There are good reasons to set up a new Windows 10 PC without a Microsoft account, even if you intend to link it to a Microsoft account eventually.
The bad news is that Microsoft is pushing its own agenda and using deception to hide the option of setting up a local account instead of a Microsoft account.
The good news is that it’s possible to take control of the process.
TL;DR
Why set up a new PC with a local account instead of linking it to a personal Microsoft account?
There’s no right or wrong answer. Three reasons you might prefer to use a local account: some people feel that a local account is more secure; a local account allows you to bypass the confusion between Microsoft’s personal accounts and “work or school” accounts; or maybe you just don’t like Microsoft. It ought to be your decision to make.
What is Microsoft doing to hide that option?
Microsoft has repeatedly changed the wording and location of the option to create a local account during setup. Most recently, it has either removed it entirely from the setup screens, or it has disguised it with the words “Domain join instead” – a deliberately deceptive use of a dark pattern to confuse and misdirect you.
How to set up a new PC without a Microsoft account
Do not connect a new computer to the network during setup! Don’t plug in the network cable. Do not connect to wi-fi when prompted. You’ll get an inscrutable error message; then you’ll be able to set up a local account.
After you’re at a desktop, connect to the network or wi-fi. Plan to restart a couple of times to take care of last-minute updates and device setup.
Why set up a new PC with a local account?
In Windows 10, Microsoft introduced the idea of connecting your individual login to a personal Microsoft account. You don’t log in with your name, you log in with the email address and password of your Microsoft account. In Microsoft’s dreams, you are then connected to a vast array of Microsoft services, and settings are synced so that they match what you’ve done on other devices logged into the same Microsoft account. In principle, it’s similar to what happens when you log into an iPhone with your Apple account, or an Android phone or Chromebook with your Google account.
Microsoft hopes you will value your Microsoft account as much as your Google or Apple accounts. The difference is that our Apple accounts and especially our Google accounts are becoming more important all the time and tying together services that we use constantly.
Most of the things that Microsoft syncs involve products and services that we don’t use. It is literally meaningless that Microsoft is syncing our bookmarks and browsing history in the Edge browser, or our search requests with Cortana. We don’t use those things. It just doesn’t matter. Logging into a PC with a Microsoft account is overrated.
The most important problem for many people is the confusion between Microsoft’s personal and business accounts. If you have a business Office 365 account, you think of it as your “Microsoft account,” what with it being, well, an account with Microsoft and all – yet that account won’t work to set up a new PC. I cannot overstate how confusing it is for everyone that Microsoft has two different accounts used for different things. People put in their business Office 365 credentials to set up a new computer and get an incomprehensible error message, or the password doesn’t work because it’s for the “other” account people don’t know they have. Ooooh, it makes me so mad!
Microsoft’s insistent push to connect a PC to a Microsoft account is meant to advance Microsoft’s corporate interests, but it does very little for you. It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t take much to tip the scales if you believe a local account is more secure or you don’t like Microsoft.
When you’re setting up a new PC, log in with a local account. You can connect it to a Microsoft account later. (Click on Start / Settings / Accounts / Your Info / Sign in with a Microsoft account.)
What is Microsoft doing to hide the local account option?
The wording and location of the local account option have changed over the years. The screenshot above shows the way it looked until recently, with “Offline account” in small print in the lower left. You’re not done when you choose that option – there are insistent prompts to change your mind, with nag screens about how swell it is to use a Microsoft account – but at least the option is there.
In the most recent version of Windows, now shipping with new computers, the screen has changed.
Windows 10 Home simply doesn’t have any option to set up a local account. It appears to be impossible. (If you fill in a bogus phone number two or three times, it eventually gives up and offers a local account.)
Windows 10 Professional expects you to sign in with a business Office 365 account. A personal account won’t work. Non-tech people don’t know the difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro, and either might ship on a new computer. Most people also don’t understand the difference between a personal and business Microsoft account. The result is that setting up a new computer is now confusing and frustrating for many people.
The option on the bottom left says “Domain join instead.” That phrase is literally meaningless in this context. Would you expect it to lead more or less directly to setting up a local account? Of course not. For non-tech people, it is a classic example of misdirection, a dark pattern that “purposefully focuses your attention on one thing in order to distract your attention from another.” The big letters say “SIGN IN WITH MICROSOFT.” The tiny small print says, “Nothing for you here.”
