Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How long does it take to delete an account?

Greetings:

I am attempting to delete an account. System Preferences keeps telling me the deletion is in progress after about 2 hours. I opted to save a copy of the files to a dmg.

How long should it take to delete an account?


Thanks

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jul 28, 2011 6:46 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jul 28, 2011 7:46 PM

Do you have anything else open? If so, quit all apps so the computer can devote all its efforts to the copy and delete. If you've been doing other things on the Mac during this process, I would give it some time to itself.


Sooner or later, if it does not finish, go to the Apple menu and select Force Quit. What process are listed there, and does it say "not responding" for any of them?

10 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Jul 28, 2011 7:46 PM in response to Betelnuts

Do you have anything else open? If so, quit all apps so the computer can devote all its efforts to the copy and delete. If you've been doing other things on the Mac during this process, I would give it some time to itself.


Sooner or later, if it does not finish, go to the Apple menu and select Force Quit. What process are listed there, and does it say "not responding" for any of them?

Jul 28, 2011 7:40 PM in response to tjk

A System Preferences screen shows Users & Groups. The account in questions says: Deleting Account.


Every time I try to close the Users & Groups screen I get the Message: "System Preferences is busy and can't be closed. Users & Groups preferences is removing a user account and saving the Home directory to a disk image."


The Mactintosh HD Users folder has a sub-folder named Deleted Users. There is a dmg, in the sub-folder, labeled with the name of the account I am deleting. When I open that folder I can see all the information that was part of the old user account.

How long does it take to delete an account?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.