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Microsoft could drop the forced Microsoft account sign-in during Windows 11 setup
(www.windowslatest.com)
Don't care. Already switched to linux.
this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2026
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Nice for me and you but that doesn't mean people who can't switch deserve to be treated like shit.
"I'm alright, Jack" :eyeroll:
I’m gonna say I spent 8 months cloning my windows environment and then learning Linux basics, and trying to figure out how to make everything work after I migrated to Linux and now they want to backpedal the bullshit that made me leave windows in the first place?
Fuck you, I’m not walking any of this back. I’ve finally got out of their shitty fucking ecosystem, and I’m actually happy with where I am. Fuck Microsoft, I’m not going back.
What distro?
I started with Mint about a year ago on my daily driver and it has exceeded my expectations. I've put it on a mini-pc as well. I've still got a PCVR machine running Win10 Enterprise. That's going to get SteamOS when I get around to it.
SteamOS isn't publicly available and is very unlikely to be fully open source if/when that changes. Your best bet is probably either Bazzite or Cachy (I would say use Bazzite if you still feel like a noob).
Or just get shit running in Mint; it's very doable. But when it comes to non-steam games, Bazzite is better at working "out of the box," as it were.
Bazzite is my secomd choice but the SteamOS image has been available for awhile now. It's intended for Valve devices but my understanding is that people have been getting it to run on regular PC's. I haven't been keeping up with the latest news though, so I'm mot sure what the success rate is.
I just don't see why you'd wanna deal with all that jank to get Valve's proprietary OS running. In my experience, Steam games pretty much Just Work to about the same degree on any Linux distro thanks to how Proton works. And if you have any interest in non-Steam games, Bazzite is going to be a much better choice than SteamOS.
If SteamOS doesn't work on your mini PC you can try the CachyOS "handheld" edition. It launches with the Steam game mode front end and looks exactly like SteamOS but has support for more hardware.
I put it on my Steam Deck and it's been great, bit snappier. I would totally throw it on a HTPC type box and hook it up to a TV.
Cool suggestion! My Mini-PC is primarily a NAS/Jellyfin server tho, so no need for Steam there. Mint does fine.
Don't worry, they'll still be able to find out what all your accounts are when they've got their AI reading screenshots of your screen. Makes sense to make the setup process more streamlined at this point.
Or when you sign into a Microsoft game with your Microsoft account, like Halo or Gears and it'll automatically link your "local" account to your Microsoft account.
pro tip: they won't
This is already possible using an autounattend file.
https://schneegans.de/windows/unattend-generator/ is fantastic.
Use Microsoft's Media Creation Tool to create a windows installer USB, add the XML file to the root of the USB disk, reinstall windows exactly how you want it.
(If you are feeling fancy, download the windows iso, and repack it with the autounattend.xml file in it, then drop it onto a Ventoy USB stick)
On pro editions of windows:
Choose sign in with work or school
Domain join instead
Enter a local admin username
Leave the password field blank (it’ll skip the security questions)
No to everything else
Once on desktop, set password with CTRL ALT DEL
Or just hit shift F10 and enter “oobe\bypassnro” and let it reboot. Still works on home or pro.
Shift + F10 I believe, but your point stands. This is how I do it.
I assume any technical person uses one of the workarounds anyway.
They no longer work. MS has plugged every single one at this point.
Edit: Apparently Rufus still works. But all the other workarounds are plugged by MS.
Including Rufus?? Shit
Rufus worked for me, at least with the 25H2 image.
They could but they won't.
Even if they did they can just add it back whenever they want.
Good for those who are stuck with Windows. At least ONE of the (big) issues would be fixed.
How about they suck my balls?
Right now, if you install a fresh copy of Windows 11 or buy new hardware, then go through the out-of-box experience screens, you’ll be forced to sign in to your Microsoft account.
Most people buy PCs with Windows installed, so they do not need to sign up to a Microsoft account. Yes, its keeps bugging you to, but its not mandatory.
The security features (like Bitlocker and the tpm chip) and OneDrive are linked to the device, not the user, so it doesn't actually need you to have an account or a OneDrive folder to run the security features.