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HuxleyLane's avatar
HuxleyLane
Iron Contributor
Mar 20, 2025
Solved

Account of the last owner won't go away ?

I got this laptop (see my specs) from my uncle who already built his own gaming PC. He gave it to me as is, and the only files inside are just gaming stuffs (Steam, Walkthrough Docs, Cheats, etc.) nothing important.

I requested my more tech-savvy friend to reinstall windows on this machine, but he refused saying if there's nothing big wrong with it, then it's unnecessary. So I went on deleting stuffs, including my uncle's account. From settings app to control panel, all I see is just my account, there's no other account, not even guest ones.

Yet, every time I turn this laptop on, the first account that greet me is my unc old email... It's not until I either click my own profile picture on the bottom left corner or wait for the lock screen to stop displaying the account, then it will display my own.

I have no idea what's left that I didn't do to remove that old account, and it's only on the lock screen, the account doesn't appear anywhere else. It just bothers me lol

Something new that I just realized is that when I check the Windows Version using winver command, it says that this Windows 11 is registered to my uncle's old gmail account... maybe it has something to do with that ? how do I change it ? or at least just a way to remove the nonexistent account in sign-in screen ?

  • That lingering account is likely tied to your uncle’s Microsoft account still linked to the device license. To fully remove it from the lock screen:

    Go to Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts, and remove any old Microsoft accounts listed there.
    Then go to Settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Computer Name and click Change, to update the PC name if needed.
    For the license, sign in with your own Microsoft account under Settings > Accounts > Your Info, then go to Activation and link the digital license to your account.
    If all else fails, a clean reinstall will fully wipe all traces—but now you know what’s left behind.

  • SorenLake's avatar
    SorenLake
    Iron Contributor

    That lingering account is likely tied to your uncle’s Microsoft account still linked to the device license. To fully remove it from the lock screen:

    Go to Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts, and remove any old Microsoft accounts listed there.
    Then go to Settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Computer Name and click Change, to update the PC name if needed.
    For the license, sign in with your own Microsoft account under Settings > Accounts > Your Info, then go to Activation and link the digital license to your account.
    If all else fails, a clean reinstall will fully wipe all traces—but now you know what’s left behind.

  • Miguel_Kyles's avatar
    Miguel_Kyles
    Copper Contributor

    If your uncle's Gmail account is linked as a Microsoft account to this laptop, you may try unlinking the device from that account. I'm not sure. It's just a guess.

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