(I can cobble together a theory about a geeky way that “Domain join” makes sense. My guess is that Microsoft believes IT professionals are the only ones qualified to work around the sacred connection to a Microsoft account. They’ll spot that link and set up a local admin account, then join the computer to the company domain later. It’s a pretty weak explanation, frankly.)
Microsoft continues its deceptive high-pressure push if you click “Learn more.” Its only advice is to create an unnecessary and unwanted Microsoft account – another login name and password to remember (or forget) – then remove it from the computer later. “If you’d prefer not to have a Microsoft account associated with your device, you can remove it. Finish going through Windows setup, then select the Start button and go to Settings > Accounts > Your info and select Sign in with a local account instead.”
How to set up a new PC without a Microsoft account
When you’re setting up a new computer, do not connect it to the network. Disconnect the network cable. Don’t connect to wi-fi when prompted by setup.
You may see the above error message when the computer tries to figure out how to connect a Microsoft account without being able to go online. You can click “Skip” and create a local account – the option that was there all along.
Pro tip: after you choose a name and password, you will likely be asked to supply answers to three security questions, to be used in the future for password recovery. As always, if you’re interested in security, never supply accurate answers to security questions. That’s how accounts get hacked. Pick three questions randomly, and answer them with a word or two that you write down. The answers do not have to be related to the questions as long as you remember the answers!
Tricks like this are all the more frustrating because Microsoft has become more transparent and open in many areas under CEO Satya Nadella, yet here you have a deliberate attempt to deceive consumers and promote a Microsoft agenda at the expense of consumer understanding. Its agenda – a last-ditch attempt to convince consumers to value their Microsoft accounts – is likely to fail. Microsoft knows that. It makes this kind of deception an act of bad faith. Microsoft should be better than this.
Thank u so much, it worked! I’d given up all hope of transferring files to/from my laptop it would error phone unavailable or disconnect!
So I unpluged my network cable from router and plugged my USB plug back into my laptop and boom success! Fuk Microsoft they cause more problems than solve. The MS troubleshooter lives up to its name nothing but trouble and u want to shoot yourself after using it or hours with zero results 😆 thanks again!
Hi Bruce, have read this article and the one about personal/business accounts mess. I would be interested in an article that addresses general best practise for a robust and clean Microsoft account environment to work with. I have 5 accounts, 2 personal and 3 business. Trying to share files with Onedrive and having the right accounts signed in to Word of Excel drives me crazy. I try and avoid sharing files, even though it would be good to do so, because it nearly always throws up an issue that takes time to resolve (if one can – arrrgh). As you could imagine, it interrupts work flow. If you could write something or point to something I am sure a lot like me would appreciate this. Sometimes I wonder if the problems are me and my flawed setup rather than the company.
There’s no way out of your dilemma. Microsoft’s setup works well if you have one and only one personal account, and one and only one business account. And I can tell you from experience with non-tech people dealing with this day after day – the best setup is to commit 100% to one account and literally detach all others from anywhere they appear in Windows, especially OneDrive. I know that might not be practical for you for all kinds of good reasons, but that is literally the only way to avoid being confused or frustrated by the maze of accounts. Sigh.
Having said that, you might try something I haven’t gotten to yet – set up multiple profiles in Chrome. Each one may be isolated in a helpful way, something like incognito mode but with some persistence for logins and passwords. If you combine that with opening OneDrive files in the online versions of Word & Excel, perhaps that will help. Good luck!
Hello, so I have a similar issue expect my new job is a small company and so we have business windows. My other new coworker was able to use our business Gmail to create their windows account no issue. All other employees used a personal account and then attached the business email. They wanted me to learn how to do this right as I’m the most tech savvy. We made an admin local account and then attached the work email as we made the email after which I think we should have done first, but Microsoft doesn’t like the lack of email once I tried to fix it. And of course it locks you out of local accounts and gives an error message once you try to add a local email with a domain. I know now that this is like you said a way to make you set it up with your personal email instead. However my boss wants us to set up our computers with our work emails but I’m not sure how to do that without creating 2 emails, the second email being a spoof they never touch and only I control and then connecting the work email. I’m trying to find out how corporations do it because they set it up more like a local account and have no issues so I’m just wondering if there is a way I can by pass it. Any ideas would be helpful. Thank you!
