An Account of Stupidity
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What is fascinating, that you didn't even stopped to think - why on earth I need to provide ANY personal information to install an OS!?!?
"If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization." ― Gerald Weinberg
Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote:
why on earth I need to provide ANY personal information to install an OS!?!?
People do exactly that with their Android phones (probably iPhones too, I just never set one up from scratch). Maybe they don't get to install their own OS, but strictly speaking, you could argue it's the last step of the OS setup -- the first thing you're asked for when getting a new phone is your credentials, which Android then uses to resync whatever your previous phone had uploaded. People aren't getting up in arms about that, and in fact have grown to expect it. Yet Windows does it? That's just unacceptable. I'm not defending them; just saying they follow the trend established elsewhere. Personally, when installing Windows these days, I make sure I don't provide the device with any sort of connectivity, so I get to create a local account (or preferably, use my home domain credentials when it's for myself). Of course they make it hard for users to realize that's an option.
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i obtained a new computer today . a Windows laptop . start up required some sort of "Account" registration procedure which requested an e-mail address . so i provided same . it then requested a password for said e-mail address. so i provided the password to the e-mail address account . it refused to accept it . i was afraid the laptop would become a door stop . only several hours later did it occur to me the "Account" to which it referred was my Microsoft Account not the e-mail account . that password worked Bingo Presto . what a relief . what a sigh of consternation the UI designers at Dell or Microsoft or whoever wrote the registration UI did not think to present instructions my grand-mother would understand . "Please enter password to Microsoft Account associated w/ e-mail address ..." instead of "Please enter password of e-mail address ..." amazing . this is 2023 last i checked . UI should be well understood by now . it just now occurred to me not even Microsoft would request password to an e-mail account . boy am i stupid . the laptop confused me . i felt out of place w/ it as i only feel comfortable w/ a desktop . i do not believe i would make such a mistake otherwise .
There's a reason I tell people to avoid Windows Home editions and spend the extra money on Windows Professional. Not only do you get BitLocker to help in protecting your financial data, which I guarantee is on your computer but you also get the ability to use a completely local account.
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IIRC: Every time I have installed Windows and it asked for my microsoft account sign in, I could: A. Tell it I was joining a Domain (may not work for Home edition) B. Disconnect from Internet. That way, I could just create the local user account. Why did I really want a Microsoft account? Not sure.. marketing ads?
>64 Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
theoldfool wrote:
A. Tell it I was joining a Domain (may not work for Home edition)
Correct, does not work for Home.
theoldfool wrote:
B. Disconnect from Internet.
They removed this option. It's now mandatory to sign in with a hotmail, live or outlook account. Unless, of course, you know you have to press shift + F10 on the country screen. This will open up a command prompt where you have to type OOBE\BYPASSNRO. The computer will now restart and a button "I don't have internet" will now magically appear. You literally can't install a computer without internet and a pre-existing account unless you've got those steps summarized somehow. You can't come up with this stuff X|
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
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i obtained a new computer today . a Windows laptop . start up required some sort of "Account" registration procedure which requested an e-mail address . so i provided same . it then requested a password for said e-mail address. so i provided the password to the e-mail address account . it refused to accept it . i was afraid the laptop would become a door stop . only several hours later did it occur to me the "Account" to which it referred was my Microsoft Account not the e-mail account . that password worked Bingo Presto . what a relief . what a sigh of consternation the UI designers at Dell or Microsoft or whoever wrote the registration UI did not think to present instructions my grand-mother would understand . "Please enter password to Microsoft Account associated w/ e-mail address ..." instead of "Please enter password of e-mail address ..." amazing . this is 2023 last i checked . UI should be well understood by now . it just now occurred to me not even Microsoft would request password to an e-mail account . boy am i stupid . the laptop confused me . i felt out of place w/ it as i only feel comfortable w/ a desktop . i do not believe i would make such a mistake otherwise .
Just short from asking for your blood group, grandmothers favorite food, dog's name and the neighbor's address. Maybe in the future ChatGPT will analyze your DNA to check what ads can be added to your account. ;)
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i obtained a new computer today . a Windows laptop . start up required some sort of "Account" registration procedure which requested an e-mail address . so i provided same . it then requested a password for said e-mail address. so i provided the password to the e-mail address account . it refused to accept it . i was afraid the laptop would become a door stop . only several hours later did it occur to me the "Account" to which it referred was my Microsoft Account not the e-mail account . that password worked Bingo Presto . what a relief . what a sigh of consternation the UI designers at Dell or Microsoft or whoever wrote the registration UI did not think to present instructions my grand-mother would understand . "Please enter password to Microsoft Account associated w/ e-mail address ..." instead of "Please enter password of e-mail address ..." amazing . this is 2023 last i checked . UI should be well understood by now . it just now occurred to me not even Microsoft would request password to an e-mail account . boy am i stupid . the laptop confused me . i felt out of place w/ it as i only feel comfortable w/ a desktop . i do not believe i would make such a mistake otherwise .
Yeah, it's really annoying Microsoft is forcing you to create account with them that you practically will use only once! Some days I'm amused Microsoft is still in the business (not complaining, I'm doing my living with their products, just mildly amused.)
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Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote:
why on earth I need to provide ANY personal information to install an OS!?!?
