Can I set up this account configuration when setting up a new windows laptop

AshForeth · Mar 18, 2026

On a brand new windows laptop, I like to set up two users, a windows account standard user, and a local account admin. Because MS makes it difficult to setup without a MS account, I like to do the following:

Use a MS account to set up Windows. Avoid setting up one drive. The user doesn't use the MS eco-system.
Create a local account. Set it up as admin.
Remove admin from the MS account.

Will this bypass the issue where you can't set up windows because you don't have a windows account? I am mostly interested in keeping the admin account local.

I wonder if not installing onedrive would be a bad idea. I suspect Windows would constantly prompt you to install one drive. I got the feeling that some settings won't get backed up if one drive isn't working, so perhaps instead of removing one drive, I just limit what it syncs?

hsehestedt · Mar 18, 2026

Why go through all that? Follow the instructions in the tutorial below. It includes steps for creating a local account during setup. Note that there are several ways to do this. While Microsoft makes it difficult, it can still be done - rather easily too.

Clean Install Windows 11

This tutorial will show you step by step on how to clean install Windows 11 at boot on your PC with or without an Internet connection and setup with a local account or Microsoft account. Windows 11 has all the power and security of Windows 10 with a redesigned and refreshed look. It also comes...

www.elevenforum.com

glasskuter · Mar 18, 2026

what he said.

MisterEd · Mar 19, 2026

You should still be able to install Windows 11 with a local account. A few months ago I did a clean install of Windows 11 Pro 25H2 with a local account on a desktop computer. I used the following when it asked to select the region:


Shift + F10
start ms-cxh:localonly

SlicEnDicE · Mar 19, 2026

Does any of the above apply to the OOBE stage of an OEM generated image?

Clean install is completely different and for some users it is too much to ask for. Drivers and hardware specific tools missing completely, risking the laptop becoming unusable, etc...

AgathePower · Mar 19, 2026

SlicEnDicE said:
Does any of the above apply to the OOBE stage of an OEM generated image?

Clean install is completely different and for some users it is too much to ask for. Drivers and hardware specific tools missing completely, risking the laptop becoming unusable, etc...

Shift + F10 then start ms-cxh:localonly worked on brand new Dell machine I received some month ago.

SlicEnDicE · Mar 19, 2026

AgathePower said:
Shift + F10 then start ms-cxh:localonly worked on brand new Dell machine I received some month ago.

Yes, but the computer age is not the relevant thing here, but rather if it was a clean install (wiped everything and booted from setup media) or OEM OOBE phase.

AshForeth · Mar 19, 2026

I think the last time I install Windows on a box it was roughly a year ago and I use the OOBE method to do it, but I heard MS has removed this. Last time around, the user wanted to avoid any windows account, but the intention this time around is not to avoid Windows account all together but to have a local only admin account. I do not see why you would want an admin account to be online and global across different machine. Each admin account on each machine should be different.

I really don't want to install windows from scratch.

LesFerch · Mar 19, 2026

AshForeth said:
On a brand new windows laptop, I like to set up two users, a windows account standard user, and a local account admin. Because MS makes it difficult to setup without a MS account, I like to do the following:

Use a MS account to set up Windows. Avoid setting up one drive. The user doesn't use the MS eco-system.

Create a local account. Set it up as admin.

Remove admin from the MS account.

Will this bypass the issue where you can't set up windows because you don't have a windows account?

Step 1 seems to contradict your question. But it is very common to use an MS account to do the build and then create one or more local admin accounts, and finally remove the MS account from the machine altogether. My preference is to use Rufus to go straight to a local admin account.

Can I set up this account configuration when setting up a new windows laptop

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