There are four ways to set up a Windows PC.
(1) A local account – no association with Microsoft or a company.
(2) Linked to a personal Microsoft account – an email address and a password in Microsoft’s personal division. The email address CANNOT be a domain registered in Microsoft’s business division.
(3) Linked to a business Microsoft account – an email address and a password in Microsoft’s business division. The email address is run by Office 365/Microsoft 365. IT people will say that the computer is joined to “Azure AD” (Active Directory).
(4) Linked to a company domain – servers run by the company. This is the traditional way to set up a large company computer so it’s controlled by the company servers. It’s “domain joined.”
There are rules about how and when each one of those is set up – out of the box or later.
Once the computer is set up with a local account or a personal Microsoft account, you can go back and connect a login to a “work or school account” – an email address in Microsoft’s business division. So your main point is correct. It’s common in small businesses to have a personal Microsoft account – a login name that looks like an email address but isn’t used for email, like @outlook.com. Then add the business account (“work or school account”) after you’re logged in.
The rules and procedures keep changing. Messy, isn’t it? My eyes blur when I look at this stuff. So does my brain.
Thanks for this post Bruce. I’ve never set up a computer with it connected to the net. So, so far I hadn’t experienced the MS account set-up insanity you mentioned in this article. I hadn’t had home internet service since 2012 while I was running Windows Vista. I thought I could run my windows 10 on line in peace. But that didn’t happen. I got updates in Dec 2022, Jan-March 2023 from Microsoft. Per Microsoft on the security and update page on my computer. I still need “critical” updates. For what I’m wondering. I’m running a top-of-the line anti-virus software and a paid VPN. I usually only visit and download on trusted web sites. Even when I had the option to turn off updates on windows XP and vista. I never had major problems just from being on line with my computer. After dealing with all of the hiccups from the buggy windows ME. I never bothered with Microsoft updates till I was forced to do so with win 10.
From reading the windows 10 requirements. I qualify to update my windows vista to windows 10 instead of buying another computer. I learned just in time there’s less to lose if you put a computer on line with no larger than a 500 GB hard drive and 4 to 6 GB of ram, and put nothing on it that you care about. I won’t go on all day. Feel free to see my lengthy rant below.
The techniques to set up an offline computer keep changing around, so look around if my tips don’t work. It’s not easy to keep a computer completely offline because at some point you’ll have something that needs online access in this online world – and it’s hard to stop a lot of Microsoft things from happening, even if you’re only online for a few minutes. Everyone has a different tolerance for privacy and tracking. In my opinion, Microsoft is not tracking anything that worries me and the odds are in our favor on updates – they’re more likely to keep us safe than to break things. But many people feel differently and I can’t say they’re wrong. Good luck!
Thank you, thank you.
Thanks for this info.
I have gone through the set up process with my new pc.
I have an existing login for my work domain.
How can I connect to the domain without a Microsoft account?
I go to the join work/school option but it asks for my Microsoft account details to which I get the wrong password message.
I arrived at this post because my new computer refused to let me in without creating a Microsoft account. Thank you for this post. Also infuriating is a clause in the windows user agreement granting microsoft unlimited worldwide intellectual property use rights to anything and everything i put in the computer or online. Really? Linux here I come.
I didn’t know this. I came to this page looking for ways to keep Microsoft out of my computer. The only surefire way to keep Microsoft off your computer is to keep it off line. I don’t have any problem doing that since I’m not gonna have a music or video production computer destroyed by Microsoft updates, online hackers, etc. I took my music production computer off line last week. Not putting it back on line or any other I don’t want hacked or destroyed.
Getting ready to update my 3 gb ram, 500 GB hard drive computer to windows 10. I won’t be putting anything on that hard drive that I care about losing or getting hacked. I had never been on line with my windows 10 computer before Dec of last year. I didn’t even know that Microsoft was still updating that 8+ year old computer, since windows 11 has been out going on 3 years! And no options to turn windows updates off on windows 10. So it makes perfect sense to me to put a computer on line with a 500 GB or less hard drive with 6 or less GB of ram.
