After Reformat and Reinstall of Windows 11 User account still exists

[Ollie1949b]

I was running Windows 10 Home so I downloaded Windows 10 Home from Microsoft and installed a clean copy, brought the system up with an admin account and then migrated to Windows 11.  I then attempted to add a previous Windows 10 user onto the new Windows 11 system and was told by the OS the user is already on the system.  The user account actually was on PC prior to reinstalling Windows 10 from the USB downloaded from Microsoft but has not been added since the reinstall.  Also, the PC actually has a different name than what it was prior to the reinstall.  I kinda suspect the user account at Microsoft (outlook) somehow is linked to the hardware and if so how can it get it to release this linkage.  I guess next time I might try to delete all the accounts off of the box prior to ever doing a reinstall.

[Bill_To]

Greetings @Ollie1949b 

Welcome to the HP Forum. 

Your user account conundrum seems unusual from my perspective.

A clean Windows installation should only have the hidden Admin account and the Admin account you created during the Windows OOBE.

I guess it's possible to have a second, persistent Microsoft Account. The second account would have been created on a prior Windows installation. And the previous Windows installation was tied to a Microsoft account.

I'm not sure about this. I only do local accounts during the Windows initial setup routine.

You should be able to remove the second user account when you are signed into Windows as an Admin.

I only use local accounts on my W10 and W11 PCs. So I have never had a second user account migrate to a clean Windows installation.

Regards