Windows 10: remove previous owners account from device

hi community

i purchased my second-hand laptop from a friend of a friend and i no longer have and cannot presently contact with the seller. I am trying to add my Microsoft account to the device but unfortunately the account belonging to the previous owner is still present. As i do not know the password and do not have contact with the individual i am unable to add my own account and upon accessing the settings to manage the Microsoft account i am asked to sign into the previous owners account. there is no option for me to change the sign in email address and it seems that the only way i am able to add my account is to sign in to the current one and remove it from the device.

Any advice?

:)

 

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

 

Need to remove previous owner/administrator

Inherited a Win10 HP laptop. Need to remove the previous owner/administrator.

[Moved thread from: [MSN / Accounts, login, and signup / Account settings / Windows 10]

 

Remove Devices

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are facing issues while removing the device from your Microsoft account as it keeps popping back after removing.



It could be possible that the device was using OneDrive with the same Microsoft account and that might be the reason you are able to see the device listed under your profile. I would suggest you to remove the device from OneDrive
and see if that helps.



You can follow the steps to remove the device from OneDrive.

1. Login to
   https://onedrive.live.com.
2. Now on the left hand pane click on PC’s.
3. Now click on the devices that are listed under PC’s and on the right hand side click on
   Remove PC.

If the issue persists, please get back to us with the results of the troubleshooting steps to assist you further.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator