I did a chat a week ago with Apple Support concerning a volume issue. I allowed the person to be a Guest User in which he gave me the steps in doing so which was named Test User.
Now I want to delete it from my 2016 MacBook Pr OS Mojave 10.14.6. I went through the following steps which ended up not deleting it due to an error;
After clicking on "Delete User" I receive the following pop up;
Any help would be most appreciated. Thank you, Ray
The reason they're different is that one of you is using the official macOS Guest User feature, and the other simply created a new Standard user account called "Test User". Those are technically two different types of accounts. The Guest User feature has specific behaviors like erasing user data every time they log out.
The original error says "An error occurred when backing up this user's Home folder." What backup is that? Maybe try to get that out of the way. For example, if you have iCloud Backup turned on, it probably tries to back up all users, try turning that off temporarily, and then back on after the Test User account is successfully deleted.
The macOS Guest User is "removed" simply by disabling the Guest User feature. Since the Guest User feature is not what is being used here, ignore any advice relating to the Guest User feature. What you are troubleshooting is a problem related to removing a Standard user account, not a Guest User account.
Thanks goes out to all of you that helped me out! Deleting the Home folder under Test User did the trick....... It's no longer listed. Thanks again, I sincerely appreciate everyone's help here. Ray 👍😊
Right...be very careful that you specifically delete /Users/Test User/ , not the home folder of any other user.
The home folder is the same as the top level folder of a user account, which is why Apple puts a "home" icon on it.
you might try to turn on guest, then see if you can delete the test user then turn guest back off.
I'm spitballing here, I've never seen this, and I'd probably use straight up delete the home folder
Try selecting "Delete the home folder" from your first screen shot and try again.
It is the Home Folder of Test User. You can find it under /Users. The Home Folder has the same name of the user.
WD
Thanks for your help....... I didn't know anything about Guest User until I had the chat with Apple.
The original error says "An error occurred when backing up this user's Home folder." What backup is that?
Good question......... I have no idea.
if you have iCloud Backup turned on, it probably tries to back up all users, try turning that off temporarily, and then back on after the Test User account is successfully deleted.
I don't really use iCloud, I did however go into System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive Options. Nothing there shows anything about a User. The box is checked for iCloud in which I unchecked and made a copy. Went back under "Users and Groups Prefrences" and went through the process again to delete "Test User" and ended up with the same popup as before "An error occurred when backing up this user's Home folder."
I.M.O., Apple chat should have instructed me how to remove this.......... Thanks again for your help I sincerely appreciate it. Ray
Thanks for the help........ Is there a way to check the contents of the Home Folder? I don't want to delete anything that may be important. I'm asking due to not being familiar with that folder. Thanks again, Ray
Thanks for the help......... Upon clicking on the + I received the following;
just click the guest and you should see an option to turn it on
My popup is different than yours. I don't understand why Apple didn't create a simple delete for this.
You're welcome. as Wilddrums stated, it is the Home folder of "Test User". The folder that couldn't be backed up that gave you the error. Every account has it's own "Home" folder.
Welcome.
How Can I Delete Guest User?
