3
LOG IN WITH A LOCAL ACCOUNT ON SETUP
Things are different—and a bit trickier—if you’re in the
process of installing Windows 10 and haven’t yet created
any user accounts (Microsoft or local). That’s because Microsoft
tries extremely hard to push you away from setting up a local
user account and toward using a Microsoft account instead. It
is possible to resist its unrelenting prodding and create a local
user account, but it involves a little work.
>> First off, turn off your Internet connection before creating
either a Microsoft or local user account. Then, during the setup
process, when you’re prompted to connect to the Internet over
Wi-Fi or Ethernet, click “I don’t have Internet” in the bottom-left
corner. This takes you to a splash page where Microsoft extols
the virtues of connecting Windows 10 to the Internet; ignore this,
and instead click “Continue with limited setup.”
>> Alternatively, when you reach the “Sign in with Microsoft”
page, click “Domain join instead” in the bottom-left corner.
Despite the confusingly obscure name, this actually takes you
to a page where you can set up a local user account. It seems
Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, decided to make this as unclear
as possible in order to unsubtly guide you toward creating a
Microsoft account.C>> Note that setting up a local user account this way
requires the 1903 Windows 10 update from Microsoft.
Previous versions made it much harder to create a local
user account when setting up Windows 10, but if you
want to install the operating system today, the latest
version should work with the process above.4
REMOVE A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT
Fortunately, removing a Microsoft account from
your PC is quick and simple, and involves no
trickery and clever tactics, unlike the previous step. As
before, open the Settings app from the “Start” menu,
then click “Accounts.” In the left-hand column, click
“Email & app accounts.”
>> On this page, there’s a section titled “Accounts used
by other apps,” which lists all of your currently active
Microsoft accounts that are connected to your PC. Click
the account you want to delete from your PC, then
click “Remove.” If that account has previously signed
in, you will be asked if you want to delete the account
and all of its data—if you click “Delete account and
data” [Image C], that account’s downloads, documents,
desktop files, photos, music, and more will be removed
from your PC. If it hasn’t signed in, you’ll see a different
warning box; click “Yes.” Note that this doesn’t delete
the Microsoft account itself (you’ll still be able to use it
to sign in on Microsoft’s websites, for example), it just
removes it from your computer.
>> Alternatively, you can remove a Microsoft account
through the Control Panel app. In the Windows 10
search box, type “Control Panel” and click the top result.
Click “User Accounts,” then “Remove user accounts.”
This now lists all of the accounts set up on your PC.
Click the account that you want to remove, then click
“Delete the account.” You get a warning that all of that
account’s files will be removed; click “Delete Files,” then
“Delete Account.”
>> That’s all there is to it. Once the Microsoft account
has been removed from your PC, you’ll be able to use a
local user account to sign in instead.To be fair to Microsoft, using a Microsoft
account does come with some benefits.
These days, Microsoft runs a whole
host of services, and all of these can
be accessed using your Microsoft
account. For example, you could use
your account to log in to Skype, Mixer,
Xbox, and more on any device, and your
settings will be the same. It also helps
improve Cortana, and gives you access
to Windows Store apps.
You can also sync things such as
your Windows settings, OneDrive files,
and photos from your phone between
devices, so that when you log in to your
Windows tablet, for example, all these
files are easily accessible.
But as we outlined in the introduction,
there are plenty of reasons why you
might not want to use a Microsoftaccount, particularly when it comes to
privacy and security. Just be aware thatif you forgo an account, you won’t get
any of the benefits discussed above.SHOULD YOU EVER USE A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT?
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