One good thing about an off line computer is that you can download software and driver updates to a flash drive on another computer, and keep your production computer free from Microsoft and the rest of the online hackers. I got lucky in 2015 and bought a 2 terabyte hard drive, 12 GB ram installed computer for under $700 including taxes and warranty. Got over $1K of perfectly working music production software and other programs installed. No matter how many permissions I disabled. There was no stopping those updates. Rather than run the risk of wrecking the computer changing registry settings. I just disconnected it from the net, to avoid another 2 1/2 years of updates.
I’m all for having a secure computer on line. But “security” means nothing if the programs and the computer stop working thanks to the wrong unsolicited updates from Microsoft. Like I said earlier. The best thing to do in my opinion is to put a computer on line that meets the minimum requirements to connect to the net, surf, read emails, watch videos and to download software to a better computer you want to be left alone online. Thanks for listening.
Hi, I appreciate the tips and advice in your article.
I need a few tips. I am trying to set up a new PC for my parents. It has Windows 10, and did not come with Office. They are in their 80s and have very little patience to learn new procedures, so I hope to set up the new PC such that they can access their email, etc., in the same way as before.
Their old PC has Windows 7 and their Office version is probably 2010 at the latest (and they no longer have the discs or product key). It’s set up for two users, so when Pop sits down to check his mail, for example, he clicks “switch user” (no password), then clicks on Outlook to open his inbox (no password).
On a PC with Windows 10 and Microsoft 365, can it be set up to be that simple?
I still have not been able to find out whether the “Microsoft Personal” can work for two users on the same PC (each using a different email address) or whether I will need to get “Family”.
I also don’t want them to have to deal with any Microsoft issues, emails, pop-up notifications, etc., so I’m hoping I can pay for and download 365 on the new PC using my account (as Administrator?), then add user accounts for my parents. I hope that will simply things on their end.
If I get the Family version, it might make it easier because then I could pay for it from my laptop, then download it onto their new PC.. but I’m happy with Windows 7 and I haven’t decided whether I want Windows 10 on my computer.
I don’t have personal experience but I believe the Microsoft 365 licenses for Office are per user – meaning each person needs a license. You should probably get Microsoft 365 Family.
Set up the computer for yourself, then add each of your parents under Settings / Accounts / Other Users. After creating each account, there is an extra step to make them “Administrators” so they can install programs. That makes initial setup easier as you get the computer configured for them. Later, you may want to go back and turn that off so they can’t accidentally install a virus or muck things up too badly.
When you’re adding your parents, you have to work to avoid using a Microsoft account, but it can be done. That way you can set it up for them so they don’t have passwords.
Good luck!
I have refuse to use windows 10 because of this. I am still using XP. I tried windows 10, but realized i could not use it without a windows account t sign in. So I went back to my 10 years old Toshiba with XP. I was thinking of getting a Crime Book but but after a few years you don’t get support. So now I know I can bypass the account thing in windows 10, I will continue with Windows for now. I will buy a new windows laptop shortly. Tha KS for the article.
The more I learn about Bill Gates the more I want nothing to do with putting even one dime in his selfish pocket. The man is sick with the disease of Greed; and he has no right to run his monopoly OR try to force the world into taking his toxic vaccines. If he is so interested in population control he, his wife, and his kids should jump off of a cliff first. Bill Gates is a demonic slime-bucket.
Fucking anti-vaxxer, Bill Gates is a wonderful guy. Maybe if you researched a little more you wouldn’t be acting like such a dick.