People do exactly that with their Android phones (probably iPhones too, I just never set one up from scratch). Maybe they don't get to install their own OS, but strictly speaking, you could argue it's the last step of the OS setup -- the first thing you're asked for when getting a new phone is your credentials, which Android then uses to resync whatever your previous phone had uploaded. People aren't getting up in arms about that, and in fact have grown to expect it. Yet Windows does it? That's just unacceptable. I'm not defending them; just saying they follow the trend established elsewhere. Personally, when installing Windows these days, I make sure I don't provide the device with any sort of connectivity, so I get to create a local account (or preferably, use my home domain credentials when it's for myself). Of course they make it hard for users to realize that's an option.
dandy72 wrote:
Of course they make it hard for users to realize that's an option.
I didn't set up a phone in a while, but did removed from existing phone the attached account without any problem. Try that with a w11... And of course the ugliest part, that they let believe avarage user, that without online account the OS will not function properly... It is very similar to the hardware demands of w11, that are a kind of big-brother attitude...
"If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization." ― Gerald Weinberg
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i obtained a new computer today . a Windows laptop . start up required some sort of "Account" registration procedure which requested an e-mail address . so i provided same . it then requested a password for said e-mail address. so i provided the password to the e-mail address account . it refused to accept it . i was afraid the laptop would become a door stop . only several hours later did it occur to me the "Account" to which it referred was my Microsoft Account not the e-mail account . that password worked Bingo Presto . what a relief . what a sigh of consternation the UI designers at Dell or Microsoft or whoever wrote the registration UI did not think to present instructions my grand-mother would understand . "Please enter password to Microsoft Account associated w/ e-mail address ..." instead of "Please enter password of e-mail address ..." amazing . this is 2023 last i checked . UI should be well understood by now . it just now occurred to me not even Microsoft would request password to an e-mail account . boy am i stupid . the laptop confused me . i felt out of place w/ it as i only feel comfortable w/ a desktop . i do not believe i would make such a mistake otherwise .
I've had my MS account for a while (made it back in the live.com era), and it's mostly used for my Minecraft account. I also have a GMail account I use for various sites to avoid spam. Anything I end up needing gets forwarded to my live.com email.
What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question? The metaphorical solid rear-end expulsions have impacted the metaphorical motorized bladed rotating air movement mechanism. Do questions with multiple question marks annoy you???
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theoldfool wrote:
A. Tell it I was joining a Domain (may not work for Home edition)
Correct, does not work for Home.
theoldfool wrote:
B. Disconnect from Internet.
They removed this option. It's now mandatory to sign in with a hotmail, live or outlook account. Unless, of course, you know you have to press shift + F10 on the country screen. This will open up a command prompt where you have to type OOBE\BYPASSNRO. The computer will now restart and a button "I don't have internet" will now magically appear. You literally can't install a computer without internet and a pre-existing account unless you've got those steps summarized somehow. You can't come up with this stuff X|
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
You literally can't install a windows computer without internet and a pre-existing account unless you've got those steps summarized somehow.
😘
<°}}}>«<
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You literally can't install a windows computer without internet and a pre-existing account unless you've got those steps summarized somehow.
😘
<°}}}>«<
This isn't accurate for the current version of Window 10 Pro. I believe MS toyed with this in the past and finally stopped it. With Windows 10 Pro you can tell it you're joining a LOCAL AD domain. The other tricky thing, and probably what is leading to the understanding that an account is required, is that Windows will have you connect to wifi right away or use your network connection. DO NOT setup your wifi connection until AFTER you can see the Windows desktop, and make sure your internet connection is disconnected BEFORE starting the setup process. Once Windows realizes it can phone home the Local AD domain is the only way out, which of course, only works on Windows Pro.
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theoldfool wrote:
A. Tell it I was joining a Domain (may not work for Home edition)
Correct, does not work for Home.
theoldfool wrote:
B. Disconnect from Internet.
They removed this option. It's now mandatory to sign in with a hotmail, live or outlook account. Unless, of course, you know you have to press shift + F10 on the country screen. This will open up a command prompt where you have to type OOBE\BYPASSNRO. The computer will now restart and a button "I don't have internet" will now magically appear. You literally can't install a computer without internet and a pre-existing account unless you've got those steps summarized somehow. You can't come up with this stuff X|
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
I set up new laptops all the time in my position as an IT Manager. I always use the "Limited Experience" (offline account) option and have never had to use an email account, not even once. I set up a new one as recently as 3 weeks ago. One other hack to avoid setting up the secret questions and answers to your computer user accounts - initially create them without a password, then go back and create a password later after your initial startup configuration. We only use Windows Pro editions (Win 10, but starting to transition to Win 11). Works great for me and I've never had to do anything with an email account at all.
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You literally can't install a windows computer without internet and a pre-existing account unless you've got those steps summarized somehow.
😘
<°}}}>«<
A Windows Home computer, if you want to be exact :D
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
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I set up new laptops all the time in my position as an IT Manager. I always use the "Limited Experience" (offline account) option and have never had to use an email account, not even once. I set up a new one as recently as 3 weeks ago. One other hack to avoid setting up the secret questions and answers to your computer user accounts - initially create them without a password, then go back and create a password later after your initial startup configuration. We only use Windows Pro editions (Win 10, but starting to transition to Win 11). Works great for me and I've never had to do anything with an email account at all.
Yeah, it's Windows Home only.
Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript
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What is fascinating, that you didn't even stopped to think - why on earth I need to provide ANY personal information to install an OS!?!?
"If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization." ― Gerald Weinberg
On the 'plus' side - after you try to boot a linux live disk and return to windoze, the bitlocker crud locks the drive and you can't get back in till you've logged into your ms account and copied down the key which you then feed to the machine to keep going. This effin thing doesn't even have bitlocker me thought - it's a lowly home edition. Well, problem fixed. Account changed to a local one without a password, bitlocker removed. C'mon microShit. Just make an os that's as good as 7 was.
