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How to Remove a user profile from Windows 2008 server

Article ID: 31421
Last Reviewed: 4/27/2010 12:45:45 PM

Description

To delete a user profile  in Windows 2003 Server it was required only to delete the user folder under
C:\Documents and settings as administrator and the next time user logged in, a new profile was
created for the user.

In Windows Server 2008, deleting a user profile is not that simple because security settings and user
SID are saved on system registries. Deleting the user folder will not remove the profile completely. Instead it will load a temp profile each time the user tries to log in.




Resolution

Warning: This solution requires that you edit the registry. Improper editing of the registry may cause Windows to function incorrectly or become unresponsive. Please be sure to make a backup of the registry before continuing with the steps below. For instructions on how to backup the registry, view the following article: How to backup the registry in Windows XP

The user registry key and the user profile folder must be deleted to have Windows load the user profile correctly next time it logs in to the server.

- Open the registry editor by going to Start > Run. Type regedit and click OK.

- Navigate to the following:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\]

- Select each user key until you find the one belonging to the user you wish to delete. To determine which user a key belongs to, look in the ProfileImagePath field. Here you will see the user's folder path in the following format:

<System Root>\Users\<User Name> Example: C:\Users\johnd

- Delete the desired user key. Example: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\S-1-5-21-144906798-413291513-2040660509-5652

- Locate and delete the following user folder:  <System Root>\Users\<Username>\

The user should now be able to log in, creating a new profile.

Keywords:
user registry key delete user profile windows 2008 User Profile registry