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Question Windows 11 activation loop when trying to set up with no MS account

G

GunsMadeAmericaFree

Golden Member
I just bought a used laptop for my daughter, and it wants to set up a Microsoft account. I've tried a number of the suggestions for skipping account creation, but it doesn't seem to work. The latest thing I tried, creating with local account, seemed to be working. Then it asked for 3 personal password recovering items. After trying to continue from there, I get the supremely useful statement "a problem occurred", and it just sits there.

Would I be better off just buying an iso of Windows 11 pro, using Rufus or something, and setting it up that way? I'm getting really annoyed at how forceful Microsoft is getting in trying to make you have an account. If it was for me, I'd just install Linux Mint, but this is for my daughter's last year of college, and she has some Widows related software that she needs to use.

I miss the days when I could just do a quick restore from a Windows XP backup......
 
Buying a pro iso won't make a lot of difference. MS has been actively trying to stop people using local accounts and has got quite aggressive with it now. There were some reports that it was trying to block Rufus installs as well.
It might just be easier to use a Microsoft account for the installation then switch that account to a local one or just set up a new local account with admin rights.

Or just switch to Linux 😉
 
Not sure if this will help, but NONE of the PC's I have upgraded from Win 10 to 11 have asked me to create a MS account.

Maybe install 10 on a local account, then immediately upgrade to 11.
What kind of laptop? Most have the key embedded in the bios.
 
WilliamM2's idea would probably work
you can also download the windows 11 ISO for free from MS site, use rufus and set it to install with local account. It should automatically use the stored key in the laptop's BIOS to authenticate.
 
Zepp said:
WilliamM2's idea would probably work
you can also download the windows 11 ISO for free from MS site, use rufus and set it to install with local account. It should automatically use the stored key in the laptop's BIOS to authenticate.
Click to expand...
It's an HP 255 G10, with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and a Ryzen 7730u processor, that I got recently for $180. It seemed like it had 80% of the performance as a lot of other used laptops in the $300+ range.

I had no idea that laptops had stored Windows key info in their BIOS. What happens if you flash the BIOS?

I will likely use Rufus and the ISO to try installing without an account. Thanks!
 
GunsMadeAmericaFree said:
It's an HP 255 G10, with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and a Ryzen 7730u processor, that I got recently for $180. It seemed like it had 80% of the performance as a lot of other used laptops in the $300+ range.

I had no idea that laptops had stored Windows key info in their BIOS. What happens if you flash the BIOS?

I will likely use Rufus and the ISO to try installing without an account. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Not just laptops, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. desktops also store the key in the bios. Updating does not effect it.
 
GunsMadeAmericaFree said:
I just bought a used laptop for my daughter, and it wants to set up a Microsoft account. I've tried a number of the suggestions for skipping account creation, but it doesn't seem to work. The latest thing I tried, creating with local account, seemed to be working. Then it asked for 3 personal password recovering items. After trying to continue from there, I get the supremely useful statement "a problem occurred", and it just sits there.

Would I be better off just buying an iso of Windows 11 pro, using Rufus or something, and setting it up that way? I'm getting really annoyed at how forceful Microsoft is getting in trying to make you have an account. If it was for me, I'd just install Linux Mint, but this is for my daughter's last year of college, and she has some Widows related software that she needs to use.

I miss the days when I could just do a quick restore from a Windows XP backup......
Click to expand...

Set Windows up with a local account with no password, then after the setup procedure, do Ctrl+Alt+Del to change password to whatever you want without the silly extra requirements.

PS - I normally use 23H2 to do clean installs with, but I've used 24H2 plenty of times this way (e.g. new laptops with an OEM install which I use to test the laptop, before I clean install it).
 
Last edited:
I just popped in here to examine y'all's discussion. I was just mentioning the MS BS with regard to what happens to local accounts when you upgrade to Win 11 -- all my systems use my "Microsoft Account", and of course I'd like to have the different machines in the house with different LOCAL accounts -- as if this were (and it is!) a LAN. Even as I was the exclusive user of two or more systems, I wanted them to have variations of my local account name/ID.

But point I keep making: I've been PC-obsessed and home-networked since before the end of my previous life in a federal office and moonlighting with teaching info systems, database programming etc. Since early/mid 1990s!! I'm FREAKING 78 years old, and I'm FREAKING tired of CHANGE! Why can't they just allow for consistent extended life of security paradigms under their OS?
 
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