Windows 10: I sold my old PC, but forgot to remove it from my MS account

A few weeks ago, I sold my old Windows 10 PC to a friend.

The PC and (presumably) its activation key are both registered to my MS account.


Before selling the PC, I reset it with the option to "Keep nothing", but now I realize I forgot to remove it from my devices.

I would like to remove the PC from my account, but I'm afraid this could cause issues for my friend. I feel responsible, since I sold it to him.


Will he be unable to use the PC if I remove it? Will he have to re-activate it? Is there anything I should tell him when I remove the device from my account?


Both my old and my new PC are using different license keys, and since I paste my activation keys on the front of the PCs I use them on, he should have no difficulties re-activating. I just want to know what possible problems could arise from de-authorizing a currently active PC in use by someone else, and if he'd need to take some steps beforehand.


We live quite far apart, so visiting him is not much of an option. He already emailed me that the PC is working fine, and I'd like to keep it that way.

:)

 

Remove account


I suggest you backup your personalized files first before removing the account.
To delete an account, follow these steps:

1. Press WIN + X keys and click Command Prompt (Admin) from the menu.
2. Type the following command and press Enter. Replace test with the name of your sister's account. Code:
   
   Code:

   net user test /del

 

Remove MS Account on pc with Windows 10

Thank you for your reply. This did not solve the problem. While it allows me to access my pc with my Microsoft 365 account, it does not allow me to use all the features. For example, the OneDrive folders on my pc are associated with my old, errant, did even
know I had it MS account.

I've just gone through the steps to delete the old MS account. It does say that it requires 60 days before the old account is truly gone.

How can I remove this old, never used but one, MS account from this PC so that I can use my 365 account as the administrator to include having the OneDrive folders on this machine? Will reinstalling WIN 10 allow me to do so?

 

Unable to remove old administrator account.

Hello,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I understand that you want to delete one of the old administrator accounts from your computer. If you want to save the data from the old Administrator account, I would suggest you to copy the data from the old user account from
C: Users\<Old User Account> and move it to your backup drive or folder in a different location, before deleting the account.

I would also like to know what exactly happens when you try to remove the old Administrator account from your PC.

To delete an Administrator account from your PC, you will have to login to another user account with
Administrator access as User Accounts cannot be deleted through a Standard account.

Once you have logged into your new Administrator account, you can follow the steps mentioned below to remove the old Administrator account from your PC. To do this, by

1. Login to the new Admin User Account that you want to keep.
2. Tap on 'Windows + I' on the keyboard.
3. Click on 'Accounts'.
4. Now click on 'Family & other users'.
5. Select the old Administrator account from the list.
6. Click on 'Remove'.

Let us know if you face any issues, and we will certainly assist you further.

Hope it helps.

Sandeep Kumar M

Microsoft Community – Moderator