Windows 10 Avoid login screen, password etc

oscarcat

New Member
I’m beefing up my laptop (which in any event needs a new cooling fan (sounds like a 737 starting up sometimes) and battery (short charge time and looks a bit lumpy) with a new SSD.
I’ve retrieved the product key just in case, and this is going to be a completely fresh installation using the media creation tool – the other apps as well. The data has been spring cleaned (my, how much rubbish/out of date stuff there was) and what’s left moved to ext HDs.
It’s an ASUS F555L machine, a 3-year-old solid workhorse and jack of all trades, but a tad sssllloooowww. Hence the SSD. I’ve no wish to reintroduce any of AUS’s bloatware and, with so many sequential updates to Windows and other apps, a completely new install instead of cloning has been my preferred method a couple of times over the years.
Cutting to the chase, what is current best practice to achieve a situation where switching on takes me straight to my home page, no login pages with annoying Microsoft photos, or password demands? No-one else will use this unit and any sensitive stuff – tax, finance etc, is in encrypted files so password are just an inconvenience.
I’ve done this a few times over the years and I know methods change. I can’t remember what I did last time, which is why I’m seeking advice on the easiest, most foolproof and efficient way of doing it now. I'd appreciate replies from posters who have actually done it and achieved success rather than the theoretical.
Does anyone remember (or maybe has recently watched) the film 2001? The guy walks in, greets the computer, which immediately responds and, without the need for a touchscreen let alone a mouse, immediately carries out instructions.
Decades on and we’re still far away, in practical terms, from that. Overriding login screes and a password is a start!
 
Well biometrics are close. I just touch the finger print reader on my laptop and I'm in :) and you have Cortana.
 
A longish expalantion, so look here:

By the way. When you make your fresh install, using the media creation tool, just note that when it gets to the early screen , where you are required to enter the "key", click the message (cant remember the exact wording!) to by pass it or "I dont have a key." There is no requirement in windows 10, after the very first log in. Your key has been registered, with your motherboard, with MS.
 
For the auto login you can use Autologon - Windows Sysinternals to have a password but setup securely for autologon. Then add a startup entry here in the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run for your browser and the page it should open. As for the sign-in on said page if they have a "remember me" option use that or use a browser add-on key manager that allows for auto sign-in
 
For the auto login you can use Autologon - Windows Sysinternals to have a password but setup securely for autologon. Then add a startup entry here in the registry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run for your browser and the page it should open. As for the sign-in on said page if they have a "remember me" option use that or use a browser add-on key manager that allows for auto sign-in
I used to play with the registry in Win7 and earlier. But so many Windows 10 updates reconfigure/replace registry entries without warning and I'm hoping there might be a foolproof way to avoid this.
 
I manage updates for about 1500 systems and I can't say any of them have reconfigured anything that affects the user experience.
 
I manage updates for about 1500 systems and I can't say any of them have reconfigured anything that affects the user experience.
Remember Winmail? There was a hack many users implemented which enabled it to be used on Win 10 - until one of MS's 'updates' killed it dead.
Well biometrics are close. I just touch the finger print reader on my laptop and I'm in :) and you have Cortana.
If you have a fingerprint reader, which I don't on this laptop. My Samsung Galaxy does, yet "for my additional security" still insists on the pin occasionally. And don't burn your finger accidentally, the system doesn't recognise band aid!
 
Did you check my link? I think that is what you are looking for.

But, briefly, all you need to do is , in the run box, type Control userpasswords2, and follow the very simple process from there. There are many comment on the web, that this elininates your password. It does not, it merely automates the log in process for you.
 
Hi everyone.
I gave in eventually and will have to adopt a post-installation solution.
I had annoying problems getting Windows up and running, having to create a new Microsoft account. It was just nag, nag, nag until I did.
I hate this enforced subscription thing. I have an android accounts, Apple account, a Microsoft account. I don't want or need any of them. Cyber INSECURITY being what it is, I don't want anything synched to anything else and certainly don't want my phone talking to my computer. Yet it is down to the user having to take, quite often complicated, steps to ensure this doesn't happen. Why should I have to open a Microsoft account in order to complete the installation? By that stage everyone has suffered enough stress - where the connections all good, a near seizure at finding a spare screw on the bench (from the semi assembled printer thank heavens). All this and then an OS that won't complete before
Time was (windows 95 I guess) when you could just switch on and get on with it. yet now.......
 
" Why should I have to open a Microsoft account in order to complete the installation? "
Well, a quicky, although the answer may be more complicated - they own the OS and can command anything they wish. But, to correct you, in the initial stage , Bottom left, I think? , on one of the screens, there is an option to install with a local account.
I do agree with some of your sentiments, however. I have a couple of Ipads: Iphones, as well. It can become a nightmare when you have them synchronised.
Not sure, as there seem to be different experiences, but, If you install with a new MS account, I think yoyu may have problems activating, as your original account is tied to the motherboard. A phone call, however, sorts it out.
 
