Want to set up PC as local machine without MS account link

RDG · Oct 30, 2024

I thought I knew how to do this as it is what I did with my Lenovo ThinkCenter running Win11Pro. Just tried with my
MSI PRO DP21 but was thwarted as setup absolutely required signing into or setting up an account. I had opted to reset using what was already installed on the PC which is this: Win11 Home 22H2, Build 22621.3007, Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22681.1000.0. Is there a way to download a different Win11 version than what came on a PC? Thanks.

sfernley · Oct 30, 2024

Download the latest ISO from Microsoft, just google "Download Windows 11" Download Rufus from rufus.ie which you can then use to create USB Installation media but you can add customisations, one of which is to use a local account rather than the MS account.

Tutorial here -

antspants · Oct 30, 2024

sfernley is correct, after you press “START” in Rufus, a window will pop up.

RDG · Oct 30, 2024

sfernley said:
Download the latest ISO from Microsoft, just google "Download Windows 11" Download Rufus from rufus.ie which you can then use to create USB Installation media but you can add customisations, one of which is to use a local account rather than the MS account.

Tutorial here -

Fantastic! Watched the video and it looks doable.

RDG · Oct 30, 2024

antspants said:
sfernley is correct, after you press “START” in Rufus, a window will pop up.

View attachment 114667

Yeah, that is such a great option! I'm so grateful for these utilities or patches that folks share with people like me who would otherwise be at a loss. The tutorials on the website were incredibly helpful.

antspants · Oct 30, 2024

RDG said:
Yeah, that is such a great option! I'm so grateful for these utilities or patches that folks share with people like me who would otherwise be at a loss. The tutorials on the website were incredibly helpful.

Rufus is pretty awesome and removes the extra steps you would have to take when installing on an unsupported system. I am a big fan.

Berton · Oct 30, 2024

Want to set up PC as local machine without MS account link

As to the Subject, I got a new Lenovo IdeaPad 2 weeks ago [on sale] and setup of Win11 required the Microsoft Account so I did all the defaults. After it was running I created a New User with a slightly different name as a Local Account with Admin rights and no password, signed out/logged off, rebooted and chose the new one. Then I removed the Microsoft Account, haven't seen any issue and I don't intend to use the included Microsoft 365.

MisterEd · Oct 30, 2024

Berton said:
As to the Subject, I got a new Lenovo IdeaPad 2 weeks ago [on sale] and setup of Win11 required the Microsoft Account so I did all the defaults. After it was running I created a New User with a slightly different name as a Local Account with Admin rights and no password, signed out/logged off, rebooted and chose the new one. Then I removed the Microsoft Account, haven't seen any issue and I don't intend to use the included Microsoft 365.

There was no need to do that. All you had to do was change the Microsoft Account to a local one. I did that on the computer I have now.

RDG · Oct 30, 2024

Berton said:
As to the Subject, I got a new Lenovo IdeaPad 2 weeks ago [on sale] and setup of Win11 required the Microsoft Account so I did all the defaults. After it was running I created a New User with a slightly different name as a Local Account with Admin rights and no password, signed out/logged off, rebooted and chose the new one. Then I removed the Microsoft Account, haven't seen any issue and I don't intend to use the included Microsoft 365.

I was coming from years of Win7 where at some point I had tried OneDrive. I actually never used it but there were some files or folders from eons ago still stored in the "cloud". Thus when I set up my new ThinkCenter for "personal use" I ended up with a mess that could not be disentangled so simply. Probably, when I did the reinstall, if I had not opted to keep my files and folders, some of the problems would have disappeared. Ultimately I learned that I had to get rid of my OneDrive history on MS and then, step by step regained ownership of my folders. It was quite a process.

antspants · Oct 30, 2024

MisterEd said:
There was no need to do that. All you had to do was change the Microsoft Account to a local one. I did that on the computer I have now.

RDG · Oct 30, 2024

antspants said:
View attachment 114669

View attachment 114668

Well, for sure if there was a shortcut, I didn't find it. MS had tied my account name to the User Folder and when I did the reinstall and set up the ThinkCenter for local use, since I had kept my files and folders, OneDrive still prevented me making the Documents folder on my external drive, the default. I can assure you that I tried all the steps you've described to no avail. Some where along the way I read that one had to delete whatever was in OneDrive. After that, I was able to take ownership of my files and folders and get rid of the names MS assigned to everything. If only I had known NOT to select for personal use, etc and set it up as a local user without internet access. But I didn't. I'm still a fan of Windows (though File Explorer is not as good in Win11 as it was in Win7) and thrilled with the speed of my ThinkCentre.

antspants · Oct 30, 2024

RDG said:
OneDrive still prevented me making the Documents folder on my external drive, the default.

Yes, I read that you sorted this in another post.

Unless you remove folders from sync in the OneDrive settings, & “Unlink this PC” this can happen.
I uncheck folders in OneDrive settings, Unlink the PC, I can then relocate the user folder.
With OneDrive active, the user folders default to (e.x.) C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\user folder

Enable or Disable OneDrive in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the OneDrive feature for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11. OneDrive is built-in to Windows 11 by default. With OneDrive, you can sync files and folders between your computer and the cloud, so you can get to your files from anywhere -...

www.elevenforum.com

At the bottom of that tutorial, is a multitude of other OneDrive related tutorials. The mind boggles.

RDG · Oct 30, 2024

antspants said:
Yes, I read that you sorted this in another post.

Unless you remove folders from sync in the OneDrive settings, & “Unlink this PC” this can happen.
I uncheck folders in OneDrive settings, Unlink the PC, I can then relocate the user folder.
With OneDrive active, the user folders default to (e.x.) C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\user folder

Enable or Disable OneDrive in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the OneDrive feature for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11. OneDrive is built-in to Windows 11 by default. With OneDrive, you can sync files and folders between your computer and the cloud, so you can get to your files from anywhere -...

www.elevenforum.com

At the bottom of that tutorial, is a multitude of other OneDrive related tutorials. The mind boggles.

It sure boggled mine because, of course, I had no memory of ever using OneDrive and didn't even understand what was happening. I'm back to a simple relationship with my PC like I had via Win7 for eons. File Explorer still has some quirks (i.e., when I'm typing in a search, the first letters I've typed will just disappear and I have to retype it . . . AND despite opting to have my folders organized in ascending alphabetical order, when downloading from a site, the download folder reverts in that moment to the annoying "most recently accessed", etc orgganization) that show up from time to time, but nothing major.

glasskuter · Oct 30, 2024

To setup a local account with no connection to onedrive during a clean install or OOBE one has to follow the steps EXACTLY as in Brink's clean install tutorial. In both cases. the system has to be disconnected from the internet during the account setup phase.
OR in the case of a clean install, it is much easier to create your install media using Rufus using the option within Rufus to create a local account. Rufus will do it for you.

RDG · Oct 30, 2024

glasskuter said:
To setup a local account with no connection to onedrive during a clean install or OOBE one has to follow the steps EXACTLY as in Brink's clean install tutorial. In both cases. the system has to be disconnected from the internet during the account setup phase.
OR in the case of a clean install, it is much easier to create your install media using Rufus using the option within Rufus to create a local account. Rufus will do it for you.

If only I had discovered this site and Brink's amazing tutorials FIRST!

antspants · Oct 30, 2024

RDG said:
If only I had discovered this site and Brink's amazing tutorials FIRST!

It’s really not much drama to change all this after the fact if you have to.

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