at least if it’s auto-installed, you don’t need to have your windows tied to a microsoft account just to set up your damn printer. there’s some models where the stand-alone driver installer just doesn’t work worth a shit, and the ‘app’ is the only thing that works (there’s also a few that go the other way, the ‘app’ fails but the stand-alone driver is fine).
I recently had to set up a Windows 11 pc in S mode, and they needed S mode disabled to install Quickbooks. S mode could only be disabled through the Microsoft Store, and it wouldn’t let me access the Microsoft Store at all without creating a Microsoft account. Eventually I managed to disable S mode by booting recovery media, and making registry edits from the command line there.
Now that the machine is out of S mode, it lets me access the Microsoft store without an account for free apps. But from inside S mode (which many PCs ship with) it would not let me access the store at all without an account. It’s also worth mentioning that you have to intentionally avoid connecting the computer to the internet during the initial set up, or it will require you to create a Microsoft account to use the PC at all.
You can type in a fake mail address containing a name like Elon Musk or Bill Gates and after a few tries it will let you skip the login procedure and you can create a local account. It worked for me atleast when I had to set up a few windows machines for work.
at least if it’s auto-installed, you don’t need to have your windows tied to a microsoft account just to set up your damn printer. there’s some models where the stand-alone driver installer just doesn’t work worth a shit, and the ‘app’ is the only thing that works (there’s also a few that go the other way, the ‘app’ fails but the stand-alone driver is fine).
If they let you install without a microsoft account. That’s supposedly getting really hard to accomplish.
Last Time I used the windows store you could install apps without an account, as long as they where free
I recently had to set up a Windows 11 pc in S mode, and they needed S mode disabled to install Quickbooks. S mode could only be disabled through the Microsoft Store, and it wouldn’t let me access the Microsoft Store at all without creating a Microsoft account. Eventually I managed to disable S mode by booting recovery media, and making registry edits from the command line there.
Now that the machine is out of S mode, it lets me access the Microsoft store without an account for free apps. But from inside S mode (which many PCs ship with) it would not let me access the store at all without an account. It’s also worth mentioning that you have to intentionally avoid connecting the computer to the internet during the initial set up, or it will require you to create a Microsoft account to use the PC at all.
You can type in a fake mail address containing a name like Elon Musk or Bill Gates and after a few tries it will let you skip the login procedure and you can create a local account. It worked for me atleast when I had to set up a few windows machines for work.
Honestly it mainly just annoys me that workarounds like this are required.
Yes true! Thats why I use linux at home