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" Why should I have to open a Microsoft account in order to complete the installation? "
Well, a quicky, although the answer may be more complicated - they own the OS and can command anything they wish. But, to correct you, in the initial stage , Bottom left, I think? , on one of the screens, there is an option to install with a local account.
I do agree with some of your sentiments, however. I have a couple of Ipads: Iphones, as well. It can become a nightmare when you have them synchronised.
Not sure, as there seem to be different experiences, but, If you install with a new MS account, I think yoyu may have problems activating, as your original account is tied to the motherboard. A phone call, however, sorts it out.
Had no problems with the new account. Why MS demand your birthday details as part of the creation is beyond comprehension. I know it could be any date but the privacy intrusion issue is unacceptable and attracts widespread and justified criticism and censure.
What was a problem was actually creating an executable media creation tool. I couldn't get the Windows 10 files using a win 7 PC or 2 Win 10 laptops. In the end, friends took it on as a challenge and did it for me, one on an Android device, the other using a pirate version of win 7. The files are identical. Apparently the media creation tool is causing problems for many others?
A new issue has appeared, again one affecting many other people. I have a constant screen flicker. It's not the new SSD - I reformatted the old HD, installed the OS on that, slipped it into the laptop, and the same problem on bootup.
One recommendation is to see if it is present when Task Manager is displayed, in which case it would be a driver issue. It is not, indicating (according to the advice) that it is down to an app. But no apps have been installed and the flickering appeared and remains both before and after updates and manufacturer's drivers were installed - from the very first boot up in fact. I may be opening a new thread shortly!
 
You don't have to have a Microsoft account to complete the install. Whomever told you that is sorely mistaken.
 
You don't have to have a Microsoft account to complete the install. Whomever told you that is sorely mistaken.
Well, I spent more time than I wished looking for a way of avoiding it and believe me, there is no conceivable way of progressing beyond the completion or creation of a MS account
 
The option to use a local account is most definitely there and you can also switch between a MS account and local account.
 
Had no problems with the new account. Why MS demand your birthday details as part of the creation is beyond comprehension. I know it could be any date but the privacy intrusion issue is unacceptable and attracts widespread and justified criticism and censure.
What was a problem was actually creating an executable media creation tool. I couldn't get the Windows 10 files using a win 7 PC or 2 Win 10 laptops. In the end, friends took it on as a challenge and did it for me, one on an Android device, the other using a pirate version of win 7. The files are identical. Apparently the media creation tool is causing problems for many others?
A new issue has appeared, again one affecting many other people. I have a constant screen flicker. It's not the new SSD - I reformatted the old HD, installed the OS on that, slipped it into the laptop, and the same problem on bootup.
One recommendation is to see if it is present when Task Manager is displayed, in which case it would be a driver issue. It is not, indicating (according to the advice) that it is down to an app. But no apps have been installed and the flickering appeared and remains both before and after updates and manufacturer's drivers were installed - from the very first boot up in fact. I may be opening a new thread shortly!
The option to use a local account is most definitely there and you can also switch between a MS account and local account.
You can only open a user account after going through the initial instal process which, halfway through demands entering the details of an existing Microsoft Account or creating a new one. It blocks further progress until done. And that seems to be accepting defeat.
This insistence on imposing obligations on a user is intrusive and invasive. Windows 95 didn't require any of this nonsense, as I recall. I have no objection to this being an optional choice, it's the element of compulsion I find objectionable. Too many people are too willing to comply with this 'big brother' attitude and reveal personal details of themselves without a second thought, data that we know has often fallen into malign hands. Linux and RISC OS never insisted on this practice if memory serves. Give me one acceptable reason why Microsoft needs my date of birth?
 
Well, I spent more time than I wished looking for a way of avoiding it and believe me, there is no conceivable way of progressing beyond the completion or creation of a MS account
Believe me - there is!!

Steps to install Windows 10 without a Microsoft account
  1. Place in your device the Windows 10 boot CD/DVD or external drive.
  2. Follow the instructions on the screen until you reach the “Sign in to your Microsoft account” page.Sign in to your Microsoft account
  3. In the “Sign in to your Microsoft account” page, you will see in the lower side of the screen a feature that says “Create a new account”.
  4. Left click or tap on the “Create a new account” feature.
  5. In the “Create a new account” screen left click or tap on the “Sign in without a Microsoft account” but keep in mind that this option has almost the same purple contrast as the “Create a new account” window so it is a bit harder to spot.
    Note: the “Sign in without a Microsoft account” link is situated beneath the “Country/Region” box.
  6. From here you can go and install your Windows 10 operating system without a Microsoft account and use it as you please.
The requirement for your birthdate is older than the internet. The legal age to operate any kind of account, varies from countries. Not sure, but I think it is 18 in the US. This is backed up by the similar requirement for your credit card details, which can be instantly checked.
I confess, that for me, it has long been a laugh. Such things are so easily faked in writing, and probably are - constantly.
 
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