local account Archives

Winsage

February 22, 2025

4 Windows 11 features that make me regret upgrading

Windows 11 has become popular among users, but some experience frustrations with its features. The Copilot feature is heavily integrated, prompting users to engage with it frequently, which many find intrusive. The redesigned Start Menu is seen as cluttered and less user-friendly compared to Windows 10, requiring customization for better usability. The Widgets button on the taskbar has become a distraction, leading many to disable it for improved focus. Windows 11 frequently upsells Microsoft services, requiring a Microsoft account and inundating users with promotional notifications. Overall, users feel that navigating Windows 11 has become adversarial, prioritizing notifications over user experience and complicating basic usability.

Winsage

December 21, 2024

Windows 11 Pro (2 devices) + Microsoft Office 2021 license drops to lowest price

Users can purchase Microsoft Office Pro 2021 and Windows 11 Pro for two devices at an 87% discount, making the bundle available for .97 instead of the typical 9. This package includes a lifetime license for essential Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher, and Access, and allows installation on a single Windows PC. Windows 11 Pro features a new interface, biometric login, DirectX 12 Ultimate, widgets, Microsoft Teams integration, and productivity enhancements. It also offers enterprise-level functionalities like local account setup, Active Directory integration, Hyper-V, BitLocker encryption, and support for up to 2TB of RAM and 128 CPU cores. The deal is globally accessible for digital purchase and includes instant delivery and customer service support.

Winsage

December 18, 2024

5 ways to make Windows 11 feel less annoying

Windows 11 has strict hardware requirements, a centralized taskbar, a redesigned Action Center, and advertisements on the Start menu, which frustrate some users. Users can make the following adjustments to improve their experience: 1. To silence account notifications, go to Settings > Personalization > Start and toggle off "Show account related notifications occasionally in Start." 2. To disable targeted Microsoft ads, navigate to Settings > Privacy & security > General and toggle off "Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID." 3. To remove the news feed from Widgets, press Windows key + W, click the gear icon in the Widgets board, select "Show or hide feeds," and toggle off the switch next to Feeds. 4. To hide ads in Microsoft Edge, open a new tab, click the gear icon, and set the Content setting to Off. 5. To remove Bing from Windows Search, open Registry Editor, navigate to ComputerHKEYCURRENTUSERSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows, create a new key named Explorer, create a DWORD (32-bit) Value named DisableSearchBoxSuggestions, set its value to 1, and restart the PC.

Winsage

December 16, 2024

How to rename the User folder on your Windows 11 PC

Microsoft's Windows 11 requires an active internet connection for installation and mandates the creation of a Microsoft account, which has raised privacy concerns. The User folder is automatically named using the first five letters of the associated email address, leading to issues for users with longer names. To rename the User folder, users can follow a complex process involving the Registry Editor, including creating a new user profile, switching to a local account, noting the SID of the user account, modifying the ProfileImagePath in the registry, renaming the folder in Windows Explorer, and creating a link between the old and new folder names using Command Prompt. Alternatively, users can create a new Microsoft account with the desired User folder name.

Winsage

November 25, 2024

Windows 11 insists you use a Microsoft account. Here’s how to bypass it

Windows 11 24H2 allows users to bypass the Microsoft account requirement by creating a local user account during installation. Users can download the official ISO file from Microsoft and start the installation process. When prompted for a Microsoft account login, they can press Shift + F10 to open a command prompt and create a local user account using the command: PLACEHOLDER2d79a2dfb4304e73. They should replace "yourusername" with a unique identifier. To add this user to the local administrator's group, the command PLACEHOLDER26ab5f25a23e27e0 is used. After setting up the user, users execute PLACEHOLDER4a3e8ed1e52fc822 and PLACEHOLDERc1d631cbc243f4d2 to prepare for a restart. Upon reboot, they will see a message about an incorrect username or password and should select the newly created local account to complete the installation. Users can also assign a password to their local account with the command: PLACEHOLDER0d31cc9b0f5f52d4.

