PowerShell automations · 2026-08-01

PowerShell: delete old Windows user profiles safely

The script

Enumerate Win32_UserProfile, filter out special and loaded profiles, and remove the ones unused for 90 days. The script below runs with -WhatIf so the first run only prints what it would delete; remove that switch once the list looks right.

$cutoff = (Get-Date).AddDays(-90)
Get-CimInstance Win32_UserProfile |
  Where-Object { -not $_.Special -and -not $_.Loaded -and
                 $_.LastUseTime -and $_.LastUseTime -lt $cutoff } |
  ForEach-Object {
    "{0}`t{1:d}" -f $_.LocalPath, $_.LastUseTime
    Remove-CimInstance -InputObject $_ -WhatIf   # remove -WhatIf when happy
  }

Notes before you run it

Removing via Win32_UserProfile deletes both the folder and the registry entry. Never delete C:\Users\name by hand; that leaves a broken profile that gives the returning user a temporary one.
LastUseTime has been unreliable on some Windows 10 builds, where maintenance tasks touch it. Sanity-check the printed list against what you know before removing the switch.
Roaming or synced profiles: deleting the local copy is safe by design, but confirm before assuming.

Run it on every machine, not one at a time.

Save any of these as a command in Moorfox and run it on a machine in one click, output and exit code captured, with no PSRemoting or WinRM setup. The agent runs it locally and reports back, even over the internet.

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