Users with the "HomeUsers" group do not show up in the list

[Mike Seiler]

I've had problem running Windows "built in" programs ever since I upgraded to Windows 10 Home, Version 1511.
I've finally had to dig in to figure out why.

After I upgraded to Windows 10, my old user account was both in the "HomeUsers" group as well as the "Administrator" Group. While trying to isolate the problem, I ended up with my user account just being in the Administrator Group.

The problem is that when I try to switch to a different user, only Administrator user accounts show up in the list of user accounts I can switch to. HomeUsers simply do not show up in the list of potential user accounts I can switch to.

At this point, I do need to be able to switch to a HomeUsers account so I can run Microsoft's many built in programs such as Edge and Movie Maker.

Bottom line: how do I get HomeUsers user accounts to show up in the list of users when I want to switch users?

 

[Trouble]

Add them to the local "users" group.
Right click the start button and choose Command prompt admin from the context menu and in the elevated command prompt windows type
net local group users <UserName> /add
hit enter
So if you had a user named JohnSmith it would look like
net local group users JohnSmith /add
IF the User Name has a space in it then it should look like this
net local group users "John Smith" /add

IF you don't know the actual user name(s), then type
net user
hit enter
That should provide a list.

I'm not too familiar with "HomeUsers" group. I don't have a home version install and I don't use HomeGroups for sharing
HomeUsers: Members of this group can use the HomeUsers group to share files and folders across the network.

 

[Mike Seiler]

When I typed "net user" I only got one use - "Mike"
But, as an experiement, I entered in the command
net localgroup users "Mike" /add
This then gave me a "Mike_2"
When I then switched users. I saw an Windows crash error message, but I could not catch what it said before it was gone.

I then created another user using netplwiz, and assigned it to group "user"
I was able to then switch to that new user because it was in the list of user accounts.

I then switched back to my administrator account and set my original account to "user" as well. I then switched to that account (now belonging to group "user" instead of "administrator") so I could get to this screen because chrome automatically started back up. But the scary part is that now neither the windows icon on the screen, the windows key on the keyboard, or the "Ask me anything" bar works. They simply don't respond.

 

[Mike Seiler]

So, the windows button, etc work in the other user accounts, just not this one, which is the account I care about.
I think the crux of the problem is that netplwiz shows two accounts with the same account name. The only difference is that the little icon to the left of the account name. For one of the accounts, it has a small person with a sphere or globe behind it. For the other account, it is a person with a computer screen behind it. This is the same icon as for all the other accounts I've created. BTW, I can assign these two identically name accounts to different groups. That is, I can assign one to administrator and the other to user, for example.

I've considered removing one of the two accounts with the same name, but which one? Will I lose all my data an programs if I get it wrong?

What is the significance of the icon to the left of the account name in netplwiz? Why does only the account that I think is the important one have a little globe as the left part of the icon?

 

[Mike Seiler]

I downloaded the windows start menu troubleshooter. It crashed after a few seconds with "an unexpected error has occurred."

 

[Trouble]

When I typed "net user" I only got one use - "Mike"

You should have seen
Administrator
Default Account
Guest
Mike (which I assume is your user account) I don't know if that is a MS Account or a typical local account, but I assume it is a member of the local administrators group.
Is this a Windows 10 Pro machine or Windows 10 Home version?
I wouldn't worry about what the netplwiz is or is not showing. I would be more concerned with what you see in Control Panel User Accounts applet and what you see when you look at C:\Users as to what profile folders are listed.
You can use the command prompt again and type
net user <UserName>
hit enter
That should tell you what groups the user is a member of.
I personally wouldn't mess with user Mike for the time being, especially if that is the only user account on the computer that is a member of the local administrators group

 

[Saltgrass]

You may be talking Apples and Oranges regarding the Users. As far as I know, Win 10 install have at least one Administrative User. That user can log on as a Local Account or a Microsoft Account but can't switch on the fly.

You can sign on with you Microsoft Account selectively without needing to leave the Local Account.

Trouble is accustomed to using a command prompt for such operations, I am not.

 

[Trouble]

Trouble is accustomed to using a command prompt for such operations

Actually, I far prefer using lusrmgr.msc to manage user accounts and groups.
Unfortunately Home versions don't have it, so you end up using something else.
The user applet in the Control Panel used to be fine, but now it is a bit convoluted, so I adapted to the Command Line

 

[Saltgrass]

I suppose there are a couple of things to mention. There is a HomeUsers group and a HomeGroupUser$ user. It confuses me so possibly is confuses others.

When I use the "net user MyUser" command, why does it look differently than what Trouble shows? Are we dealing with a Insider install?

Logon hours allowed All

Local Group Memberships *Administrators *HomeUsers
Global Group memberships *None

 

[Trouble]

Nope, that was on my....
Version 1511 (OS Build 10586.420) machine.
So the latest currently available public Windows 10 version (not an insider preview).
IF you are talking about the absence of a " *HomeUsers ", that would be because I don't use "HomeGroups" on anything, never have never will.

The HomeUsers group is an extra security group added when one employs the HomeGroup feature to support the HomeGroup sharing function.

