Delete a local group
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
Administrators is the minimum group membership required to complete this procedure. Review the details in "Additional considerations" in this topic.
Deleting a local group
Using the Windows interface
Using a command line
To delete a local group using the Windows interface
Open Computer Management.
In the console tree, click Groups.
Where?
- Computer Management\System Tools\Local Users and Groups\Groups
Right-click the group that you want to delete, and then click Delete.
Additional considerations
To perform this procedure, you must provide credentials for the Administrator account on the local computer (if you are prompted), or you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer.
The following default groups cannot be deleted:
Administrators
Backup Operators
Cryptographic Operators
Distributed COM Users
Guests
IIS_IUSRS
Network Configuration Operators
Performance Log Users
Performance Monitor Users
Power Users
Remote Desktop Users
Replicator
Users
A deleted group cannot be recovered.
Deleting a local group removes only the group. It does not delete the user accounts, computer accounts, or group accounts that were members of that group.
If you delete a group and then create another group with the same group name, you must set new permissions for the new group. The new group will not inherit the permissions that were assigned to the old group.
To delete a local group using a command line
Open Command Prompt.
To delete a group, type:
net localgroup <GroupName> /delete
Additional considerations
To perform this procedure, you must provide credentials for the Administrator account on the local computer (if you are prompted), or you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer.
The following default groups cannot be deleted:
Administrators
Backup Operators
Cryptographic Operators
Distributed COM Users
Guests
IIS_IUSRS
Network Configuration Operators
Performance Log Users
Performance Monitor Users
Power Users
Remote Desktop Users
Replicator
Users
A deleted group cannot be recovered.
Deleting a local group removes only the group. It does not delete the user accounts, computer accounts, or group accounts that were members of that group.
If you delete a group and then create another group with the same group name, you must set new permissions for the new group. The new group will not inherit the permissions that were granted to the old group.
For more information about the net localgroup command, see Managing local groups from the command line.