Windows 10: Change Microsoft account to Local account for logon

Hello
new to these forums and to Windows 10 in general - Windows 7 reasonably OK with.

I bought a new laptop running Windows 10 Home 64 bit, and the initial setup left me with my Microsoft account and password as my sign in and my User folder as the first 5 letters of my email address. Luckily this isn't too comic but would have been nice to have had options - maybe i did and just didn't see them.

Anyway, I am concerned about logging on when there is no internet so would like to sign in with a local account (not created yet) that has a blank password, and, ideally have the User folder with a better name.

I have not really installed anything that i cant easily re-install, so i was wondering if it would be best if I just re-installed Windows 10 and set up the log in as a local account that i can name, with a blank password?

If so, how would that be done please? My USB recovery drive that i made, would presumably restore the account that i use at present (ie the Microsoft one)? I have downloaded the Windows 10 iso file, but would that have to be put onto a separate USB stick or what?

Any help or advice really appreciated

Thanks

Rick

:)

 

Local account converted to a Microsoft Account

My local user account got changed so that it now incorporates my Microsoft account's username and password, and I am forced to logon to MSN whenever I logon to my own computer. I didn't ask for this and I don't want it.

Settings > Accounts > Sign in with a local account instead would allow me to create a new local user account. But that's not what I want.

What I want is to change my new, unwanted, "hybrid" MSN account back to my old local user account, while still retaining my old Microsoft account for logging onto Microsoft websites.

How do I do that?

local user account hijacked by MSN- Original Title

 

Windows 10 Logon - Local Logon replaced by Microsoft Account logon - how do I reverse this?

You actually have to logon to your local PC using your Microsoft Account UserID / Password first.

After logging in you can go to your accounts page and change the option back to using a LOCAL UserID instead of the Microsoft Account UserID ... however it appears that when Windows 10 changed the logon from Local to Microsoft Account it deleted the password
on the Local ID.

I had to re-create the Password for the Local UserID ... important!

I use that Local ID for sharing resources with other devices on the LAN ... the other devices are setup to allow only authenticated Local UserID s to access resources.

BPR

 

Add Local Account or Microsoft Account in Windows 10

 

You can sign in with a Microsoft Account with no Internet.

If you do your first log in (setup) with a Local account, your user folder will get that name. And if you then switch to a Microsoft account, it keeps the original local account name. *Wink

 

Hi,
Install without internet and a local account is default
Install is three times faster too *Smile

 

But there is absolutely NO need to reinstall Windows in this situation. Unless the user wants to get rid of the extra bloatware added by the computer manufacturer.

 

One fix in this situation, is to just create a new local user with the name you want. Make sure its an administrator and not a standard user. Then log in and delete the other account with the screwy folder name. Copy over your pictures docs etc to the new account before you delete it though. Then switch to a Microsoft account, if you want. No reinstalling Windows etc. There are likely other ways to change the user folder name, just be aware they could potentially mess some things up.

 

Could you please explain this a bit more?

When preparing deployment images, I always install Windows 10 on reference machine without Internet connection, only connecting network when I've restarted to Audit Mode and done all the modifications possible to do offline.

I have never (read: never ever!) noticed significant difference. For instance, as I always use a Hyper-V VM as reference machine to build Windows images, comparing these no network installations to normal Hyper-V VM installations (connected to network) I also do quite often, both methods take on my mediocre host machine between 20 and 22 minutes.

According to you, the no network installations on a VM should take up to 15 minutes less.

I would be interested to get any facts from you to support your statement, as I am always keen to learn new stuff.

 

It is true installing without internet can be faster as some but certainly not all pcs seem to hang at getting initial updates for ages. Three times seems rather excessive though, but I have certainly see an additional 10 to 20 minutes.

 

Thanks everyone who has replied to my original post.

