noticed, some of the user accounts shown by Local Users and Groups have a small arrow on their icons. The little arrow signals that a user account is disabled and thus can’t be used, even if it is available on your Windows computer.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

Deactivated users are marked with arrows

Double-clicking or double-tapping on a user account opens a Properties window that displays more information about that account and different customization options. For instance, you can set its password to expire, disable the account, or change the user groups to which it belongs.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

Properties of a user account

TIP: Speaking of which, here’s how to change your user account password in Windows.

How to find and manage user groups in Windows with lusrmgr.msc (Local Users and Groups)

Going back to the Local Users and Groups console (lusrmgr.msc), access the Groups folder to see all the user groups available on your Windows computer. The list is long and includes user groups created by Windows as well as third parties, such as drivers or virtualization software, which need hidden users and groups to operate properly.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

List of user groups in Windows shown by lusrmgr.msc

On most Windows PCs, you should have at least the following groups:

• Access Control Assistance Operators – members of this group can run remote queries for authorization attributes and permissions on your Windows computer. This group is used on computers that belong to a domain, so it’s mainly useful for network administrators in large companies.
• Administrators – it includes all the user accounts with administrative permissions on your computer. The Administrators group can’t be deleted or renamed.
• Backup Operators – user accounts with permission to perform backup and restore operations using tools like Backup and Restore.
• Cryptographic Operators – user accounts with permission to encrypt or decrypt data using tools like BitLocker.
• Device Owners – Windows says that the members of this group can change system-wide settings. However, as far as I know, this group is not currently used in either Windows 11 or Windows 10.
• Distributed COM Objects – this user group is harder to explain. It’s used mostly for user accounts that need to participate in more complex scenarios, such as distributed computing across computers on a network. Therefore, it is mainly used in business environments.
• Event Log Readers – this group gives permission to its members to read Windows 10 and Windows 11 event logs that show what is happening on the system.
• Guests – legacy user accounts (non-operational in Windows 10 and Windows 11) that cannot perform any administrative tasks on your computer. They can be used only for light computing activities like browsing the internet or running the installed applications. They cannot modify the system’s configuration, access or modify another user’s data, etc.
• Hyper-V Administrators – gives its members unrestricted access to all the features available in Hyper-V.
• IIS_IUSRS – this group is used only by the Internet Information Services you may choose to install from the Windows Features panel.
• Network Configuration Operators – this group permits users to configure networking features in Windows.
• Performance Log Users & Performance Monitor Users – members are given permission to perform advanced logging in Windows and collect performance data.
• Power Users – this user group was used in older versions of Windows to provide limited administrative permissions to specific user accounts. It is still present in Windows 10 and Windows 11 but only to provide backward compatibility for old legacy applications.
• Remote Desktop Users – this user group provides its members with permission to log on remotely to the computer via the Remote Desktop.
• Remote Management Users – members can access WMI resources remotely.
• Replicator – this user group is used in network domains and gives its members the permissions required to do file replication across the domains.
• System Managed Accounts Group – the Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system manages the members of this group.
• Users – it includes the standard user accounts defined on your Windows PC. Its members do not have administrative permissions. They can only run installed applications and cannot make system changes that affect other users.

On your computer, you might also find other groups installed by Windows features, drivers, or third-party applications. Double-clicking or double-tapping on a user group opens a properties window that displays more information about it and several options. For step-by-step guidance on how to work with the available options, read the last part of this tutorial: Create new Windows user accounts and groups like an IT Pro.

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

Properties of the Administrators group in Windows

What’s great about user groups is that you can use them to give additional permissions to standard user accounts. For example, if you create a user account that is a member of Users but not Administrators, that user can’t connect remotely to the computer. If you make that user account a member of Remote Desktop Users, it can connect remotely. This principle applies to all user groups. Add a user account as a member, and it receives both the permissions and restrictions of that user group.

NOTE: If you look at all the user groups listed on your Windows computer or device, you will likely notice that the user accounts defined as administrators are not listed as members of the other groups. That’s because administrators already have permission to do everything on your Windows computer, so they don’t need to be part of a special group to inherit its permissions.

Warning: Don’t change the standard Windows users and groups!

You may feel the urge to clean up and delete some of the standard user accounts and groups found on your Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC. If you try to do something like that, you should get a warning from the operating system about the issues that are likely to arise. For example, this is what you see if you try to delete the Administrator account:

Картинка с сайта: www.digitalcitizen.life

Default users and groups from Windows shouldn’t be altered or removed

Deleting or changing standard user accounts and groups from Windows 11 or Windows 10 can cause apps and system features to malfunction. Understanding all the connections between standard user accounts, user groups, and Windows features is difficult. One minor change can have unexpected consequences on many features and ruin your computing experience, so my strong recommendation is “Don’t touch the standard users and groups from Windows!”

