Posted on 10/07/2025 8:52:55 PM PDT by dayglored
Microsoft is closing a popular loophole that allowed users to install Windows 11 without a Microsoft account.
The change has appeared in recent Insider builds of Windows 11, indicating it is likely to be included in the production version soon.
Microsoft refers to these loopholes as "known mechanisms" and is talking about local commands in this instance. You can learn all about these in our piece for getting Windows 11 installed with a local account, but suffice to say start ms-cxh:localonly is no more.
"While these mechanisms were often used to bypass Microsoft account setup, they also inadvertently skip critical setup screens, potentially causing users to exit OOBE with a device that is not fully configured for use," Microsoft said.
"Users will need to complete OOBE with internet and a Microsoft account, to ensure [the] device is set up correctly."
As far as Redmond is concerned, this is all for the user's own good. It is also important to note that managed devices are not directly affected, just hardware that users want to get running with Windows 11 without having to deal with a Microsoft Account during setup.
The change is part of Microsoft's ongoing game of Whac-A-Mole with users trying to find ways of avoiding its online services. In March, it removed the bypassnro.cmd script that allowed users to get through the Windows 11 setup without needing an internet connection. That time, Microsoft said the change was to "enhance security and user experience of Windows 11."
There remain a number of ways to avoid the Microsoft account requirement during setup, including setting up an unattended installation, but these are more complicated. It is also clear that Microsoft is determined to continue closing loopholes where it can.
It is getting increasingly difficult to use Windows 11 on an unmanaged device without a Microsoft account. Users who don't want to sign up should perhaps consider whether it's time to look at an alternative operating system instead. ®
I believe you are correct. If it came with Win11 it's all set up, and yes I would expect that you have a Microsoft account associated with it.
There's nothing inherent about a Microsoft account that is more evil than anything else associated with Microsoft. They use it to try to sell you paid services and subscriptions, and it gets pretty annoying at times. But that's not evil, it's just business.
Just acroll down to linux mint. Itll take a few clicks to gwt it loaded. Pretty intuitive. Just do not click on “install” when it finally loads the linux desktop. You cz. Try out all the functions without installingmit. If you dont like the linux one, just go back to https://distrosea.com/ znd try another. But ive tried them all practically, and in my opinion linux mint is the best.
The desktop of linux will take a minute or two to finally load, but be patient, it will come up. Linux mint though is blazing fast if you ever decide to try it on a hard drive thiugh. The onkine version is sluggish, so dont let that disuade you.
Oh, great, thank you.
My days of computer geeking are well back in the rearview mirror.
I got fairly competent with UNIX shells but that was 30 years ago. Time flies!
That is why i dual boot. Linux as main every day os, windows as my go to os for windows onky apps. If you install linux on same drive as windows, it will take over the goot and boot first, but give seledtion to choose windows at boot up.
It tskes a little know how to set up dual boot, but its not too hard. Provided you have the space to put linux on too. Needs about 90 or so gig, 150 to be on safe side as youll likely want to install apps on it too.
You're good to go.
For backup, Microsoft 365 is free and provides 5 GB of cloud storage, as well as Web and mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, and other apps.
It's not a bad deal.
If you need more storage, 365 has upgraded packages, but check out Dropbox, Google Drive, and various other services, as well as a physical USB drive backup.
For most non-business users, the deciding factor is whether the computer is used to run locally-installed applications (in which case you are correct that Windows or MacOS are far more likely to provide support), or whether the computer is used mostly to run a browser to access internet web applications.
Linux distros tend to come with Firefox installed. Google Chrome, Brave, and numerous other browsers are freely available and run great on Linux. If the user is going to live in their browser and run web applications and visit websites and social media and so forth, the operating system is largely a who-cares.
If as I suspect Linux desktop users continue to increase in number, especially with the EOL of Win10, then application vendors will be more inclined to provide versions for Linux as well as Windows and MacOS. Time will tell.
Wow, no account, no windows 11 is my policy too!
Microshaft and I agree on something!
many popular linux distros plagued with influential Woke scum
I use Windows 11. It just works.
(Not fully configured for OUR use in spying on you)
Indeed, it does. I use two Win11 machines at work all day; one is the laptop I use as my workstation host, and the other is a VM in our datacenter. The laptop Win11 mainly runs MS-Teams and Hyper-V, in which I have a Linux VM that is my remote working environment. The datacenter VM Win11 mainly runs MS-Outlook, our timesheet program, and talks to the company Sharepoint stuff.
I have nothing against Win11; as you say, it just works (for the things it's built for doing). And Windows will remain the dominant desktop OS for many years to come, because for most users, it's good enough to justify its cost.
You are quite right. People have grown very aware that Microsoft believes it not only retains ownership of it's software but has rights to peruse and control all data generated with it. This latest schoolyard bully pushing of Windows 11 may be the impetus for those who've become sick of Redmond's imperialistic tactics, losing customers who'd been loyal for decades.
Couldn't have happened to a better bunch of people.
Meh i dont know about that, all i know is that mint works the way i want, is easy enough for bzsic daily c9mputing like browsing the net, email, research, games. Its what i use 95% of the time. I zlso like that it doesnt constantly stress the machine like,windows does (fans are z.wzys ramping up in windows, not so with linux), amd i like that uldates are really fast, are controlled by me, znd i love hkw fast linux is to get up and running the way i like compared to windows
Hzving szid that, i do like windows for certain things too.
Windows 11 comes free with every computer. You even get it if you have a capable Windows 10 computer.
Once upon a time, Microsoft was a software company. They sold software that they'd developed, or bought and re-packaged, or stolen... but it was software -- operating systems, applications, etc.
When you bought a computer with Windows installed on it, that operating system wasn't "free" -- you paid for it as part of the purchase price of the computer. Which is fine, assuming you're going to use Windows as your OS on that computer, which most purchasers did.
Over time, Microsoft saw the upside of selling services and subscriptions rather than software per se, and they developed Office, and Office in the cloud (O365), and so on. And they were so successful at that angle, that selling software became a side-line, and eventually it was overshadowed entirely.
At that point, software like the Windows OS was "free" because it was a hook that got you spending real money on services and subscriptions.
But the REAL money was in selling your data. And while Windows 10 caught a lot of flak for being spyware, Windows 11 surpassed it like it was standing still.
Windows 11 is not free.
When you are given something "free", it means YOU ARE THE PRODUCT.
And that is what I meant by the "cost" of Windows.
> When you are given something "free", it means YOU ARE THE PRODUCT.
There is one large exception to that in the computing arena -- FOSS (Free Open Source Software). It is developed by volunteers and developers working for other companies, it is given away for no charge, and it is supported optionally by companies that charge for their support services.
My statement about "you are the product" applies to companies who give you, at no charge, something that tracks your activities and logs your data and sells it to advertisers. FOSS does not do that, so my statement does not apply to FOSS.
Where can one find a linux machine?
I just signed in with my old hotmail Microsoft account on each of my 5 W10 laptops to extend updates for a year, can I sign back out now and still get the updates?
Go to Outlook.com to establish a Microsoft outlook mail account. This is your new Microsoft account. Use this when installing Windows 11.
After the Windows 11 installation you don’t use your outlook mail account again. I did this two weeks ago
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