And so you can do things like disable the online account requirement and even have it automatically make you a local account with a given username as well as a couple other options.
I don't think this works on Windows 11 Home (or or perhaps in S mode). I have set up a desktop this year where it did work, then more recently I set up two Laptops in S mode where it didn't and I had to follow other instructions.
For that I had to create a microsoft account. I could then create a local account, and delete the microsoft account.
Which frankly is terrible. It has pushed me to now make Linux Mint my main personal OS. I've been using windows and been a fan of Visual Studio for decades.
It's the correct answer today, in the same way that clicking "use a local account" was the answer yesterday. Ms will have this plugged at some point and our account managers are advertising this like it's a good thing.
All of the current methods to bypass internet access, account creation, CPU/TPM requirements, etc. (including the linked article) depend on the cooperation of the OS.
Crazy how ‘our’ operating system(s) begin to exploit us, instead of serving as our tools; just as the modern web demands an adblocker, OSes require workarounds like this. On that topic, I can just see the dystopian future where this bypass and its ilk become “felony contempt of business model” (see: Cory Doctorow).
With Windows 11 Pro I always use no@thankyou.com as the email and give any random string ad the password. The setup will ask to create a local account in the next screen
I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. Namely for device tracking if it gets stolen and BitLocker key recovery.
However, my general recommendation is to purchase Windows Pro and use Group Policy Editor to reconfigure some of the insane defaults of modern Windows. Websites like stacksocial have discounted prices (for personal use).
One of the insane defaults is Microsoft OneDrive. If you setup Windows with a Microsoft Account it automatically configures OneDrive. Which in turn moves the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder into the OneDrive folder. I expect "My Documents" to be located at "C:\Users\<username>\Documents" NOT "C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents".
This is very hard to correct. Unlinking and uninstalling OneDrive is not sufficient. I had to use Registry Editor to fix this, because the "Restore Default" button was not working.
At work I was forced to switch from Mac to support a C#/.NET customer. I've been pleasantly surprised with Windows 11 and especially WSL2 and the integration with VS Code. So much so that I switched my "personal" PC from PopOS to Windows (I also game and Proton was not cutting it) and I'm willing to overlook some of the decisions Microsoft has made.
> One of the insane defaults is Microsoft OneDrive. If you setup Windows with a Microsoft Account it automatically configures OneDrive. Which in turn moves the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder into the OneDrive folder. I expect "My Documents" to be located at "C:\Users\<username>\Documents" NOT "C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents".
I would consider this a direct attack, not only on my own privacy but also on the businesses of my clients. That is hostile action that should make Windows an absolute no-go for anyone who wants to use it for work.
None of this made you think before you moved to this atrocity? Did you not learn anything? That's like being the poster child of the blasé user who obediently holds still while they are being abused.
The last thing I did as a student in university was grab a windows 10 education product key. They let computer science students get windows install keys for personal use, and I grabbed one. Been using it on my personal machine for years since and it works great.
As far as I can tell it isn’t tied to the university in any way. When I dig into settings it doesn’t look like I have management stuff being applied to my personal machine. And I’m using my personal account, not a school account. It’s just a win10 pro/enterprise that has all the tracking stuff forcefully disabled. It has a bunch of actually sane defaults. Cortana is off by default, and honestly I don’t know if it can be turned on. No ads on my Lock Screen. It’s just a cleaner version of windows.
Don’t know what I’ll do if I have to do a new install, as I’m not a student anymore. And not sure what upgrading to 11 will do with my existing install. But my laptop (home edition) has a ton of annoying stuff and I don’t ever want to fiddle with it. It’s always nagging me about onedrive or about bing rewards. My desktop with Education edition though never gets in the way.
> I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. [...]
Me neither, but I fairly often have to setup computers for SME / private customers and with Win 11 I am forced to be with the customer because why should I ever know his password. Before I could setup most stuff without any Windows account and just finish up together with the customer. It's annoying.
I'm on Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro for $39 on stacksocial is tempting. Other than Bitlocker and the ability to create local accounts, does Pro have anything particularly noteworthy that would justify the purchase?
> Remote desktop, hyperv, windows sandbox, windows containers
None of this is particularly enticing to me personally, I think I'll be scratching my virtualization itch with linux on my home media server. Sandbox might be interesting for security.
> The local account bypass also now works on Home edition.
Oh, that's perfect then! I'm going to be doing a clean reinstall soon. The PC is starting to seem a little sluggish since I just went the Windows 10 upgrade route for Windows 11.
for those that don't want skip the oobe experience and have to bring up the commandline, you can literally just go to the sign in screen, tell it you want it to join a domain, it doesn't actually join the domain at that point, it creates a local account, and after windows is up and running offers joining a domain.
This is exactly what I do. I believe you have to click "set up for work or school" first before you get the domain join option, but it works fine for creating a local administrator account.
https://rufus.ie/en/
And when you do that, you get a popup with checkboxes about customizations to the ISO that looks like this:
https://i0.wp.com/pureinfotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/0...
And so you can do things like disable the online account requirement and even have it automatically make you a local account with a given username as well as a couple other options.
Really simple.