Make Redmond angry by setting up Windows 11 with a local account
- Reference: 1754433054
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/05/set_up_windows11_local_account/
- Source link:
If you're setting up your own computer, rather than using a centrally managed one, Windows 11 assumes you have and want to associate the PC with a Microsoft account during installation. That's a problem if you place a higher premium on your privacy than the convenience of having your settings and files synchronized across multiple computers you might log into. It's an even bigger problem if you're setting up a PC for someone else, such as a relative, or to donate to charity. You don't want another person having to log in as you and then getting access to your data.
A Windows local account, which is stored only on the PC itself, has several advantages. It doesn't send your preferences into the cloud, doesn't deploy OneDrive to gobble up your files, and doesn't work on other computers.
[1]
By default, Microsoft tries to prevent you from setting up Windows 11 using a local account, but below I'll show you two workarounds that allow you to do it. If you already have Windows set up with a Microsoft account, I'll show you how to add a local account, which you can use instead.
Method 1: Entering the ms-cxh:localonly command
You'll begin by starting the Windows 11 install process, which in most cases, involves booting off of a USB flash drive that you've written the installer to.
If you're just getting started and don't have an installation disk already, grab a USB flash drive or other external drive that has a capacity of 8GB or more. Then [2]download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft and use it to write the operating system installer to your drive.
[3]
Windows Media Creation Tool - Click to enlarge
After you have your installation media, boot off of it. If your PC has no OS on it, you'll probably be prompted to boot off of the external disk. If it already has something on it, make sure you select the appropriate boot device before your C: drive starts to load. You can do this in the BIOS or by hitting a special key (F12 on some computers) as soon as the computer starts.
Step through the normal Windows 11 installation process, entering your language, product key, and other information that the software asks for.
[4]
Windows installation process - Click to enlarge
Wait patiently during the big file copy and reboot process.
[5]
Windows 11 install process - Click to enlarge
At the screen where you choose a country, hit Shift + F10 to launch a command prompt window.
[6]
Windows 11 install - country chooser - Click to enlarge
In the command prompt window, type start ms-cxh:localonly and hit Enter. In the current build of Windows 11 installer that we tested, this rebooted the PC and led us back to the same screen (which is necessary). In Insider builds of Windows, however, you may get a dialog box asking for the username and password here.
[7]
Enter start ms-chx:local - Click to enlarge
After the reboot, step through the rest of the process until you get to the Sign in screen.
[8]
Windows 11 install sign-in screen - Click to enlarge
There, hit Shift + F10 again to get the command prompt. At the prompt, enter ipconfig /release , which will turn off your internet connection.
[9]
Enter ipconfig /release - Click to enlarge
After you hit Sign in, you will be asked to enter a local username. You can pick anything you want.
[10]
Enter username - Click to enlarge
Then, after you hit Next, you will be asked to enter a password. If you don't want to have a password, you can leave this field blank (but having no password is a bad practice). If you fill it in, you'll be asked to confirm it and to enter answers for three security questions.
[11]
Enter password - Click to enlarge
The software will then step you through the rest of the installation process. After that's complete, you'll have a working copy of Windows 11 with only a local account.
Method 2: Using Rufus to prepare a local account install disk
While the first method I showed you is more than adequate for installing Windows 11 with a local account, you can also prepare your USB Flash installation drive for this purpose in advance and do just a little less typing at the command prompt.
Start by inserting your USB flash drive or external SSD. Then download, install, and open Rufus, an installation disk burner created by developer [12]Pete Batard . You can get it at [13]rufus.ie/en/ .
[14]
[15]
Select your drive. Check "List USB hard drives" if your drive does not appear in the drop down list.
[16]
Click List USB Hard Drives if your drive doesn't appear on Rufus' list - Click to enlarge
Then choose your ISO file by hitting the Select button.
[17]
Choose your ISO file - Click to enlarge
Then click the Start button.
[18]
Click the Start button in Rufus - Click to enlarge
Check Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account and click Ok.
[19]
Click remove requirement for an online Microsoft account - Click to enlarge
Click OK when you are warned that you will be destroying all data on your storage device. Don't be alarmed.
[20]
https://flo.health/about-flo - Click to enlarge
Now Rufus will take a couple of minutes to write to your external drive.
Boot off of your USB flash drive and go through the installation process until you get to the Sign in screen.
[21]
Sign-in screen - Click to enlarge
Hit Shift + F10 here to open the command prompt. And, at the command prompt, enter ipconfig /release to kill your Internet connection.
[22]
ipconfig /release - Click to enlarge
Click Sign in, and you'll be asked to enter a username for your local account.
[23]
Enter username - Click to enlarge
Then enter a password. You can have a blank password but that's not recommended.
[24]
Enter a password - Click to enlarge
If you created a password, you'll be asked to enter the answers for some security questions.
[25]
Add security questions - Click to enlarge
Complete the install process and you'll have Windows 11 with a local account ready to go.
How to install a local account on an existing PC
If you've already set up your computer with a Microsoft account, you can still add a local account and use that from now on. It won't erase your Microsoft login, but as long as you use the local account, you won't be syncing your preferences and data with Microsoft going forward.
To add a local account to Windows 11, first navigate to Settings->Accounts.
[26]
Click Accounts - Click to enlarge
Then scroll down and click "Other Users."
[27]
Click Other Users - Click to enlarge
Click the Add account button.