I am not able to even start getting into the 'three times faster' debate as my experience is a gnat's above zero *Smile

From what i have gleaned from replies, and what I've read via links, I should be OK if I create a new, local user with the name I want (and a blank password), sign in with this user, then delete the Microsoft account, along with the user profile folders that went with it (the name is the first 5 letters of my email address - but you knew that!).

If this is so, what I would then like to do is re-create my Microsoft account but have it linked to the new local account. Does this make sense?

I have removed most of the rubbish that comes with a new laptop - that's not fair, but I mainly mean the Office 365 trial and McAfee trial - so don't want to re-install Windows if I don't have to.

I what I have proposed above is nonsense, could I achieve the same by doing a factory reset and signing in for the first time with the local account I want?

Apologies if this sounds like Im asking the same question again, Im just trying to get it absolutely straight in my head before I attempt this. Appreciate your help with all this.

Rick

 

Once you create the new local account, and delete the old Microsoft account; there is nothing stopping you from switching the local to a Microsoft account, and reusing the account info you just deleted. Hope that makes sense.
Yes, doing a factory reset and logging in first time with a local account will do what you want. It will erase everything so backup what you don't want to loose to external media first.

 

"should be OK if I create a new, local user with the name I want (and a blank password), sign in with this user, then delete the Microsoft account, along with the user profile folders that went with it"
Follow the steps in All settings\Accounts\Your info\Sign in with a local account instead (may have to set a password and/or convert standard acct to admin). Before you sign into Local account as admin and delete the MS account, make sure you copy over all the folder under This PC to the corresponding This PC folders under the new, correctly named User (don't worry, you'll get a warning that you are about to delete MS user's files). When you sign in with Local account go back to the Accounts page in All settings and you'll see an options to convert to MS account and just enter credentials. DONE !

"could I achieve the same by doing a factory reset and signing in for the first time with the local account I want?"
Yes ! But the factory reset from the recovery partition may re-install the bloatware you removed and there's no need to go to this extent. This User name thing is why, on every new PC that I set up, I install a Local Account first, make sure the User name and password are exactly as the Owner wants, then set up MS email account from that, before any personal files get added. But, the short of it is, easiest to just use the add Local, make admin, delete MS after copying files procedure, especially if PC is fairly new. Now, you're reassured !

 

Thank you alphanumeric. At the risk of trying your patience, when you say switching the local to a MS account, I'm not sure that's what I meant. I just want to use the MS account whilst logged on as a local user. Just thought, if I add an MS account then there will be the attendant user profile folders?
Basically, I don't want to have duplicate folders with different user names, nor have a set of user profile folders doing nothing but taking up space - my SSD is only 128Gb and I know how quick thats going to fill up.
When you agree that a factory reset will do it, I assume you mean as an alternative to creating local account? Which would be preferable.
Really appreciate your, and others' time, with this. It feels like I've never dealt with Windows before (which i have) and probably sounds like it too

 

"when you say switching the local to a MS account, I'm not sure that's what I meant. I just want to use the MS account whilst logged on as a local user."

He means that this is what your current Accounts page looks like in Settings.



With a Local user, the line with the pointer above, will say 'Sign in with MS account instead' or something like that. The User name on the This PC folders will still have the desired name that you set up with a new Local acct, whether you then use an MS acct or not, because when the new Profile is set up, the File explorer pointers go to these folders. The advantage of an MS acct after you set up a new Local acct name is that you get access to all the Store apps and device location features, etc.
Contrarily, if you now elect to sign in with a Local account with your mis-named acct, the Pictures and Documents folders will still have the unwanted name in C:\Windows\Users since it's the same profile/user, just different levels of features access.
Making a 2nd different Local acct from the current, sets up a 2nd profile which is why you have to transfer the This PC folder contents over, if you want to retain. Hope that helps.

Edit, PS; Brink just posted this new tutorial today. The first 3 paragraphs might help you understand the create new User process better - Enable or Disable Log On Users with Temporary Profiles in Windows