How to Restore a Deleted Account on a Mac

by Deanna Koch

As with most everything Mac-related, restoring a deleted user account is easy. There are a few different ways to delete a user account, and unfortunately, not every way allows for an "undo." Here's how to restore an account that has been deleted via the System Preferences.

Restoring a Deleted Account

1

Open the Accounts pane of the System Preferences.

2

Click the + sign under the list of user accounts. (Authenticate with the administrator password if asked to.)

3

Fill in the name, short name and password you want associated with this account. Click "Create Account" and close the System Preferences window.

4

Open the "Deleted Users" folder found inside the "Users" folder within the hard drive.

5

Double-click the disk image associated with the deleted account you want restored.

6

The deleted account will show up on your desktop as a disk image. Copy the folder structure in its entirety to the newly created account inside the "Users" folder.

Items you will need

References

About the Author

Deanna Koch has worked as an IT professional since 1995. She attended Drake University with a major in computer science. Koch started writing professionally in 2000 when she began writing application user manuals and guides. Her user manuals were distributed in the marketing department of Target Corporation, and her many how-to guides are available for download on Drake University's website as well as eHow.

Photo Credits

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