How to access Local Users and Groups in XP Home

In Windows XP Professional the Local Users and Groups can be displayed and edited through the Computer Management (compmgmt.msc) console. This feature has been removed from Windows XP Home, however there is a workaround.

Note: This article is intended for experienced system administrators. If you are not familiar with using Local Users and Groups, we highly recommend that you use the built-in Windows XP Home user management tools.

To create your own Local Users and Groups utility in XP Home, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start -> Run.... Type mmc.exe and press Enter.
2. Click File -> Add/Remove Snap-in... and click the Add button.
3. Scroll down until you find Local Users and Groups and click the Add button.
4. In the dialog box that opens, choose Another computer and enter 127.0.0.1 (the local loopback address) and click Finish. Note: Even though there is an option on this screen for Local computer, if you choose this you will be presented with the following message: "This computer is running Windows XP Home Edition. This snapin may not be used with that version of Windows. To manage user accounts for this computer, use the User Accounts tool in the Control Panel." By selecting Another Computer you can work around this warning.
5. Click the Close button then OK button to return to the newly created MMC console.
6. Click File -> Save to save the new console. By default it will be saved to the Administrative Tools folder.
7. Close the MMC window.

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