Change from MS Account To Local After Motherboard Change

We had to change the motherboard on our Windows 10 22H2 PC but I suppose the same process applies to both Win 10/11. The PC is used currently with an MS Account and in Activation it says that the OEM licence is activated and linked to the MS Account. We didn't have to reactivate after the board was replaced.
If we wanted to change to a Local Account and we needed to do either a clean or repair install would the reactivation fail if we signed back in to the MS Account at the "Let's sign you in to your MS Account" stage?
Would appreciate any advice.

When you sign back in to Microsoft account, your version of Windows 11 will be automatically activated if not you need to use Activation Troubleshooter or contact Microsoft support. You can after Windows 11 activated switch between Local or Microsoft account from "Settings ---> Accounts ---> Your Info" page.

There's more involved than just changing the account type.

After Windows is activated, if you want to switch your MS account to a local account you must first turn off Onedrive folder Backup for each of your personal folders Turn On or Off OneDrive Folder Backup Syncing Across Windows 11 Devices Tutorial

then do this Unlink Account and PC from OneDrive in Windows 11 Tutorial

Finally switch to a local account in settings>accounts

The machine will retain activation and also should automatically activate if you ever have to clean install using a local account. Although linked to your Microsoft account, Digital licenses are associated with your hardware. Once a machine has a digital license, anyone can clean install windows and it should activate because a record of that hardware is stored in MS servers.

If your drive is bitlocked, I strongly suggest you either login to your MS account and make note of your bitlocker key, (keep it in a safe place) OR turn bitlocker encryption off before switching to a local account.

I've done it a bit different, get Win10 or Win11 installed [Win11 insists on the Microsoft Account first], get it activated and updated then create a new User with a slightly different name [by at least one character] as a Local Account with Admin Rights [doesn't have to have a password assigned], reboot into that new account then remove the original account, do or don't save the files when prompted.

Berton said:

create a new User

Click to expand...

Yes, I've done it that way too. It all depends on the user and whether he has files in Onedrive that he wants to move into his user account. It really depends on the user and how he wants to deal with his data and whether or not he wants no connection to Onedrive at all. I've found unlinking the PC makes it easier to completely uninstall Onedrive if the user wishes. (I user Revo Uninstaller to get rid of all traces of Onedrive)

I might add that if the user just wants to get his files back onto his system drive, but doesn't want to completely uninstall Onedrive, he can use steps in post #3 and then go to task manager>startup apps and stop Onedrive from auto starting with Windows.

glasskuter said:

It all depends on the user and whether he has files in Onedrive that he wants to move into his user account. It really depends on the user and how he wants to deal with his data and whether or not he wants no connection to Onedrive at all. I've found unlinking the PC makes it easier to completely uninstall Onedrive if the user wishes. (I user Revo Uninstaller to get rid of all traces of Onedrive)

I might add that if the user just wants to get his files back onto his system drive, but doesn't want to completely uninstall Onedrive, he can use steps in post #3 and then go to task manager>startup apps and stop Onedrive from auto starting with Windows.

Click to expand...

It's certainly a priority to make sure all the files you need are stored locally before switching from a Microsoft account to a local one - especially the Desktop!

But it's quite possible to continue using OneDrive from a local account, if you wish. You just need to set your MS account as an account that can be used by other apps, as I have done.

When I got my laptop from repair, ASUS said they replaced the motherboard. I had to reactivate Windows 11. That is probably because the laptop came with Windows 11 Home and I had upgraded to Windows 11 Pro.

Also, I few weeks ago when I tried to switch from a Microsoft account to a local account I got an error. It said it couldn't because there was some syncing with my MS account being done. When I disabled the syncing I was able to switch to a local account. I don't remember what was being synced but it wasn't OneDrive because it had long ago been disabled and uninstalled.

Thanks for the info. I don't use One Drive for data backup as we use an external SSD for storage and as we have Windows 11 Home, Bitlocker isn't installed. As I said, the motherboard was replaced with no Windows 10 activation needed. Settings/Activation shows "Windows Is Activated With A Digital Licence Linked To Your Microsoft Account". I'm wondering if because the board was replaced and activated (without us having to reactivate) the licence recognises the new motherboard and a clean install/Windows 11 Upgrade would not need reactivation?
Thanks.

Well if you replace the motherboard with the same model probably the hardware ID is not affected and you can activate again with your digital license. If you replace with a different model you might have to activate again using a new Windows key.

Thanks for replying. As far as I know, the replacement motherboard is the same as the failed one although I,m not certain. I suppose the fact that the new board was recognised and Windows was activated without any intervention should mean that a reinstall/upgrade should go ahead without any reactivation problems. I think we will play it safe and stick to the MS account until we are forced to act because of problems etc. Thanks again.

Using the same model motherboard makes the change very small. Windows detects that as an upgrade of the same computer, not an attempt to run the same installation on a different computer, so it activates