Yeah, that’s why he’s in hiding from a world court that wants to prosecute him for sterilizing 500,000 female citizens of another country with his wonderful vaccines, but hey, by all means knock yourself out!!! Oh, and in case you’re confused on current affairs, America is still a country that has freedom of choice where the human body is concerned, so yeah, I choose anti-vaccine (not to have my being invaded by a sick, twisted elitest like William Gates. If you had any common sense you would see through his pathetic grab for medical frtunes as just that, it’s just too flippin obvious. You would have to be brain dead and cut off from communications to believe otherwise. His time has come and thankfully gone, his products suck and always have. they are the biggest blight on the human race since the black plague. he alone is responsible for the almost near stall in technology developement worlwide, all so he could get enough billions to fund his curent attack on the world population through medical means. The man is a parasite, bad actor and needs to be dealt with as such. Thinks he can just step up to the governmetal plate and play ball. He’s a tool, who’s greatest achievements were theft and some pretty cool apps made for him by other actually talented people. Netscape should have blown him completely out of the water, actually did, but he’s a criminal piece of garbage and so pulled some shady crap and got over. this is documented so don’t take my word for it. He’s a blight on humanty, plain and simple. But as i’ve said, please step right up and get your vaccination, more power to you, hope you survive it’s ‘other’ ingredients. guess how rich you become when you turn a 600 million population into chronic illnesses that require lifetimes of expensive medications that they can barely afford??? A whole lot more than clients and serers, and why he jumped ship! Welcome to health care slavery! They are i the process of creating the greatest hostage taking experience in known history and it’s uneducated or paid persons like yourself that are making it that much easier for him! It’s all available for anyone who wants to read it and watch it. It’s terrifying to realise how kept we all already are. Some would say we deserve it for allowing ourselves to become complacent, I blame the criminal for the crimes he commits! Perhaps you should do a bit more research on your not-so-wonderful guy!!!
Shhhhhhhh, that wasted 5 minutes of my life reading that garbage that I cannot reclaim, thanks………………..
I hear what you’re saying. You said “it’s all available for anyone who wants to read it and watch it”. Will you point me in the right direction to read and watch. I keep seeing references to how evil he is but can’t find info to support it. Maybe I’m not Googling the right way. Thanks for any help.
FYI I moderate comments before they appear and I’m cranky and I think the Bill Gates stuff is noise and nonsense, so this won’t be the place to do conspiracy theory research. Unfortunately there are all too many other places where you can find that stuff.
Wtf is wrong with you retards? I came here to read helpful tips, not your weird mental Diarrhea that scares away normal humans. Take yourself And your stupid thoughts to your lonely little 4chan conspiracy channel!
Bill Gates has not been directly involved with Microsoft for something like 10 years! For example, Windows 8 was NOT Bill Gates’ idea or even approved by him. That huge mistake caused the firing of the then CEO and a few others, and cost the company billions of $, with many consumers dumping windows, going to smart phones only or to Mac computers. So, the issues we see with MS is totally within the company.
As for Bill Gates, he has used his wealth, along with asking other billionares, to iradicate certain human diseases, and has been successful with a few. He even approached Steve Jobs (founder of Apple), who refused to partake at all. He got his just due! Now, Gates and his consortium are working (funding) on a Covid-19 solution.
Did you just say “He got his just due!” You are a bad person. What disease has a non scientist, non doctor eradicated? … LOL He said “He got his just due”… Let me guess, “Blue Hair Dont Care, He’s not my president!… wa wa wa… You need Jesus.
Thanks so much for your article!!
I got a new laptop with MS10 last year and am still struggling with setup, PASSWORDS, feeling like I MUST acquire or sign up with a particular feature… or life as I know it would end!!
I shouldn’t have to be a tech genius to run a personal laptop!!
It’s a form of control i don’t like!!
Many people here mention trouble with OneDrive and various MS accounts. I don’t know if it’ll work on non-enterprise versions, but I always deselect both OneDrive options in the OCT when generating an .xml file for installation using the ODT. No OneDrive, no headaches.
Can you start over in the start up process. I realized I don’t want to link it to my personal email address as it will be used for work.
If you’re sure you won’t lose anything, then go to Settings / Update & Security / Recovery and click on “Reset this PC.” In just a few minutes, you can set the computer back so it is just the way it came out of the box – brand new, start over from scratch. It’s one of the best things about Windows 10.
Good
This really helped me as I have a user who accidentally signed in with a local account and is not able to do anything (Microsoft wise) Thus has helped me for future builds.
thanks i found this collaboration i was totally mess up for so many day about this kind like issue of my relatives PC that we fix….
Bruce,
Good write up and very helpful if you are setting up from scratch. If you already have a fully functioning system that was setup with a Microsoft Account there are still options for making the switch to a Local Account but they are not always pretty.