Winsage

November 3, 2024

We tried Windows 11 LTSC. It comes with your classic apps, no AI or modern UI

Windows 11 LTSC version 24H2 is designed for enterprise users and does not support personal Microsoft accounts during setup. The installation process requires a work or school account, but users can bypass this by using a command prompt trick to set up a local account. The operating system is free from adware and promotional content, presenting a clean interface. It includes the new Outlook web app and retains legacy versions of some applications like Snipping Tool and Paint, which have been updated with modern features. Customization options are limited in the unactivated version, and users must download applications manually without access to the Microsoft Store. File Explorer has enhancements like tab duplication and support for various compression formats. A list of pre-installed applications includes various Microsoft Visual C++ runtimes, Microsoft Edge, Outlook, Paint, and Notepad.

Winsage

October 12, 2024

This unofficial app that lets you skip Windows 11’s system requirements now works for 24H2 upgrades

Microsoft is addressing challenges related to installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. The third-party tool Rufus has released version 4.6 beta, which allows users to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 without meeting system requirements. This version introduces a setup.exe wrapper to bypass upgrade restrictions, enhances local account management by making passwords valid indefinitely by default, and includes several improvements such as TimeZone replication options and fixes for writing compressed VHD images. User feedback indicates that performance on unsupported hardware with the new update may be better than the previous version. Rufus is commonly used for creating bootable drives and circumventing strict installation requirements.

Winsage

October 11, 2024

Eleven things to know about in the Windows 11 2024 Update

Microsoft requires a Microsoft account during the setup of new PCs and fresh Windows installations, which can be problematic when there is no functional network adapter. This issue often occurs during clean installations on new machines with unfamiliar Wi-Fi adapters that lack built-in drivers for Windows 11. Microsoft has introduced a fallback option in Windows 11 setup, allowing users to install necessary drivers from a USB drive. Users can also bypass the account requirement by using the Command Prompt with the command OOBEBYPASSNRO. The recent 24H2 update has improved security for SMB file-sharing connections by requiring all SMB connections to be signed by default and disabling Guest access for SMB shares in the Pro edition of Windows 11. While Guest fallback access is still available in Windows 11 Home, the requirement for SMB signing applies to all Windows editions.

Winsage

October 11, 2024

Rufus adds Windows 11 24H2 unsupported PC bypass for in-place upgrades, local account fix

The Media Creation Tool (MCT) has been updated to support the download and installation of the first Patch Tuesday for Windows 11 version 24H2, specifically for systems that meet Microsoft's support criteria. Users upgrading from pre-Windows 10 systems may need new hardware, as older machines likely do not meet Windows 11's requirements. Rufus has introduced a workaround in version 4.6 Beta that allows users to bypass Windows 11 24H2 system requirements on unsupported PCs. This version includes a new setup.exe wrapper, enhancements for user experience, and fixes for various errors. Windows 11 24H2 requires a new CPU instruction set (PopCnt and SSE4.2), making older PCs ineligible for the upgrade if they lack this support. Rufus author Pete Batard stated that he will not work on bypassing these new requirements, emphasizing that any official bypasses must adhere to Microsoft's framework.

Winsage

September 5, 2024

A Longtime Windows User Makes First Impressions of Windows 11 – NEIU Independent

Users have 15 months left to transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11, which was released in late 2021. Less than 30% of current Windows users have switched to Windows 11. The review focuses on initial setup challenges, interface and usability, hybrid device experience, application and file management, and comparisons with other operating systems. The initial setup was complicated by the requirement to create an online account for certain features, leading the reviewer to ultimately create a local account. The interface is similar to Windows 7 and 10, offering reliability and extensive app support. The ASUS Vivobook's hardware, including a responsive touchscreen and 360-degree hinge, enhances the user experience by allowing seamless transitions between tablet and laptop modes. Users can download apps from both developer websites and the Microsoft Store without needing to log into a Microsoft account. Windows 11 improves multitasking with enhanced Windows Snap features, offering five organizational configurations for tiling apps. Apple plans to introduce a similar feature in their upcoming MacOS Sequoia. For those needing a new computer, investing in a device with Windows 11 is recommended, while users with functional machines may consider lightweight Linux distributions for secondary use.