Can't delete User Account in Catalina

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Level 1

42 points

Can't delete User Account in Catalina

I had to create a admin new User Account to use as my main User on Catalina. I am now unable to delete the old user account.

From the new User Account, I unlocked the Users and Groups CP, selected the old Account, and clicked the minus sign. On entering the requested account password, the entry field shakes as though the password is wrong, although it definitely isn't. I removed all shared folders in. the home folder I was trying to delete, and turned off all sharing completely.

The old User Account used to be my main account, and so shared a fair amount of information with the new one I created (such as Apple ID). Not sure if that has something to do with it?

So how can I delete the old User Account and its home folder?

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Nov 21, 2019 10:12 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Soren Pearson

Level 4

1,339 points

Nov 21, 2019 12:50 PM in response to JosephWit

Hi Joseph,

One thing you could try doing is booting into Safe mode and see if you can delete the other user this way.

Hold down the Shift key at startup and release it when you see the login window. You will see Safe boot in red in the upper right corner in the menu bar. Login and try to delete the other user account.

I hope this helps.

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Answer 2

JosephWit Author

Level 1

42 points

Nov 27, 2019 9:22 AM in response to Tobor 3

Thanks. Actually, Apple offerred a partial fix in the latest developer update.

When I initially posted, when trying to delete the unwanted account, I was asked for the password for the account to be deleted, but when I entered it, the entry box shimmied as if it were the wrong password, which it wasn't.

With the new update, on entering the password, I got the dialogue asking what I wanted to do with the home folder. I selected "delete home folder" and it seemed to work. On restart, the unwanted user was gone, which was my main goal. However, in the Users folder, the home folder for the old account is still there, which a bunch of items with red padlocks...

I imagine I cannot delete all of those, and I'm not anxious to try again...

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Answer 3

Tobor 3

Level 1

39 points

Nov 28, 2019 11:15 AM in response to Tobor 3

Just read the Apple Support Communities User Agreement and discovered that I can't edit a post, so here is an addendum to my post: I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

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