“Almost everyone has had the frustrating experience of using a computer that a friend or family member forgot to log out of.
Learn how to fix “Someone else is using this PC”error in Windows 10.
I recently ran into a strange issue and received several requests from Windows users. According to a user, “When I try to shut down my PC, I keep getting the ‘Someone else is using this PC’ notification.”
This error occurs when another person is already logged on to the computer with a different Windows user account. However, sometimes the condition can appear suddenly for no apparent reason.
If you’re getting the “Someone else is using this PC”error on Windows 10/11, here are a few ways to fix the problem.
What causes the “Someone else is using this computer”error
The “Someone else is using this computer”warning message may appear if you turn off or restart your computer when it appears that another user is still using it. This message appears when more than one user account is configured on a Windows computer.
Moreover, this message seems suspicious, because in this case there are no other users on the computer. The “Someone else is using this computer”error message can be caused by several factors. These factors include:
1. Change your login option
This issue is primarily due to a change in the login options menu. Therefore, the machine must now use the login information to automatically configure the device and reopen the program as a result of this change.
2. Still connected to the previous user
The previous user of this computer was unable to log off. Therefore, there were several factors, including the interrupt caused by the system or the user’s choice.
3. Installing Windows updates now in the background
If you are experiencing this issue and are using Windows 10, your OS may have made a mistake. Accordingly, this is due to the fact that it connects to another user while installing one or more updates in the background.
How to fix “Someone else is using this PC”error in Windows
- Change login settings
- Disable previously authorized users
- Install all pending Windows 10 updates
- Disable third party antivirus
- Run multiple SFC and DISM system scans
- Scan your computer for viruses
- Protecting the login process
- Check the Event Viewer for failed login attempts.
- Fix user account issues by running System Restore
1. Change your login settings
This error usually occurs after the login settings have been changed. As a consequence, this is one of the main causes of the “Someone else is using this computer”error.
To resolve this error, you need to change your privacy settings.
- Go to the Settings app menu.
- Select the “Accounts”option.
- Then select your login options from the menu on the left.
- Alternatively, you can open it by pressing Win + R to open the Run dialog and type ms-settings:login options to open the login options directly.
- Expand the menu and scroll down to the “Privacy”option.
- In the “Privacy”section, turn off the “Use my sign-in information to automatically complete the setup of my device after an update or reboot”option.
- You should restart your computer to make sure the error is fixed.
2. Disable previously logged in users
When the “Someone else is using this PC” error occurs in Windows, it can also be due to the previous user not fully logging out.
You may be able to fix the problem by disabling the user that is preventing shutdown or restart in Task Manager.
- Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Enter on your keyboard.
- In the menu above, go to the “Users”tab.
- Right-click on the user you no longer want to connect to and select Disconnect.
3. Install any pending Windows 10 updates.
This issue may be caused by a known Windows 10 bug. You may encounter this issue if you restart your PC during Windows Background Update. In this scenario, the operating system may incorrectly identify the second user on the computer.
- Navigate to the “Settings”option.
- Select Windows Update from the list above.
- Check if any Windows Update screens are currently loading. Complete the process by following the instructions on the screen.
- Follow the previous step that caused the “Someone else is using this PC”error after installing a Windows update.
4. Disable Third Party Antivirus
The most common cause of the “Someone else is using this PC” error is a third-party antivirus application that can interfere with the operating system.
Some users reported that they can fix the problem by uninstalling their antivirus software. Switching to a better security program may prevent future problems, or Windows Defender is a viable option.
- Go to settings.
- Select Applications from the menu.
- Under Apps & Features, find your antivirus software by dragging the slider down.
- Click on the icon of the antivirus software you wish to remove.
- Click the Delete button.
- Once the antivirus is removed, restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved. If not, continue with the next method.
5. Run Multiple SFC and DISM System Scans
A system error can also cause the “Someone else is using this PC” error in Windows. The correct way to identify and resolve such cases is to run a system scan using the built-in troubleshooting utilities provided by Windows.
The SFC procedure replaces bad files with healthy ones, and DISM fixes Windows Component Store file corruption issues, ensuring that the SFC process works properly.
Steps to Run an SFC Scan
Follow these steps to run an SFC scan:
- Select PowerShell (Admin) by pressing Win+X on your keyboard.
- When the command prompt appears, type sfc /scannow a and press enter.
- Check if the issue has been resolved after the process is completed.
Steps to Run a DISM Scan
To run the DISM command on your computer, follow these steps:
- To open the Run window, press Win + R on your keyboard.
- Type “cmd”and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard to launch an administrative command prompt.
- Click Yes if you are prompted to allow Command Prompt to make changes to your device.
- Type the following two commands into the command line and press Enter when you reach one of them:
| Dism/Online/Cleanup-Image/StartComponentCleanupDism/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealth |
- Restart your computer after the commands complete.
6. Scan your computer for viruses
If you see a warning message when shutting down your system, your system may be infected with viruses or malware.
Essentially, this is because there is only one user account. In this situation, you need to run an antivirus and antivirus scan.
- Open “Settings”on your PC.
- Select the Update & Security option.
- Select Windows Security on the left.
- Click Virus & Stream Protection.
- A new window will open, then you need to click the “Quick Scan”button to start the virus scanning process.
7. Protecting the login process
The Windows operating system provides a secure login feature that allows users to access their desktop by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete on the lock screen to increase user security.
- To access the User Accounts panel, open the Run dialog box (Windows + R) by typing “netplwiz”in the search box.
- In the menu above, click on the “Advanced”tab.
- Select the Secure Login checkbox, after which all login attempts will require the user to use the Ctrl + Alt + Delete combination to continue.
- If you want to unlock your computer, instead of pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete, press the volume down button and the power button at the same time.
8. Check the Event Viewer for failed login attempts.
Using the Windows Event Viewer, you can monitor all the activity that happens on your computer, including background processes and everything that happens on your computer.
The auditing capabilities of this software will allow you to keep track of all successful and unsuccessful login attempts.
- Find the Event Viewer application in the search bar and run it as an administrator.
- The Event Viewer provides a quick overview of all errors in your window pane. A bug does not need to be fixed unless it is marked as “critical”. If there are any errors related to user login, check the error panel.
- The Windows Logs section of the sidebar -> Security will present a list of recent security-related events if no useful login instances are displayed.
- Let’s consider the “Logging in”task category. There will be an event ID, such as 4624, which refers to all successful and unsuccessful attempts to access Windows.
- Whenever a login event displays “audit failure”in the details pane, it may indicate that your device is having problems authenticating the user.
- On the Details tab, verify that the failed login is associated with a different user account. You can see the local user account in the “TargetUserName”section.
- Take a look at your PC’s local user account and consider deleting it if it’s error-prone.
In addition, you can follow the steps described earlier to resolve the issue if the failed login is caused by a third-party antivirus or an unfinished update or operation.
9. Fix User Account Issues by Running System Restore
If you’re not sure what’s causing the user authentication issues on your device, and if the event viewer audit (see above) doesn’t provide enough information about how the problem occurred, you might want to consider performing a system restore. to determine what is causing the problem.