To create a new Local Account:
First off, I’m on Windows 10 Pro v1909 so this may not be the same for Windows 10 Home or even different versions. I don’t have any non-Pro builds so I can’t do any verification on that at all. Also, if the system is managed by a domain policy it is very likely that you will not have any of the options listed below. I know if I was running the domain I wouldn’t allow it. 80)
Go to the Windows 10 Settings –> Accounts –> Family & other users. Under Other Users you can “Add someone else to this PC” –> click the link “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” –> “Add a user without a Microsoft account”. Once you provide a new user name, password and three recovery questions/answers you will get a Standard Account. If you want to make that account an Administrator you select the newly created account from the list –> click “Change account type” and select Administrator from the drop-down list and click OK.
All you should need to do after that is stop logging in with the Microsoft Account and start logging in with the Local Account.
The next new pain:
Of course, the side-effect of doing this after you have your desktop, applications, etc all setup is that you will need to do it all again and you will need to be careful about disk space. Especially if you store a lot of data in OneDrive and keep local copies.
My suggestion here would be to copy all of the files from your Documents and Downloads folders to a newly created folder on a drive where you have plenty of disk space and keep it there rather than within an account’s folder structure.
It would also be a good idea to copy over any bookmarks you have saved on browsers you use on the other account, remember that not all applications are available to every user on a system so there may be some discrepancies in application access requiring an uninstall/reinstall to map everything properly once again.
As mentioned, Microsoft does not make the idea of a Local Account a simple path any longer. I’m not an employee of the company but I can understand the business sense in structuring the environment in this way and limiting the ability to work around it. It is not really any different than the paths that Apple and Google have gone with regards to their “One account for everything” approach. There are many benefits to this but it also adds in a huge number of flaws in the communication mechanisms.
I consult for multiple large entities and every one of them force me to have a domain account and use their login services. As you might imagine, every one of their services/domains/O386 environments tries to take over and none of them like it when I try to login to multiple at the same time. Logistics hell.
Sorry for rambling. Once again, great write-up for a new setup. Just wanted to add that there are other alternatives after the Microsoft Account is already configured.
Good write-up! Thanks for taking the time. Moving files and settings from one profile to another can be quite a chore. I’m used to it but there are lots of pitfalls for non-technical people.
Lots of things change when Windows 10 Pro is joined to a domain. For a non-domain joined PC, it’s possible to switch from a Microsoft account to a local account with fewer steps. MS makes the option quietly available under Settings / Accounts / Your Info.
Best to-the-point article on this subject!!!
awesome write up
I am encountering this problem but the next part of the problem. I work for a small not for profit and we suddently and rapidly have to expand the number of laptops so everyone can work at home and socially isolate. And I found how to set up initially but would now like to actually get them connected to their work office 365 and the computers won’t recognise their work office 365 accounts as microsft accounts. Microsofts driving me mad. Last year was the first series of giant problems I had, I work for multiple clients and found the work I was doing for one meant had addded their business office 365 email address to my outlook which was a home office version, suddenly the licences were in conflict and i was having all kinds of problems because microsoft was making heirachy decisions about my laptop on my behalf.
I didn’t see this article until it was too late, I just got home with my brand new asus q547f (the 1600$ touchscreen with the screenpad) and I was expecting to be able to set up a local account like in the past so I went ahead and set up Wifi well then it wouldn’t let me go back and disconnect WiFi so I held the power button to restart it without WiFi but now it’s stuck in bootloop saying windows didn’t shut down in a timely manner or some bs. Furthermore since it’s a brand new laptop I can’t even reset it or start over since there are no drives or anything to reset. Thanks Microsoft for turning my dream laptop into a $1600 paperweight!!! Now I have to try my luck returning it and sadly I’ll have to go with a MacBook if I can’t find a Linux laptop with the right specs.
I’m so glad I found this article while trying to set up a new desktop. Thank you so much for your help!
Thank you for article, it’s very helpful to read and the comments from other users. My dear 75 year old friend has bought a new Dell with Windows 10 experiencing similar issues. She as been forced to set up an account with MS. However, got so confused with all the password prompts, now cannot open the laptop she bought on Saturday, got delivered on Sunday, it’s now Thursday and I will now have to take it back to store to have it set to factory settings so she can start again! She does not want to have to login to the laptop every time she want to use it, so she understands that she did not set up a password for access. Total confusion all around.
