But they layer so many unwanted services and bloatware on top that it makes it hard to use. Being forced to be online to log in and forced use of OneDrive confuses new users just as much
It sounds like you’ve read about but not used windows for a while tbh. The going online thing is true, but its not exactly confusing. Not sure what you mean by onedrive, I uninstalled it years ago.
I installed Windows on a device yesterday. I had to switch to the command prompt and type in “OOBE\BYPASSNRO” in order to just not connect it to the internet and skip the Microsoft sign in prompt. And that seems to work for the most part. Sending diagnostic data is still required and not optional but ah well.
A few days ago on another friend’s setup, he didn’t know that this option existed (who does really), so he signed up for a Microsoft account, logged in and his Documents and other folders were automatically getting synced to OneDrive. Now, for you and me, we understand that just uninstalling OneDrive should fix that or even just disable that feature itself. But this is opt-out and not opt-in. And he doesn’t really understand it’s getting synced, he simply sees that there’s oddly increased data usage. This is the kind of person who will have recall enabled without ever realising it exists or even using it, but will still have it as a potential security issue waiting to happen on his setup.
It’s all the opt-ins that Microsoft does. Everything defaults to “yes, do that worst thing possible”. And you and me will probably switch it off, but we’re not the average person. The average person doesn’t understand or care.
windows 11+ requires an internet connection to proceed with setup, it can technically be skipped by using Shift+F11 to open command prompt and entering a command I can’t remember (oobe/bypass nro or something) but that’s not going to be something that 99.9% of users know of
Why would you skip online login? It protects your laptop from being stolen, it syncs settings between devices, etc. Do you skip online logins for Android and iOS phones too? Of course you don’t!
But they layer so many unwanted services and bloatware on top that it makes it hard to use. Being forced to be online to log in and forced use of OneDrive confuses new users just as much
It sounds like you’ve read about but not used windows for a while tbh. The going online thing is true, but its not exactly confusing. Not sure what you mean by onedrive, I uninstalled it years ago.
I think you haven’t installed (not used) windows in a while if you don’t understand what he means by the forced onedrive
It’s my daily on 3 of 6 machines, 2 are installs from the last year
I installed Windows on a device yesterday. I had to switch to the command prompt and type in “OOBE\BYPASSNRO” in order to just not connect it to the internet and skip the Microsoft sign in prompt. And that seems to work for the most part. Sending diagnostic data is still required and not optional but ah well.
A few days ago on another friend’s setup, he didn’t know that this option existed (who does really), so he signed up for a Microsoft account, logged in and his Documents and other folders were automatically getting synced to OneDrive. Now, for you and me, we understand that just uninstalling OneDrive should fix that or even just disable that feature itself. But this is opt-out and not opt-in. And he doesn’t really understand it’s getting synced, he simply sees that there’s oddly increased data usage. This is the kind of person who will have recall enabled without ever realising it exists or even using it, but will still have it as a potential security issue waiting to happen on his setup.
It’s all the opt-ins that Microsoft does. Everything defaults to “yes, do that worst thing possible”. And you and me will probably switch it off, but we’re not the average person. The average person doesn’t understand or care.
You’re not forced to use either of those, IIRC. Just set it up without connecting to the internet or without signing in.
windows 11+ requires an internet connection to proceed with setup, it can technically be skipped by using Shift+F11 to open command prompt and entering a command I can’t remember (oobe/bypass nro or something) but that’s not going to be something that 99.9% of users know of
No, there are no facilities for installing W11 offline or without a MS account anymore. MS removed those.
Can still use the “Shift + F10 and type OOBE/BYPASSNRO” option. A non-online method is still necessary for corporate environments that use Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) or other tools to image computers in bulk. See more details here: https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/door-slammed-on-last-remaining-easy-windows-11-local-account-setup-workaround
But god forbid someone ever has to open a Linux terminal.
Not any more
I don’t think you RC
The last time I had to setup a Windows profile (late last year on my then-new laptop), that was the case. Has that changed?
Why would you skip online login? It protects your laptop from being stolen, it syncs settings between devices, etc. Do you skip online logins for Android and iOS phones too? Of course you don’t!
yes, I do
“Online login protects your laptop from being stolen” is the most unhinged broken logic I’ve read in a while ngl
Are you trolling? Or completely ignorant?