We encountered a peculiar issue where the user account did not exist in the User Accounts utility (netplwiz), but the account was visible in the Command Prompt. Various factors, including a corrupted policy and a damaged registry, can cause this issue. In this post, we are going to talk about this issue and see what you can do if there are no users in netplwiz, but account exists in CMD.
No users in netplwiz, account exists in CMD in Windows 11/10
This occurs when user profile registry entries are corrupted, system policies are misconfigured (e.g., hidden fast user switching), or Windows Hello/Passwordless sign-in interferes, preventing GUI tools like netplwiz from displaying accounts even though they exist in the system database (visible via net user). Let us go ahead and see what you can do if there are no users in netplwiz, but the account exists in CMD. Follow the solutions mentioned below to resolve this issue.
- Reset Auto-Login Settings via netplwiz
- Disable Powerless Sign-in
- Enable Fast User Switching (FUS)
- Rebuild Corrupted Profile
Let’s discuss them in detail.
1] Reset Auto-Login Settings via netplwiz
After Windows updates or system changes, the auto-login configuration can become corrupted, causing “ghost accounts”, which means accounts exist but are invisible in GUI tools. In this solution, we will reset the Auto-Login Settings and hopefully resolve your issue.
- Open Run by Win + R.
- Type netplwiz and hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
- Check Users must enter a username and password to use this computer.
- Click on OK.
Note: This disables auto-login and deletes stale credentials from: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon and resets values: AutoAdminLogon=0, DefaultUserName="", DefaultPassword=""
- Now, restart your computer and manually enter your password. This validates your account against the SAM database and rebuilds your profile’s registry hive (HKEY_USERS\SID).
- Again, open netplwiz and uncheck Users must enter a username and password to use this computer.
- Click on Apply > OK.
- Reboot your computer.
Hopefully, this will resolve the issue for you.
If you can’t see the “Users must enter a username and password to use this computer” option, open Settings, go to Accounts > Sign-in Options, and untick For improved security, only allow Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts on this device (Recommended).
2] Disable Powerless Sign in
The passwordless sign-in feature (Windows Hello PIN, biometrics, etc.) can override traditional account management systems. If it is enabled, we must enter a username and password and prevent user accounts from appearing in GUI tools due to credential mapping conflicts.
Let us go ahead and disable Powerless Sign in using the Registry. But before that, open Registry Editor, go to File > Export, and save it somewhere.
Now, in Registry Editor, navigate to the following location.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device
Double-click on DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion and set its value to 0 (it would be 2 if Passwordless sign-in was enabled).
Alternatively, you can try using the Command Prompt. So, open Command Prompt as an administrator and then run the following command.
reg ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device" /v DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Finally, reboot your computer.
3] Enable Fast User Switching (FUS)
If you have disabled Fast User Switching (FUS), Windows might hide user accounts from login screens and account management tools like netplwiz. We are going to enable it back, let the user account list get rebuilt, and restore GUI visibility in netplwiz and other GUI utilities.
Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following location.
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
You need to look for HideFastUserSwitching, double-click on it, and set it to 0, which means Fast User Switching is enabled. If HideFastUserSwitching is not available, right-click on the right side and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it “HideFastUserSwitching” and set it to 0.
Finally, reboot your computer.
Read: How to fix a Corrupted User Profile in Windows
4] Rebuild Corrupted Profile
If nothing works, we need to rebuild the corrupted profile to fix the SID mapping, as it is one of the reasons why this issue exists in the first place.
First of all, open the Command Prompt and run the following command.
wmic useraccount get name,sid
Note your username’s SID.
Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following location.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
Look for the key (folder) that matches your SID. You need to right-click on it, select Export, and save it somewhere. Now, right-click on it and select Delete.
In Command Prompt (admin), execute the following command.
net user TempFixAdmin /add /passwordreq:yes
net localgroup administrators TempFixAdmin /add
Restart your PC and log in to TempFixAdmin.
Open Run by Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, and click Ok. Then, navigate to the Advanced tab > User Profiles > Settings. You then have to delete your current profile.
Log out and log back into your original account. Windows will recreate the profile automatically. After logging in, copy your files from C:\Users\Username.old to C:\Users\Username.
Open netplwiz to confirm that accounts appear. Finally, run the following command in the Command Prompt.
net user TempFixAdmin /delete
Finally, check if it helps.
Hopefully, with the help of these solutions, your issue will be resolved.
Read: Sign in with local account instead option missing in Windows
How to see Net Users in CMD?
If you want to see all the users, you can use the Net User command. If you want to see a specific user, run net user “Username”. Finally, if you want to check only the administrator accounts, run net localgroup Administrators.
Read: Lost Administrator Rights in Windows 11
How to get all logged in users using cmd?
If you want to check all the logged-in users using CMD, you can use one of the commands mentioned below.
- query session -> To find the session of the current session on the local PC. This command is part of the Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services) tools.
- wmic computersystem get username -> If you are on a local computer, try this command.
- echo %username% -> To just find the current username.
This should do the trick for you.
Also Read: Bypass Login Screen in Windows 11.