Before we discovered this, I tried to set up a Windows 10 Mail account using her own domain email and I could not work out how to get incoming server to work, using correct protocols in place? Option to allow exceptions access in Firewall was greyed out. Disabled McFee – no change.
I and with Retirebri here, particularly for older users used to years and years of easy access and no MS account to confuse them. They don’t want MS office or other MS software, many just want to use browser, social media and receive and send simple emails. I hope MS are listening, and stores who sell laptops to the domestic market.
Hi Bruce 1 March 2020
Fantastic article and thank you for sharing the idiosyncrasies about Windows 10. I’m 75 years old and was computer literate but now it’s all getting way too complicated.
Late last year, I purchased a new windows 10 desktop and using various guides, and even being connected to the Internet, I somehow managed to get an Admin account without a Microsoft account.
However, when I installed a licensed copy of Office 2016 student edition (Excel Word and PowerPoint) and used the product key provided, Microsoft did not seem to accept the product key. The product worked okay so I put it down to a glitch.
Having investigated further, appears that you have to have a Microsoft account to link the Office product with the computer.
Has anyone else come across this problem?
I’ve now just purchased a laptop with Windows 10 so will try your method of not connecting to the Internet in order to avoid the dreaded “must have a Microsoft account”.
I’ll report back with my findings later.
Regards, Retiredbri, UK
Theoretically if you have a version of Office licensed with a key, there isn’t any need to tie it to an online MS account in order to use the programs. Microsoft pushes the online accounts for you to be able to integrate with OneDrive, but it’s not required.
Theoretically. Anything is possible with MS licensing and accounts these days. Good luck!
What a PITA today with wife’s new Dell laptop. She could not set up the account to get it started and even the guys at Dell could not help after 2 hours on the phone. We were about ready to give up and send the computer back for a refund when I tried to get it started using my Microsoft account. I had set it up on my laptop a couple of years ago without problem. So far, so good but do not know if it will present a future problem. No way will Microsoft get even a penny out of me on the account.
I’m setting up a new instal of Windows 10 to hand to someone else. I used my work microsoft account, not realising what was about to happen. I cannot log in as a local user. I can create one, but that user does not show up when starting up. The only options under “other users” is to sign in using a work account, email or phone. I just want to log in as a local administrator account. I can’t get into safe mode in order to type “NET USER administrator /active:yes”. It goes on about bitlocker recovery – what even is that. Is there any way? Or do I need to re-install windows? This is a waste of life.
Boy, I have no idea what’s going on, but remember one of the joys of Windows 10 (seriously) is how quickly you can blow out a PC and start from scratch. If you can get into the startup options and do a recovery/reset, you can start over in literally 15-20 minutes.
I truly deeply hate the people who work for Microsoft with every fiber of my being. How do they even sleep at night knowing what pathetic scum they are?
I don’t blame the people that work there. Most of them are like you and I, trying to make a living and have no role in how deceit, deception, * “dark pattern”, etcetera is used to bamboozle sheople into the paddocks. It’s a huge organization employing 156,439 people (2020). Not all employees are using the pimping-out our rights-to-privacy guidebook. IMHO.
~s~
I walked right into this one with an added problem. I am already part of an Office 365 account via my work, so every time I now try to open any Office package it links to my work account not my personal account and I do not seem to be able to break free. The additional problem is that anything I do on my home laptop defaults to saving to the One Cloud, but not my personal one, the corporate one. This means that my employer gets a copy of all my family photos and any letters I write (which may be about my employer!). Effectively in one step I do not actually have a *personal* computer, it has become an outpost of my employer’s system. This is great for work stuff but not for anything I want to keep for myself and my family.
Not having read this piece until too late, and encountering these problems, I ended up buying a separate version of Office that does not force me to save to OneDrive, but I have to keep downloading it as the laptop keeps defaulting back to the Office 365 versions of all the software. Despite the fact that even two weeks on I still cannot effectively use my laptop, I am very resentful of a US company trying to shape my life and how it is lived. I am bitter at all the useless apps it shovels at me, that have no relevance to my life and yet I struggle to open Word and use it in a normal way. The recent episode of ‘Doctor Who’ was right on the money in this regard.
