How to Enable, Disable and Use Guest Accounts In Windows 7

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Updated on May 23, 2022

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What to Know

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety. Select User Accounts.
Choose Manage another account > Guest. Select Turn On to enable the guest acount.
To disable the guest connection, return to the same location and select Turn off the guest account.

This article explains how to enable and disable a guest account in Windows 7. It includes information on how to tell when you are using guest mode.

As of January 2020, Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 7. We recommend upgrading to Windows 10 to continue receiving security updates and technical support.

How to Enable the Guest Account in Windows 7

If you have a computer at home that several people use, you create user accounts for them. What do you do about those users that don't merit their own user accounts such as guests or a family member who hangs out only on the weekend? Use the Guest Account.

Follow these steps to enable the Guest account on your Windows 7 computer.

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel.
Select User Accounts and Family Safety.

You can also access the Guest account option by clicking the Add or remove user accounts link directly below User Accounts and Family Safety.
Select User Accounts.
Select Manage another account.

If you are prompted by User Account Control, click Yes to proceed.
Select Guest from the list of accounts.

When the account is off, it states the following: Guest account is off.
Select Turn On to enable the Guest account in Windows 7.

If you turn on the guest account, people who do not have an account can use the guest account to log on to the computer. Password-protected files, folders, or settings are not accessible to guest users.

How to Know the Guest Account Is Enabled

How do you know if the Guest account is enabled? When you turn on your computer and the Welcome Screen appears, a list of available accounts appears. If you see Guest listed as one of the accounts, then the Guest account is enabled.

Disable the Guest Account in Windows 7

If you find that the Guest account makes you a bit uneasy because anyone can access your computer, you have the choice of turning it off.

To turn off the Guest Account in Windows 7, follow these steps:

Go to Start Menu > Control Panel.
Select User Accounts and Family Safety.
Select User Accounts.
Select Manage another account.
Select Guest from the list of accounts.
Select Turn off the guest account.

How to Use the Guest Account in Windows 7

You have two options to use the Guest Account in Windows 7. The first is logging out of your existing account in Windows 7 and logging back on using the Guest account.

The second option is using the Switch User option and selecting the Guest account as the account you wish to log onto.

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