Windows 10 Tricks and Tweaks

[Digerati]

why are you wanting to argue about a tip!!!!

Because information in your "tip" is wrong!

Why are you getting all worked up a over a minor error, one you even contradicted yourself? That makes no sense.

You claimed, "Microsoft does not allow local accounts when setting up a new computer or installing Windows anymore."

That is wrong. They do. You said so yourself!

Had your tip been'

"If you want to use a Local Account when installing Windows 10, disconnect from the Internet before installing."

...then that would have been a good, factual tip and I would not even be here.

If you wanted to explain why and in further detail, you could have said:

"Microsoft has removed the prompt to choose the Local Account option during Windows installation. The option is still allowed, however. Simply disconnect from the Internet before installing. Do this by disabling the wifi connection or unplugging the Ethernet cable. After that, you will be prompted to set up a Local Account and the installation process will continue."

That would have been a good, factual and truthful tip. Saying "Microsoft does not allow local accounts" is not true.

I say give yourself credit. You did explain how to get around the lack of a prompt. You merely included some incorrect information in the process. A minor error that does NOT need to turned into a mountain.

[renegade600]

Originally Posted by Digerati

Because information in your "tip" is wrong!

Why are you getting all worked up a over a minor error, one you even contradicted yourself? That makes no sense.

You claimed, "Microsoft does not allow local accounts when setting up a new computer or installing Windows anymore."

That is wrong. They do. You said so yourself!

Had your tip been'

"If you want to use a Local Account when installing Windows 10, disconnect from the Internet before installing."

...then that would have been a good, factual tip and I would not even be here.

If you wanted to explain why and in further detail, you could have said:

"Microsoft has removed the prompt to choose the Local Account option during Windows installation. The option is still allowed, however. Simply disconnect from the Internet before installing. Do this by disabling the wifi connection or unplugging the Ethernet cable. After that, you will be prompted to set up a Local Account and the installation process will continue."

That would have been a good, factual and truthful tip. Saying "Microsoft does not allow local accounts" is not true.

I say give yourself credit. You did explain how to get around the lack of a prompt. You merely included some incorrect information in the process. A minor error that does NOT need to turned into a mountain.

It is a tip whether you think so or not, there is no wrong info whether you think so or not. This is my last reply to you since you just want to argue. I will let you have the last word, no matter how wrong it might be.

[The Dude]

Originally Posted by renegade600

if microsoft really allowed it, they would give you a choice like they used to. True, they could have still forced it on you when connected.

I hope they dont read this and realise they made a mistake and then correct it so it cant be done!! (Its not good telling something ya found often)

[Digerati]

I hope they dont read this and realise they made a mistake and then correct it so it cant be done!!

Except it was not a mistake. Contrary to what some are saying and want you to believe, Microsoft allows the use of Local Accounts intentionally because they have no choice. Millions of Windows systems are used in installations and environments that don't have or don't allow Internet access. For example, "closed" networks used by the military, some corporations, hospital and even some retail POS (point of sale) systems.

Other examples would be where one computer is used by several users under the same username. In many cases, it just make no sense to tie a single email address to that installation of Windows.

So while MS would like every Windows 10 computer to be tied to a Microsoft account during log-in, they will still allow the use of a Local Account because they know millions of their customers use them.

Note too it is easier to by-pass using a MS account with W10 Pro, but not a lot. You have to click the "Offline Account" option which takes you to another screen where they try to encourage you use a MS account. But if you then click on the "Limited Experience" button, you can continue using a Local account.

So Microsoft's option labels are still pretty cryptic. W10 Home users can install with a Local Account if they disconnect their Ethernet cable (s) and choose "I don't have internet" during the wifi setup. On a laptop, they can choose Airplane mode.

I just don't connect via Ethernet and turn off wifi in my router.

There are certainly some significant advantages to using a Microsoft account. Syncing with other W10 computers, for example, is a big one - for some users. But frankly, I think it is a bit deceiving to suggest not using a MS account will give users a "Limited Experience". I for one, don't want my laptop to sync with my PC, and I don't want my PCs to sync with each other.

What is interesting is how Microsoft allows users to remove their Microsoft account. If you click the Learn More" button during installation, there is a section that says,

If you’d prefer not to have a Microsoft account associated with your device, you can remove it. Finish going through Windows setup, then select the Start button and go to Settings > Accounts > Your info and select Sign in with a local account instead.

So again, they allow you to use a Local Account, but they want you to create a MS account first, then remove it.

This is just another example where Microsoft marketing weenies and ill-conceived executive decisions tarnish the hard work of the development teams.

I used to be one of a small handful of hardware techs in software development company, supporting over 400 programmers/developers. I have seen this picture before. Windows 10, IMO, is by far the best and most secure Windows to date. But I fully believe Windows 10 would be a much better OS still if the developers and programmers were given all the resources they needed and allowed to develop Windows on their terms, AND if the marketing weenies and execs kept their grubby little fingers out of the works.

And if that were the case, I fully believe consumers would be happier and that in turn, would mean more profits for MS in the long run. But marketing weenies and execs don't think strategically - they want it now. So they force big changes on us, then are surprised when we balk. But do they learn their lesson? Nope.

[rant off]

[Ned Seagoon]

Originally Posted by Digerati

I fully believe consumers would be happier and that in turn, would mean more profits for MS in the long run. But marketing weenies and execs don't think strategically - they want it now. So they force big changes on us, then are surprised when we balk. But do they learn their lesson? Nope

I fully agree with you, however I'll leave it there to avoid opening up a disastrous discussion from another thread.