Brilliant … I jsut want to be able to specify where One Drive is located without all the faff of having to unlink and relink the account. Also now Ive read this I realise thats why I havnt been able to set up an admin account!! So a massive thankyou!!
Thanks for the tip, and a big middle finger to Microsoft for creating this mess in the first place.
So glad I found this advice! I’d already connected to the internet, so I used the bogus phone suggestion, just put in my land line once and it gave me the local option. Very easy after that and everything is working fine.
>And what about setting the computer up for resale? Great. do a reload , then you set up a local login which requires you to answer three questions ( for a new owner that you have never met). I am so damn tired of this BS! I just want to have a running computer to show the customer
I would assume that if you wanted to get it ready for a customer so they could see it as a working computer you should work on it in Audit mode instead of going through the OOBE (out of the box experience). This is accessed by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F3, read more here https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/boot-windows-to-audit-mode-or-oobe
If you reset the PC and set up a local account, you can do it without a password – just leave the password field blank. You won’t be prompted for the security questions. So you can set up a generic account named “Owner”, no password.
Bruce, I have a question: My cousin’s computer is giving her an error where she has a blue screen that says that automatic repair is needed, however when she goes through the process, it doesn’t allow to continue because she needs to start a administrative session but there isn’t an administrative account in the system, thus she can’t continue. Is there something we can do without needing to take the computer to a shop? She lives in a rural area in Peru, South America and it’ll take her 12 hours to take it to the city.
Ouch. It may require hands on work by someone in a shop. There are likely lots of options but it’s so hard to tell from a distance. It’s possible to get to the boot-up troubleshooting menu and lots can be done from there but typically you can’t start a remote session from there to let someone at a distance help out. The option might be available from that screen to reset the PC, basically returning it to its state when it was new out of the box. But it might be tough without credentials for an admin account, which makes the next step to reinstall from a USB stick. She might be stuck making the drive. Good luck!
nice post. thanks for advice.
UPDATE
I work in IT and setup computers regularly. Before you could “Domain Join” and set up local user.
Today we got in an HP to setup and it gave me no such option. I found this forum too late and I had already established wifi connection.
The solution was to try and log in to a Microsoft account using random entries on the input. It will obviously tell you there is no account for that address or password wrong. Did this twice and it let me make a local account.
No kidding! That’s really helpful. I didn’t know it would do that.
I can confirm that with Windows 10 Pro, if you’ve already connected to a network, you can still use the workaround described above:
If you fill in a bogus phone number two or three times, it eventually gives up and offers a local account.
When you do this, the “Offline account” option appears in the lower left corner of the screen. I was able to set up with a local account by using this trick.
Thank you for this – Microsoft more and more seem to be inhabiting a different and ugly planet, communicating only with their fellow aliens. There must be room for some new company to set up and replace them – and the sooner the better.
Airplane mode works if you already setup wifi! THANK YOU!
Yes Bruce is right, just don’t put anything in the password field, hit enter no need for a password.
And what about setting the computer up for resale? Great. do a reload , then you set up a local login which requires you to answer three questions ( for a new owner that you have never met). I am so damn tired of this BS! I just want to have a running computer to show the customer.
I haven’t done this for a while but I think you can ignore the password field and it will let you set up an account that goes straight to a desktop. Just make sure you leave the computer disconnected from any network during the setup.
If it’s for resale, you can also shut down at the first setup prompt and let it be the buyer’s problem.
I agree. I think Microsoft should not force people to setup a new laptop/computer using the Microsoft Account by removing the Local Account setup option, since there are a lot of people who still don’t have the internet at home. If Microsoft is willing to provide free home internet services or pay the ISP for people, then they can force people to setup a new computer using a Microsoft Account. Plus numerous people are not interested in the Microsoft Account, nor want to use the Microsoft Store to purchase any products. MS should stop creating confusions or causing people to spend more money for things they don’t need or not interested.
P.S. Also, they should not make money out of people by not supporting or making the old version of Windows (i.e., Wins 7, Vista, etc.) stop working or not working properly if a new Windows version (i.e., Wins 10) comes out, so that people have to purchase the new Windows OS, otherwise their computers will be crashed or not working properly. They should make things easier for people without costing them more.