The problem is that when I try to switch to a different user, only Administrator user accounts show up in the list of user accounts I can switch to. HomeUsers simply do not show up in the list of potential user accounts I can switch to.

My assumption (and it is only that, since I don't use this feature or function, although I might test it to see if I am correct)....
IS that "HomeGroups" and its' related "HomeUsers" security group, exist only to support that function.... sharing folders and files across a network and as such, do not have the ability to perform an "Interactive Logon" and as such cannot "Log On Locally" and as a consequence do not show up as an alternative sign-in choice on the sign-in screen.
IF that is their only Group Membership then they may not be included in the Groups allowed to Log on locally. ONLY an assumption on my part, as I said I don't use it. But....
IF you do, would you mind having a look at
secpol.msc
and see what groups are included.
I for one would be very interested in finding out, one way or the other. It would save me from mucking about with HomeGroups which would be greatly appreciated.

IF they are not there, then that would mean that a user who is only a member of the HomeUsers group would have to be explicitly added to one of the natively occurring security groups that support "Allow logon on locally"
Hence my first suggestion.

 

[Saltgrass]

The problem is that when I try to switch to a different user, only Administrator user accounts show up in the list of user accounts I can switch to. HomeUsers simply do not show up in the list of potential user accounts I can switch to.

This comment is what makes me think there is some confusion as to a User and a Group. You can't switch to a group but you can add a user to a group.

I don't run HomeGroups either but I may have set that up in the past for testing. I assume Trouble, you show Users group because you have a restricted user on your system, which I do not.

 

[Trouble]

I suspect he was just a bit unclear and might have been indicating that members of the HomeUsers group did not show up. Although I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth.
AND
Against my better judgement I turned on HomeGroups on my computer (Yuk!).
And as I expected the HomeUsers security group magically appeared.
So I checked secpol.msc and found that they do not have "log on locally" rights.
IN fact they are explicitly denied "log on locally"

Which creates a further dilemma and may explain the initial problem.

Deny log on locally
This security setting determines which users are prevented from logging on at the computer. This policy setting supersedes the Allow log on locally policy setting if an account is subject to both policies.

So....
Even if you add the user account to the local users group, as I suggested, it still wouldn't have worked as the membership in both Users and HomeGroupUsers would have resulted in no local logon ability for that user.
The user account would have, had to have been removed from the HomeGroupUsers group, in order to be able to logon locally and appear as an alternate selection on the signin screen.

That's all I got.
AND..... another reason why I do not nor ever will use HomeGroups
Went back.... "Leave HomeGroup" all gone. No more mess.

 

[Mike Seiler]

Well, I can see that a picture is worth a thousand words.

As you can see, I don't have a "local users and groups" section.
Here's another picture:

The middle 3rd shows the part of netplwiz.
When I originally upgraded to Windows 10, I had 2 user names of mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com and they belonged to group "Administrator" and "HomeUsers"
After reading the first Trouble's response, I changed the the Group for that user name to "Users"
As I switched users at some point I saw a brief error message. After that, I the Start menu stopped working.
I then decided to delete the mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user name with the icon of the screen beside it. However this ended up deleting BOTH mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user names. Bummer.
I then recreated that user name, but not surprisingly, my setting are now gone. Can I get them back?
Furthermore, ONLY for (now new) mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com the Start menu does not work.
So, not only have I lost my settings, but the Start menu bug shows up again! In other works, I'm missing what I want to keep(settings), but keeping the Start menu bug I don't want.
It looks like there is something very strange going on. I was just trying to fix a bug so I could use Edge and Movie Maker.
What additional information can I provide to help resolve this? Can I "undelete" my original mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user name so I get my settings back?

 

[Mike Seiler]

I forgot to mention that I made a copy of the Mike user directory before I deleted the one mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user name- which ended up deleting BOTH mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user names. I did not make a complete backup because the the Start key was not working, which makes it harder to do anything.

 

[Trouble]

After reading the first Trouble's response, I changed the the Group for that user name to "Users"

My "suggestion" was to "add" not "change" the user(s) that you were not seeing to the "Users" group

Add them to the local "users" group.

A user account can be a member of multiple user groups including both Administrators as well as Users and often is a member of both.

Can I "undelete" my original mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user name so I get my settings back?

I would expect that a System Restore to the point in time prior to you having first made any changes, would likely return the computer to its' prior condition / state.

I would, and you should employ a more comprehensive backup strategy before making any radical changes to your system.

I then decided to delete the mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user name with the icon of the screen beside it. However this ended up deleting BOTH mikeseiler(at)aol(dot)com user names. Bummer.

Something that includes not only a critical data backup (as in your User profile directory) but also a Disk Image
https://www.windows10forums.com/threads/please-for-your-own-peace-of-mind.794/
That should provide you with a much stronger fall back position which you can employ in the event of unforeseeable consequences.

Good luck, keep us posted and please do not make any changes to your last remaining user account that is still a member of the local administrators groups, without either creating another new user account that is. or at a minimum activating the hidden Administrator account.