4 ms·

Bypassing Windows 11 Account Setup

46 points by pabs3 3y ago

SirMaster 3y ago
I just use Rufus to make the ISO to a USB install. https://rufus.ie/en/ https://rufus.ie/en/ And when you do that, you get a popup with checkboxes about customizations to the ISO that looks like this: https://i0.wp.com/pureinfotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rufus-user-experience-settings.webp?w=548&quality=78&strip=all&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/pureinfotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/0... And so you can do things like disable the online account requirement and even have it automatically make you a local account with a given username as well as a couple other options. Really simple.
skyake 3y ago
Type "no@thankyou.com" as email then it will skip the account setup.
wanabananascene 3y ago
Don’t connect to a network, then you get the option to setup a local account
fuzzfactor 3y ago
Bunnie is brilliant but he went over the top on this one. I can only image with bypassnro the NRO stands for network requirement option.
MichaelMug 3y ago
I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. Namely for device tracking if it gets stolen and BitLocker key recovery. However, my general recommendation is to purchase Windows Pro and use Group Policy Editor to reconfigure some of the insane defaults of modern Windows. Websites like stacksocial have discounted prices (for personal use). One of the insane defaults is Microsoft OneDrive. If you setup Windows with a Microsoft Account it automatically configures OneDrive. Which in turn moves the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder into the OneDrive folder. I expect "My Documents" to be located at "C:\Users\<username>\Documents" NOT "C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents". This is very hard to correct. Unlinking and uninstalling OneDrive is not sufficient. I had to use Registry Editor to fix this, because the "Restore Default" button was not working. At work I was forced to switch from Mac to support a C#/.NET customer. I've been pleasantly surprised with Windows 11 and especially WSL2 and the integration with VS Code. So much so that I switched my "personal" PC from PopOS to Windows (I also game and Proton was not cutting it) and I'm willing to overlook some of the decisions Microsoft has made. --- Now one thing that caught my eye was this line: <Logo>c:\windows\system32\oemlogo.bmp</Logo> Is this only used for setup or also on boot?
- orionblastar 3y ago
  This is how it worked in Windows 7: https://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php?topic=121724.0 https://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php?topic=121724.0
- CTOSian 3y ago
  You can export/import the group policies via the LGPO tool so to quick restore them in anycase, like eg total re-installation. I also use batch files for my re-installs, apps/utils installation via scoop (https://scoop.sh https://scoop.sh) + winget [link] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-security-baselines/lgpo-exe-local-group-policy-object-utility-v1-0/ba-p/701045 https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-security-ba...
- snailmailman 3y ago
  The last thing I did as a student in university was grab a windows 10 education product key. They let computer science students get windows install keys for personal use, and I grabbed one. Been using it on my personal machine for years since and it works great. As far as I can tell it isn’t tied to the university in any way. When I dig into settings it doesn’t look like I have management stuff being applied to my personal machine. And I’m using my personal account, not a school account. It’s just a win10 pro/enterprise that has all the tracking stuff forcefully disabled. It has a bunch of actually sane defaults. Cortana is off by default, and honestly I don’t know if it can be turned on. No ads on my Lock Screen. It’s just a cleaner version of windows. Don’t know what I’ll do if I have to do a new install, as I’m not a student anymore. And not sure what upgrading to 11 will do with my existing install. But my laptop (home edition) has a ton of annoying stuff and I don’t ever want to fiddle with it. It’s always nagging me about onedrive or about bing rewards. My desktop with Education edition though never gets in the way.
- chrisandchris 3y ago
  > I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. [...] Me neither, but I fairly often have to setup computers for SME / private customers and with Win 11 I am forced to be with the customer because why should I ever know his password. Before I could setup most stuff without any Windows account and just finish up together with the customer. It's annoying.
darkclouds 3y ago
[dead]
breakingcups 3y ago
No need for all this, just shift+f10 in the setup and type oobe\bypassnro
- someonehere 3y ago
  This is the correct answer. Many Windows 11 machines and vms I’ve setup using this method.
  - technion 3y ago
    It's the correct answer today, in the same way that clicking "use a local account" was the answer yesterday. Ms will have this plugged at some point and our account managers are advertising this like it's a good thing.
    - r4indeer 3y ago
      All of the current methods to bypass internet access, account creation, CPU/TPM requirements, etc. (including the linked article) depend on the cooperation of the OS.
- freddybobs 3y ago
  I don't think this works on Windows 11 Home (or or perhaps in S mode). I have set up a desktop this year where it did work, then more recently I set up two Laptops in S mode where it didn't and I had to follow other instructions. For that I had to create a microsoft account. I could then create a local account, and delete the microsoft account. Which frankly is terrible. It has pushed me to now make Linux Mint my main personal OS. I've been using windows and been a fan of Visual Studio for decades.
0x38B 3y ago
Crazy how ‘our’ operating system(s) begin to exploit us, instead of serving as our tools; just as the modern web demands an adblocker, OSes require workarounds like this. On that topic, I can just see the dystopian future where this bypass and its ilk become “felony contempt of business model” (see: Cory Doctorow).
hoppersftw 3y ago
With Windows 11 Pro I always use no@thankyou.com as the email and give any random string ad the password. The setup will ask to create a local account in the next screen
- arejaytee 3y ago
  ^^^ this, so much easier
Meph504 3y ago
for those that don't want skip the oobe experience and have to bring up the commandline, you can literally just go to the sign in screen, tell it you want it to join a domain, it doesn't actually join the domain at that point, it creates a local account, and after windows is up and running offers joining a domain.
- jweather 3y ago
  This is exactly what I do. I believe you have to click "set up for work or school" first before you get the domain join option, but it works fine for creating a local administrator account.
Havoc 3y ago
I hear windows 12 will require signing over your firstborn and DNA sample (for your safety of course)
- redder23 3y ago
  The sad think is, one day this kind of shit will be actually the reality.

