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Disable or activate a local user account

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To disable or activate a local user account

  1. Open Computer Management.

  2. In the console tree, click Users.

    Where?

    • Computer Management/System Tools/Local Users and Groups/Users
  3. Right-click the user account you want to change, and then click Properties.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • To disable the selected user account, select the Account is disabled check box.

    • To activate the selected user account, clear the Account is disabled check box.

Notes

  • To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Power Users group, or the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure. For more information, see Default local groups, Default groups, and Using Run as.

  • To open Computer Management, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

  • When a user account is disabled, the user is not permitted to log on. The account appears in the details pane with an X on the icon.

  • Before activating a disabled account, ensure that the account was not locked out for security reasons. For more information, see Related Topics.

  • When a user account is activated, the user is permitted to log on normally.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Local Users and Groups Best practices
Local user accounts
Account lockout policy overview