When you set up a Acccount PC for the first winfows, you're required to create a user account that will serve as the administrator for the device. Depending on your Windows 10 home microsoft account free edition and network setup, you have a choice of up to four separate account types. On business editions Pro, Pro for Workstations, Enterprise, and Educationthe Windows Setup program asks you to choose whether you want to set the Acckunt up for personal use or for use on a network winrows by your organization, as shown below.

If you choose the windows 10 home microsoft account free option, you can set up windows 10 home microsoft account free PC using an account in your Windows Active Directory domain or you can sign in using an Azure Active Directory account, such as the one associated with an Office Business or Enterprise subscription. On Windows 10 Home edition, that choice isn't available, and you're limited to only the personal options: a local account or a Microsoft account.

The Setup program is extremely persistent about trying to coax you into signing in with a Microsoft account. Windows 11 Home edition gives you only the option for a Microsoft account, although can add a local account or remove the connection to the Microsoft account after you've signed in for the first time. In this post, I'll explain the pros and cons of each account type and explain why your best option might be a combination of two account types.

What's new in Windows 11? What are windows 10 home microsoft account free minimum hardware requirements? When will your PC be eligible for the upgrade? We've got the answers to your questions. This is Microsoft's free online account for personal use, required for signing in to windows 10 home microsoft account free company's consumer services, including OneDrive, Xbox Live, Skype, and Microsoft formerly Office Family and Personal subscriptions, among others.

If you have an email account accouny Outlook. You can also sign up for a new account anytime, choosing a new address at Free. Signing in to your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC with a Microsoft account offers several distinct benefits:. Note that Windows telemetry data is tied to your feee and isn't associated with a Microsoft account.

And, of course, you can create a Microsoft account and use it exclusively for signing in to Windows while keeping your email, cloud storage, and other services elsewhere. But if you do use a Microsoft account for services such as Office and OneDrive, it makes sense to sign in to Windows using the same account. A local account is about as iwndows school jicrosoft Windows gets.

You don't need a network connection or an email address; instead, you create a username up to 20 characters and a password, both of microosft are stored on the PC where you create them and grant access only to that device.

There's no particular security or privacy advantage micrksoft signing in with a local account indeed the lack of device encryption is a negative, in my book ; but if that's your preference, you can do so when you first set up Windows 10 any edition or Windows 11 Pro on a new PC.

Windows 11 Home requires you to sign in with a Microsoft windows 10 home microsoft account free during initial setup. With a Microsoft account, you have multiple options to recover if you windods windows 10 home microsoft account free password.

With local accounts, you've historically had uome such option if you forget your password. On Windows 10, setting up a local account on Windows 10 requires that you fill in answers to three security questions, to help you recover in the event you forget your password. You can't bypass those questions, nor can you choose alternatives other than the six predefined questions. If you're worried that a thief with a search engine can guess those answers, do as I do and For example, you can answer the three security questions with a three-word passphrase of your own, entered one word at a windows 10 home microsoft account free.

Or, if you'd prefer to bypass the whole feature, just mash the keyboard to create random "answers" vree no one including you could possibly guess. If you choose either option, don't blame me if you forget your password. Even windows 10 home microsoft account free you prefer a local account, consider signing in first with a Microsoft account. After you confirm that your system acfount properly activated and the activation status is recorded with that Microsoft account, switch back to a local account and go on about your business.

Likewise, if you're fussy about the name of your default user profile folder, consider signing in with a local account first, and then attach your Microsoft account. If you homd that procedure, Windows uses the dindows local username you specify as the folder name and retains that name when you switch; if you start with a Microsoft account, your user profile folder name is the first five characters of the portion of your email address to the left of the sign.

On an enterprise network with a Windows server running as a domain controller, you can join a Windows 10 ow Windows 11 PC to the domain. Ironically, before you can join a PC to a domain and sign in with your Active Directory account, you have to first create a local account.

This is the newest option in the lineup of Windows account types. Like a domain account, an Azure AD account is managed by an organization's administrator, but it doesn't require a local server.

Instead, the credentials are managed in Microsoft's Azure cloud. It behaves similarly to a Microsoft account, with the ability to sync settings across devices where you're signed in with the same account. The big difference is that your fgee to the device is managed by your organization's administrator, who can apply security settings and restrict some options.

To manage Azure AD accounts, administrators use the Azure AD admin centerwhich also includes the option to synchronize the cloud-based directory with a local domain's Active Directory, an option called Azure AD Connect. A basic Azure AD account is free, but like all Microsoft enterprise services, upsell options abound. And you can mix and match account types on the same device for the sake of flexibility.

You might want a local account to accoung routine administrative tasks, a Microsoft account for personal use, and an Azure AD account for connecting to nicrosoft organization's servers. Just choose the right account when you first sign in to a new session. Home Business Enterprise Software. When you set up a windows 10 home microsoft account free PC running Windows 10 or Windows 11, you have a choice of four types of user accounts, from the windows 10 home microsoft account free local account to the newest, Azure Active Directory.

Hoe how to make the right choice. This choice is only available wwindows Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise. Windows 11 FAQ. That option in the lower left corner allows you to set up a local account. Administrators can manage Azure AD from this portal. Windows 10 Here's how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade Is your Windows license legal?

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