46 points by pabs3 3y ago

I just use Rufus to make the ISO to a USB install. https://rufus.ie/en/ https://rufus.ie/en/ And when you do that, you get a popup with checkboxes about customizations to the ISO that looks like this: https://i0.wp.com/pureinfotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/rufus-user-experience-settings.webp?w=548&quality=78&strip=all&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/pureinfotech.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/0... And so you can do things like disable the online account requirement and even have it automatically make you a local account with a given username as well as a couple other options. Really simple.

skyake 3y ago

Type "no@thankyou.com" as email then it will skip the account setup.

wanabananascene 3y ago

Don’t connect to a network, then you get the option to setup a local account

fuzzfactor 3y ago

Bunnie is brilliant but he went over the top on this one. I can only image with bypassnro the NRO stands for network requirement option.

MichaelMug 3y ago

I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. Namely for device tracking if it gets stolen and BitLocker key recovery. However, my general recommendation is to purchase Windows Pro and use Group Policy Editor to reconfigure some of the insane defaults of modern Windows. Websites like stacksocial have discounted prices (for personal use). One of the insane defaults is Microsoft OneDrive. If you setup Windows with a Microsoft Account it automatically configures OneDrive. Which in turn moves the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder into the OneDrive folder. I expect "My Documents" to be located at "C:\Users\<username>\Documents" NOT "C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\Documents". This is very hard to correct. Unlinking and uninstalling OneDrive is not sufficient. I had to use Registry Editor to fix this, because the "Restore Default" button was not working. At work I was forced to switch from Mac to support a C#/.NET customer. I've been pleasantly surprised with Windows 11 and especially WSL2 and the integration with VS Code. So much so that I switched my "personal" PC from PopOS to Windows (I also game and Proton was not cutting it) and I'm willing to overlook some of the decisions Microsoft has made. --- Now one thing that caught my eye was this line: <Logo>c:\windows\system32\oemlogo.bmp</Logo> Is this only used for setup or also on boot?