Do you use lusrmgr.msc to manage local users and groups on your Windows PC?

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and now you know more about Windows user management. If you have anything to add to this guide, let me know in the comments below. Also, don’t hesitate to ask if you have questions about how to work with lusrmgr.msc for managing local users and groups.

Adding new users or managing existing users in Windows 10 is usually a routine procedure. However, unlike the Professional and Enterprise editions, the Windows 10 Home Edition has slightly different settings that many users may have trouble finding.

If you are running Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, you can access the Local Users and Groups console by going to Run –> lusrmgr. If you want to manage users in the Home edition the same way as in Pro or Enterprise, you will need to install lusrmgr separately.

Otherwise, follow this guide to manage local users in Windows 10 Home edition without installing anything.

Manage Local Users in Windows 10 Home using Windows Settings

To begin, please navigate to the following path:

Start Menu -> Settings (Gear) Icon -> Accounts -> Family & Other Users

Картинка с сайта: www.itechtics.com

Add New User (Microsoft ID)

Click on Add a family member if you wish to create a new user from the family. This account will be linked to the current (main) account and can be managed as per their needs.

Click on Add someone else to this PC if you wish to add a new user to this computer that is not related to your family.

Add the new user’s registered email address or linked phone number and then click Next. Click Finish to exit.

Add a new local User (Without Microsoft ID)

If you wish to add a new user to the local machine without having to create or enter a Microsoft ID, simply follow the same steps as mentioned in Add New User (Microsoft ID) and continue from there.

Click on I don’t have this person’s sign-in information

On the next screen, click Add a user without Microsoft Account

Enter the Username and Password for the account to be created, create and answer the security questions, and then click Next.

The new user is now visible under Other users and can now login to their own account.

Change Account Type

You can also click on the user to manage it further.

If you wish to change the account type between Administrator and Standard, click on Change account type. Administrator account type has administrative privileges, while the Standard account type may require special permissions to perform several tasks.

Remove or Delete an Existing User Account

Click on Remove to delete the selected user account from the local computer (as shown in the image above).

How to use the Control Panel to manage local users in Windows 10 Home

Go to Run –> Control. This will open the Control Panel. Navigate to the following:

Control Panel –> User Accounts –> User Accounts

A window such as the one shown below would appear:

Картинка с сайта: www.itechtics.com

Change Account Name

To change the name of the selected user account, press Change your account name. Enter a new name of your choosing and then press Change Name to apply the change.

Картинка с сайта: www.itechtics.com

Change Account Type

If you wish to change your account from Administrator to Standard, or vice versa, click on Change your account type.

Add New User

If you wish to change the selected user and manage another account on the computer, press Manage another account.

A new window will popup where you may also add new users to the computer by clicking Add a new user in PC settings.

Картинка с сайта: www.itechtics.com

Change User Account Control Settings

By selecting Change User Account Control settings you can manage the administrative security of your system.

The settings can be made as per your requirements by adjusting the slider as shown in the image below.

The lowest level of security is at the bottom of the slider, while maximum protection can be set by dragging the slider at the top.

Картинка с сайта: www.itechtics.com

Change User Password

The simplest way to change the password of a logged-in user is simply by pressing Ctrl + Alt + DEL and then clicking Change a Password. However, this can only be done by providing the old Password.

If you wish to change the password of an existing account and are logged in from another account, perform the following:

Navigate to:

Control Panel –> User Accounts –> User Accounts

–> Manage another accoun

Select the profile whose password you wish to change.

Click on Change the password and enter the new password for that particular user account.

Another way of managing users in Windows 10 Home edition

Another way to manage the basics of existing local users and create new ones is by performing the following:

Go to Run –> netplwiz (or Run –> control userpasswords2). This will open the User Accounts window.

Картинка с сайта: www.itechtics.com

From this window, similar functions can be performed such as the ones mentioned earlier.

You can press Add to add new users to the computer, press Properties to edit the name or type of the selected user, or switch to the Advanced tab to manage passwords.

I wonder why Microsoft has limited access to user management in Windows 10 Home edition? Hopefully this article will make your job of managing users in Windows 10 Home easier.

Which method would you prefer for managing users on your system?