chrisshaw,

wait, what? I have to create a microsoft account to use the new dell I just bought for my mum?

What kind of fuckery is this? Yes I googled the work arounds but they don't seem to work.

I haven't used windows for years. I literally had no idea it had come to this.

JustineSmithies,
@JustineSmithies@fosstodon.org avatar

@chrisshaw You can bypass this in by registering the following user no@thankyou.com and type any password. Trust me I do it all the time setting up laptops onboard fishing vessels for work.

chrisshaw,

@JustineSmithies Thanks Justine!! Worked a treat!

JustineSmithies,
@JustineSmithies@fosstodon.org avatar

@chrisshaw Glad to have helped someone and you're very welcome.

chrisshaw,

@JustineSmithies I knew I could rely on a linux user to get around this!

I run linux on both my desktop and laptop and totally forget that this is what the rest of the world have to put up with

mansr,
@mansr@society.oftrolls.com avatar

@JustineSmithies @chrisshaw How does that work?

chrisshaw,

@mansr @JustineSmithies Who knows? But I was able to set up a local user after applying this trick.

JustineSmithies,
@JustineSmithies@fosstodon.org avatar

@mansr @chrisshaw Magic 😉
Well until MS decide to close that loophole.

mansr,
@mansr@society.oftrolls.com avatar

@JustineSmithies @chrisshaw Did they put in a secret special handling for that email address? What if the owner of thankyou.com (Citibank, apparently) wants to use that email address for real?

chrisshaw,

@mansr @JustineSmithies I suspect they won't be looking to use that domain name any more!

Once you have entered it to bypass the MS sign in, you create a local account so it's not needed after that.

penguin42,
@penguin42@mastodon.org.uk avatar

@mansr @JustineSmithies @chrisshaw Perhaps they already use that email address and love collecting data on random windows users?

mcdanlj,
@mcdanlj@social.makerforums.info avatar

@JustineSmithies @chrisshaw Given that thankyou.com exists, does noone@example.com or noone@account.invalid which are explicitly reserved, work just as well? Or does it have to be a domain that resolves with just an invalid user name?

chrisshaw,

@mcdanlj @JustineSmithies It has to be a valid account on MS, you just type an incorrect password and that causes the laptop to go into local mode setup.

It's total fuckery. Why they don't just have an option of "create a local account" I don't know.

Qper,

@chrisshaw @mcdanlj @JustineSmithies really?? Damn. You used to be able to bypass by simply not connecting to internet. Or click the sign in options and select offline account. They all removed that?

chrisshaw,

@Qper @mcdanlj @JustineSmithies yep, they seem to have. I tried those first and they didn't work on my new build

Qper,
chrisshaw,

@Qper @mcdanlj @JustineSmithies it is indeed.

But I'm totally loving all this help and support from the Linux community tonight.

angrylinus,
@angrylinus@mas.to avatar

@JustineSmithies @chrisshaw I ssetup win11 with this no thank you workaround, and eventually I started up one day and it wanted me to go through the process again, which still worked, but having it annoy me every so often is a PITA

chrisshaw,

@angrylinus @JustineSmithies gulp ... That's not good news. I don't want that happening to my mum ...

angrylinus,
@angrylinus@mas.to avatar
chrisshaw,

@angrylinus @JustineSmithies no, I totally skipped over that option tbh.

If you have to start injecting 3rd party utilities into boot sectors just to log on to a laptop you just shelled out 600 notes for, that's when you need to look for something with less friction

ianmclean,

@chrisshaw @angrylinus @JustineSmithies You can set up without an MSA by telling the set up that you're setting up for an organisation then picking "Domain join instead" too

chrisshaw,

@ianmclean @angrylinus @JustineSmithies does that work on the home edition Ian? I don't remember seeing that option

ianmclean,

@chrisshaw @angrylinus @JustineSmithies Not on the Home edition since domain joining is a Pro-only thing.

You can also disconnect from the internet and it will give the option to go through a 'limited setup' (i.e. limiting the bullshit) which lets you set up your local user account like the old days with no MSA requirement.