orionblastar 3y ago
This is how it worked in Windows 7: https://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php?topic=121724.0 https://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php?topic=121724.0
CTOSian 3y ago
You can export/import the group policies via the LGPO tool so to quick restore them in anycase, like eg total re-installation. I also use batch files for my re-installs, apps/utils installation via scoop (https://scoop.sh https://scoop.sh) + winget [link] https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-security-baselines/lgpo-exe-local-group-policy-object-utility-v1-0/ba-p/701045 https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-security-ba...
snailmailman 3y ago
The last thing I did as a student in university was grab a windows 10 education product key. They let computer science students get windows install keys for personal use, and I grabbed one. Been using it on my personal machine for years since and it works great. As far as I can tell it isn’t tied to the university in any way. When I dig into settings it doesn’t look like I have management stuff being applied to my personal machine. And I’m using my personal account, not a school account. It’s just a win10 pro/enterprise that has all the tracking stuff forcefully disabled. It has a bunch of actually sane defaults. Cortana is off by default, and honestly I don’t know if it can be turned on. No ads on my Lock Screen. It’s just a cleaner version of windows. Don’t know what I’ll do if I have to do a new install, as I’m not a student anymore. And not sure what upgrading to 11 will do with my existing install. But my laptop (home edition) has a ton of annoying stuff and I don’t ever want to fiddle with it. It’s always nagging me about onedrive or about bing rewards. My desktop with Education edition though never gets in the way.
chrisandchris 3y ago
> I do like the ability to link my Microsoft Account to my Windows installation. [...] Me neither, but I fairly often have to setup computers for SME / private customers and with Win 11 I am forced to be with the customer because why should I ever know his password. Before I could setup most stuff without any Windows account and just finish up together with the customer. It's annoying.

darkclouds 3y ago

[dead]

breakingcups 3y ago

No need for all this, just shift+f10 in the setup and type oobe\bypassnro

someonehere 3y ago
This is the correct answer. Many Windows 11 machines and vms I’ve setup using this method.
- technion 3y ago
  It's the correct answer today, in the same way that clicking "use a local account" was the answer yesterday. Ms will have this plugged at some point and our account managers are advertising this like it's a good thing.
  - r4indeer 3y ago
    All of the current methods to bypass internet access, account creation, CPU/TPM requirements, etc. (including the linked article) depend on the cooperation of the OS.
freddybobs 3y ago
I don't think this works on Windows 11 Home (or or perhaps in S mode). I have set up a desktop this year where it did work, then more recently I set up two Laptops in S mode where it didn't and I had to follow other instructions. For that I had to create a microsoft account. I could then create a local account, and delete the microsoft account. Which frankly is terrible. It has pushed me to now make Linux Mint my main personal OS. I've been using windows and been a fan of Visual Studio for decades.

0x38B 3y ago

Crazy how ‘our’ operating system(s) begin to exploit us, instead of serving as our tools; just as the modern web demands an adblocker, OSes require workarounds like this. On that topic, I can just see the dystopian future where this bypass and its ilk become “felony contempt of business model” (see: Cory Doctorow).

hoppersftw 3y ago

With Windows 11 Pro I always use no@thankyou.com as the email and give any random string ad the password. The setup will ask to create a local account in the next screen

arejaytee 3y ago
^^^ this, so much easier

Meph504 3y ago

for those that don't want skip the oobe experience and have to bring up the commandline, you can literally just go to the sign in screen, tell it you want it to join a domain, it doesn't actually join the domain at that point, it creates a local account, and after windows is up and running offers joining a domain.

jweather 3y ago
This is exactly what I do. I believe you have to click "set up for work or school" first before you get the domain join option, but it works fine for creating a local administrator account.

Havoc 3y ago

I hear windows 12 will require signing over your firstborn and DNA sample (for your safety of course)

redder23 3y ago
The sad think is, one day this kind of shit will be actually the reality.