But I will add that the latest update from M$ tries to trick users who have opted for a local account, into setting up and switching to using an M$ sign in.

[Digerati]

But I will add that the latest update from M$ tries to trick users who have opted for a local account, into setting up and switching to using an M$ sign in.

Oh? I have 5 W10 systems here, all using Local Accounts and all fully updated. And I've seen no updates try to "trick" or "deceive" me into switching to a MS account. I have seen prompts asking if I wanted to change, but always with the readily apparent option to say, "no" and stick with my Local Account.

I note using M$ to describe Microsoft suggest a bias towards them - intended or not. Of course Microsoft is in it for the money. It is not a non-profit charity. In fact, the company has a responsibility to turn a profit for its shareholders.

No doubt back in the day, Microsoft wanted to rule the world. But contrary to what many think, they learned their lesson about corporate greed when Congress and the EU threatened and came very close to splitting Microsoft up into tiny pieces, Ma Bell style, if they didn't change their monopolistic ways.

They are not the greedy beast they used to be. Look at the prices for Windows. Windows 3.0 was released way back in 1990 and cost $149.95. W10 today, 30 years later, costs $139 (cheaper if you shop around). $150 in 1990 would be over $300 today. And note Windows 3.0 required you buy (IIRC, for another $30 - could have been $50) and install DOS first!

I say, bash Microsoft when due - I do as I did in post #29 above when this thread was necroed (again). Certainly there are plenty of legitimate complaints to criticize them for. And certainly, we are all entitled to our own opinions, and the Right to express them. I didn't spend 24+ years of my life in the military defending our Rights only to trample on them.

But we are not entitled to our own set of facts. So let's verify our facts to be sure we are being truthful before posting - so we only bash when due, and so we don't contribute to the spreading of falsehoods. That's all I'm saying.

[Ned Seagoon]

And Happy Christmas to you too!

[Digerati]

And the same to you Ned. And hopefully, if enough people use common sense, wear a mask, maintain social distance, wash hands, and get the vaccines, we will have a safe 2021 too.

[The Dude]

I hope everyones holidays are going g00d regardless!!!!!!

[Total Noob]

My trick is hardly clever or novel. Stay on top of Windows updates.

My son had a Dell Inspiron 15 7000 gaming laptop with a 7th gen i5 core which he bought as a HS senior. He took it to college and between being an athlete with lots of time demands, the pandemic, and classes that did not really involve computing other than web surfing and term paper submission, he never knew that computers need lots of tending, or if he did, he didn't do it.

As he moved along, the computer got slower and slower as they are wont to. By the time he was a senior in college, it practically didn't move at all, which made a gaming computer useless. He bought something else and I got the Inspiron as a hand-me-up.

I too experienced the slow motion although I was able to fix an improper wi-fi setting that forced him to install a dongle a few years ago despite it being a laptop. He denied changing the setting, and I believe it because it was too complex and too deep in the Control Panel to change accidentally and he surely didn't know enough about settings to get there on purpose.

As I am a desktop fan, I worked on it a little more after that and put it away because it wasn't going to add much to my life.

About a year later, I took it out to do routine updating, and again experienced the sloth qualities of the laptop. Browser tabs didn't open. Explorer searches were tedious. Even booting, rebooting and shutdown were gruesome.

Anyway, I found my way to Windows Update only to find that several updates were already in progress. Though the computer was preset to download updates overnight by default, my son has cleverly followed earlier instructions I gave him to shut down and unplug his laptop each night so as not to wear out his battery prematurely. The result is that updates have always been delivered to him on a catch as catch can basis when his computer is on, and inexplicably, Microsoft has devoted insufficient bandwidth for updating. Checking for updates takes an undue amount of time. Regular patches take forever to come in, and equally inexplicably. Checking them for installation and then installing them are impossibly slow. And sometimes there are 10 or 15 items to install at once. Then some updates and patches require rebooting, further slowing the process).

Long and short, it seems like his computer was always updating when he used it because he rarely had occasion to use it, and it was the updating that was bogging him down.

When I started to do the the overdue updating, I discovered that he was probably several years behind in his updates. That's when I discovered that Microsoft doesn't really do full and cumulative updates notwithstanding the description on any given proposed update. I would finish updating only to get a message that more updates were lined up. If you are months behind in updating security or other parts of the system, you are going to be presented with more and more rounds of updates to download and install, often requiring a reboot and then sometimes necessitating a new search for updates until you are finally current. Ultimately getting to current took me more or less 24 hours (I wasn't babysitting the computer on a busy Sunday.)

The upshot is that updating takes way too long. If you have updating set for automatic, it ruins your computer by wearing out your battery or it becomes a humongous effort that bogs you down when you use it. Or it becomes a Herculean effort that takes a dedicated effort that ruins a day when you could be doing something else.

Needless to say, once all the downloading and updating finally finished, the laptop works fine. No complaints with speed.

Is it a species of planned obsolescence? Is Microsoft surreptitiously burdening its users -- especially its non-nerd customers -- with slow updating and bogus computing lag that they buy a new item with a fresh Windows license more often than they need to based on the physical quality of their current computers? I don't know but would not be surprised.

So stay on top of updates to prevent unnecessary and frustrating lagging when Windows settings cause random updating, taking most of your resources in the process.

[The Dude]

A good reply,thank you!!!!