This is a fairly new thing, I know on Windows 11's launch if you had no internet connection on the Home Ed, it would literally just block you from completing setup until you got online and connected up an MSA. Thankfully they have walked that lunacy back.

chrisshaw,

@ianmclean @angrylinus @JustineSmithies yeah, I just used the nothanks email work around.

It's just madness not being able to create local users on an operating system. I mean what happens if you set up an MSA account but then the internet is down at some point in the future? You can't then log in to your laptop and get access your stuff

JustineSmithies,
@JustineSmithies@fosstodon.org avatar

@chrisshaw @angrylinus Well I've not had it happen yet to any of our customers and believe me the fishermen would certainly let me know if something weird popped up on their screens whilst at sea. I'm not saying it won't happen but so far so good.

chrisshaw,

@JustineSmithies @angrylinus I can well imagine those fishermen having slightly more colourful feedback than my mum if it suddenly stopped working one day

JustineSmithies,
@JustineSmithies@fosstodon.org avatar

@chrisshaw @angrylinus Oh yes indeed but then your Mum might surprise you too 😂

chrisshaw,

@JustineSmithies @angrylinus I think that's a bridge I don't really want to cross...

tekeous,
@tekeous@fosstodon.org avatar

@JustineSmithies @chrisshaw @MikrotikTrainer This is basically what drove me to run Linux as my daily. If you have to Google for secret workarounds in order to use your system, it’s user hostile.

chrisshaw,

@tekeous @JustineSmithies @MikrotikTrainer yes, I'm not a Windows user either.

pjacock,
@pjacock@fediscience.org avatar

@chrisshaw There was me thinking Windows 11 was OK after macOS - but I am using it as provided by work specifically in order to access the Microsoft provided email (Outlook), office suite, file sharing (SharePoint) etc.

Can't say I'd want all that on a personal machine!

chrisshaw,

@pjacock no, for sure! It's like a fisher price experience on a personal machine.

There's popups for games, news headlines in the start menu and all sorts of gubbins.

Once this machine is set up properly though, it should be good enough for what my mum needs

lechner,
@lechner@writing.exchange avatar

@chrisshaw Please make sure your mum does not get tricked into making anti-virus purchases or similar. She may not have your awareness.

chrisshaw,

@lechner yes, good shout. I've deleted all the 3rd party av software in the default build. So hopefully it'll be as stable as possible.

She's already pretty good at ignoring anything that pops up asking for money.

benjohn,

@chrisshaw I check about twice a decade if Windows has become usable for me yet. Going in the wrong direction.

chrisshaw,

@benjohn I don't think windows will ever be useable for me to be honest.

But now that I've gotten over this hurdle and deleted 80% of the installed apps, it's approaching a useable laptop for my 84 yo mother.

jchaven,
@jchaven@social.sdf.org avatar

@chrisshaw

I get around this by not connecting to internet. Complete setup offline and only connect to wi-fi or ethernet once I get to the Desktop.

chrisshaw,

@jchaven yeah, unfortunately I didn't come across this fuckery until I had already configured the WiFi.

I tried typing some commands in to make it forget, but it carried on remembering.

sebastiaanfranken,

@chrisshaw Yep. Though making sure the machine is not connected to any network will pop up the "make a offline account" button (on Windows 10 and 11). Windows will keep nagging you about a MS account , though...

chrisshaw,

@sebastiaanfranken I thik I found a way ...

neil,

@chrisshaw I went through the process recently, and there was definitely a way to avoid doing that, but it required a horribly convoluted setting of not-clicking-the-default-options.

An almost overwhelming push to create an account, for zero reason (for me).

chrisshaw,

@neil I think I've found the work arounds, and I seem to be in.

This is for my 84 year old mother. I hope there's not a load of terrifying MS warning stuff that starts popping up every time she logs on

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • linux
  • tacticalgear
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • everett
  • slotface
  • khanakhh
  • ethstaker
  • rosin
  • kavyap
  • GTA5RPClips
  • InstantRegret
  • DreamBathrooms
  • megavids
  • ngwrru68w68
  • Durango
  • normalnudes
  • cubers
  • modclub
  • cisconetworking
  • tester
  • osvaldo12
  • provamag3
  • anitta
  • Leos
  • JUstTest
  • lostlight
  • All magazines