[28]
Click Add account - Click to enlarge
In the dialog box that pops up, click "I don't have this person's sign-in information."
[29]
Click I don't have this person's sign-in information - Click to enlarge
Then click "Add a user without a Microsoft account."
[30]
Click Add a user without a Microsoft account - Click to enlarge
Enter a username, password, and answers to three security questions. Then click Next.
[31]
Enter username, password, and answers to security questions - Click to enlarge
You'll now see your new username on the list of users in Settings.
[32]
Username listed - Click to enlarge
You can then sign out of your account and sign in as the new, local user.®
Get our [33]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJLTSDSDfC_4SyVw9YTCPAAAAEQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local1.png
[4] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local2.png
[5] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local3.png
[6] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local4.jpg
[7] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local5.jpg
[8] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local6.jpg
[9] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local7.jpg
[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local8.jpg
[11] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local9.jpg
[12] https://github.com/pbatard/rufus
[13] http://rufus.ie/en/
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJLTSDSDfC_4SyVw9YTCPAAAAEQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJLTSDSDfC_4SyVw9YTCPAAAAEQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local10.png
[17] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local11.png
[18] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local12.png
[19] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local13.png
[20] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local14.png
[21] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local15.jpg
[22] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local16.jpg
[23] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local18.jpg
[24] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local19.jpg
[25] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local20.jpg
[26] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local21.jpg
[27] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local22.jpg
[28] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local23.jpg
[29] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local24.jpg
[30] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local25.jpg
[31] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local26.png
[32] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/05/local27.jpg
[33] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Depressing that this is even necessary.
NOBODY ever remembers the answers to those stupid "security questions" so bypassing them is ALWAYS a good thing.
And I've always set up Windoze without a password and set it later, easier to deal with during that initial setup when it's rebooting all the time.
Triple backflip through flaming hoops, nail the dismount.
Good of you to provide a decent guide, but whew - this has reached the point that running windows on a computer is an exhausting, miserable endeavour that requires extensive preparation and planning.
Very much a last-ditch effort, once every other *possible* option has been ruled out.
Maybe I should mention this on Slashdot
And see if the Register gets slashdotted.
Nice article, thanks
It shouldn’t be necessary, but we’re dealing with modern day data barons.
Easy way around
Some years back when Microsoft opened up outlook,com as an email service, I rushed to get my preferred user name @outlook.com.
So, for the Windows 11 installs that I've done, I've always just taken the easy way. I go ahead and complete the OS installation with that outlook.com address. Then, when the system finally opens up to the desktop, the first thing I do is create my preferred local user, administrator account. I sign out of the Microsoft account, sign into my local user, and proceed from there with data and application installation. There is no reason to ever sign back into Windows with the Microsoft account.
Within my local user account, traces of that Microsoft account still linger ghostlike. When I'm in (classic) Outlook creating my email accounts, the outlook.com email account goes right through without re-entering the password. Ditto for installing the Office 2021 suite linked to a Microsoft account (once installed, I sign out of the account within Office to avoid undue cloud entanglement).
Is this approach too easy? Does it entail too much Microsoft involvement for purists?
By default, Microsoft tries to prevent you from setting up Windows 11 using a local account
Windows 10 also did this but if you hit the "NO" button [or whatever it is] and confirm 3 or 4 times you can get past the "Strong-Arming".
Looks like 11 is WORSE. Since I'll NEVER use "[b]One[d]" drive, "The Store", or allow Micros~1 to know what and when I'm doing "whatever", it is becoming even MORE imperative to use "local only".
I recently started working on a project that requires control software to run on a Windows 11 touch screen as well as Linux. It was sent to me pre-config'd with a local user that has no password. It's the same user on all of them, apparently. My guess is someone went through the trouble of making such an image, then 'ghosted' it, and cloned it on multiple touch screen computers, altering licensing as needed...
No workaround needed for Windows 11 Pro
If you're installing Windows 11 Pro, you don't even need to jump through a bunch of hoops.
When prompted to set up for "personal use" or "work or school" use, simply choose "work or school", then "Sign-in options", then "Domain join". You don't have to actually join a domain; it will let you set up a local account at that point.
But I agree, none of these workarounds should be necessary if Microsoft wasn't so disconnected from their user's needs.
Hoopla
No-one should have to jump through these kind of hoops just to preserve or even improve their privacy.
I haven't had a Windows system for about 6 years (we're a part Mac, part Pi household) and things like this just go to ensure that I never will again.
why rush to w11?
If w10 ltsb/c will remain in support for years to come. Or even just stick to existing w10 setup with 0patch. Anything to spite MS.
W11 brings nothing of value while cripples any machine with extra cpu load and questionable UI choices.
Depressing that this is even necessary.
This goes beyond "dark patterns" and into the realms of "what do you mean you couldn't find the Local User option, it was in a filing cabinet in a disused lavatory cubicle behind a locked door with a sign saying Beware Of The Leopard..."
Anyway, thank you for a useful article. The necessary incantations change every few months, as Microsoft slowly boil the Windows 11 userbase frog and make it more and more difficult to avoid using a Microsoft account.
You might also mention that not entering a password during setup is a handy way to dodge the "3 security questions" rigmarole. The article alludes to it but presents it as a Bad Thing. Personally I use a password manager and don't need "security questions" - so I leave the password blank during Setup, and set it after installation .