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#1
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Removing A User
I created a local account, played with it a bit and then -- via PC
Settings -- removed it. Got all kinds of warnings about everything will be gone, you can't get it back, etc. b ut went ahead anyway. When it was finished, I looked at that user's profile directory and, guess what, everything was still there! I suspect that it will take a restart to actually clean things out. |
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#2
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Removing A User
Alek wrote:
I created a local account, played with it a bit and then -- via PC Settings -- removed it. Got all kinds of warnings about everything will be gone, you can't get it back, etc. b ut went ahead anyway. When it was finished, I looked at that user's profile directory and, guess what, everything was still there! I suspect that it will take a restart to actually clean things out. But that's typically how computers work. This is not an unexpected behavior. Account control is separate from cleaning up file space. And it's done that way for safety. It's up to the person doing the operation, to be aware there is a home directory to be removed. I wouldn't even expect Disk Cleanup to handle this for you. Something that is a bit strange, is the philosophy doesn't carry over to Service Packs. Windows 8 is set up, when an operation creates a Windows.old, to remove it after 30 days. Whereas in previous instances, that was a user-activated process (the user had to take care of it, with a tick box in Disk Cleanup maybe). But for things like accounts, the directories involved really should not be automatically removed. For safety. Report back, if you see a violation of this principle. ******* it's possible to have third-party tool kits which bundle the two operations together (delete user, delete home dir). But when an administrator uses such a package, they're expected to read the instructions before using it. And any administrator worth their salt, has everything backed up anyway. So if an accident happens, they're ready for it. Paul |
#3
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Removing A User
Paul wrote on 2/23/2015 11:26 PM:
Alek wrote: I created a local account, played with it a bit and then -- via PC Settings -- removed it. Got all kinds of warnings about everything will be gone, you can't get it back, etc. b ut went ahead anyway. When it was finished, I looked at that user's profile directory and, guess what, everything was still there! I suspect that it will take a restart to actually clean things out. But that's typically how computers work. This is not an unexpected behavior. Account control is separate from cleaning up file space. And it's done that way for safety. It's up to the person doing the operation, to be aware there is a home directory to be removed. So the warnings that Win8 gives are not correct? But for things like accounts, the directories involved really should not be automatically removed. For safety. Even after all the earnings? Then why bother with the warnings? Why not say that removing this account will take effect after your next restart. You may have to remove some files and directories manually. |
#4
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Removing A User
Alek wrote:
Paul wrote on 2/23/2015 11:26 PM: Alek wrote: I created a local account, played with it a bit and then -- via PC Settings -- removed it. Got all kinds of warnings about everything will be gone, you can't get it back, etc. b ut went ahead anyway. When it was finished, I looked at that user's profile directory and, guess what, everything was still there! I suspect that it will take a restart to actually clean things out. But that's typically how computers work. This is not an unexpected behavior. Account control is separate from cleaning up file space. And it's done that way for safety. It's up to the person doing the operation, to be aware there is a home directory to be removed. So the warnings that Win8 gives are not correct? But for things like accounts, the directories involved really should not be automatically removed. For safety. Even after all the earnings? Then why bother with the warnings? Why not say that removing this account will take effect after your next restart. You may have to remove some files and directories manually. I'm just stating some general principles about OSes. 1) OS company provides only basic functions. 2) They never provide comprehensive (power user) administration tools. So you don't expect something available in a control panel, to do a "perfect" job. 3) Occasionally, you'll find some third party thing (script kit), with essentials for admins. This saves the admin lots of work. Administrators are considered to be seasoned professionals who can take care of deficiencies themselves (like a Unix admin buying a script kit to speed up the job). Windows has things like GPEdit, to help with domain stuff, but I would not expect every problem to be smoothly handled by my OS company. You *know* how littered your C: drive is, in terms of cruft you never expected to be there. "Recent Items" from the dawn of time. That sort of thing. It shouldn't be a surprise that there is all manner of left-overs. So we end up with things like "CCleaner", when maybe the functions should have been in Disk Cleanup. There are quite a few glaring deficiencies. For example, many people think, that by uninstalling and reinstalling a program, they can "fix" a problem. When in fact, a bunch of registry entries were left after the uninstallation. Registry settings which are actually breaking the program. When re-installed, the reinstalled program will not "overwrite" and "freshen" the registry entries. The Programs and Features uninstallation of programs should really have a second option "remove program and all registry settings", to make it easier to clean up. And it's been this way for years. On OSes where preferences are stored in separate files, it's a bit easier to deal with. Scrolling through Regedit, isn't exactly what I had in mind for cleaning up after a program. You'd think an OS company would consider stuff like this. Instead, they pretend to write new versions of OS, with the same old architectural problems. Most of their energy goes into "backward compatibility", rather than "doing what is right". You would think a Microsoft software designer, upon seeing how popular "CCleaner" and "Revo Uninstaller" are, would realize there are things that need to be fixed. Paul |
#5
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Removing A User
Paul wrote on 2/23/2015 11:26 PM:
Alek wrote: I created a local account, played with it a bit and then -- via PC Settings -- removed it. Got all kinds of warnings about everything will be gone, you can't get it back, etc. b ut went ahead anyway. When it was finished, I looked at that user's profile directory and, guess what, everything was still there! I suspect that it will take a restart to actually clean things out. But that's typically how computers work. This is not an unexpected behavior. Account control is separate from cleaning up file space. Well, restarting did not -- as advertised -- remove the profile folder. |
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