There are benefits to using a Microsoft account with your PC, but you might still want to use a local account. Some people prefer using a local account for administrative or privacy reasons. Also, you can always sign-in to a Microsoft account at a later time.

You can still create a local account during initial setup, but it’s harder than before. Here are the steps for skipping Microsoft account login and creating a local account in newer versions of the Windows 11 Home out-of-box setup experience.

1. Proceed Through Initial Setup Until the Microsoft Account Screen

Proceed through the initial setup steps by configuring the options and clicking Next. You’ll eventually wind up at the Microsoft account screen.

2. Open Command Prompt from Setup with SHIFT+F10

Once you’re in the initial setup wizard shown above, press SHIFT+F10 on your keyboard. This will open a command prompt window.

3. Type start ms-cxh:localonly and Hit Enter

Click inside of the command prompt window and type start ms-cxh:localonly.

Hit Enter.

4. Create a Local Account

A new screen will open to create a local account. Type a username, password and choose your security questions.

When you’re done, simply click Next to proceed to the desktop as you normally would!

Remarks

• Although you can technically run this command at the beginning of setup, it’s best to get to the Microsoft account screen first to easily configure your system’s region, keyboard settings and network.
• As of right now, you can still create a local account on Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise versions from the setup wizard.
• My opinion is that this clearly shows the direction Microsoft is taking with its consumer line of products. They want us to be reliant on their cloud as much as possible!

Update 05/08/2025: The command previously suggested in this article, oobe\bypassnro, has been disabled by Microsoft as of Windows 11 build 26100. Only the start ms-cxh:localonly command should be used going forward.

If you prefer a video to follow along, you can watch the tutorial on my YouTube channel down below:

The post Local Account Creation During Windows 11 Setup appeared first on TechOpt.

Step 1: Identify the USB Drive

Before writing the ISO to USB in Linux, you need to determine the correct device name for your USB drive. Plug in the USB drive and run:

sudo fdisk -l

This command lists all storage devices connected to your system. Look for your USB drive by checking the model, size and type. It will usually be listed as /dev/sdX (e.g., /dev/sdb) or /dev/diskX (on some distributions).\

In my case, this happens to be /dev/sdc, as you can see in the screenshot below:

Warning: Be very careful when selecting the device name, as writing to the wrong disk will result in data loss!

Step 2: Write the ISO to the USB Drive

Once you’ve identified the correct device, use the dd command to write the ISO to the USB drive:

sudo dd if=/path/to/iso.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=1M

Replace /path/to/iso.iso with the actual path to your ISO file and /dev/sdX with your USB drive’s identifier.

Explanation of Parameters:

• if=/path/to/iso.iso – Input file (the ISO image).
• of=/dev/sdX – Output file (your USB drive). Do not include a partition number (e.g., /dev/sdX1), as you need to write to the whole disk.
• bs=1M – Block size (1 Megabyte). Without this, dd defaults to a 512-byte block size, which can significantly down the process.

Step 3: Monitor Progress

When the dd command completes, it will output a summary similar to this:

123456789+0 records in
123456789+0 records out
123456789 bytes (X GB) copied, XX.XXXX s, XX.X MB/s

This confirms that all data has been written successfully to the USB drive:

The dd command does not provide real-time progress updates by default. On some distributions, you can add status=progress to see the write progress:

sudo dd if=/path/to/iso.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=1M status=progress

Step 4: Safely Eject the USB Drive

Once the process is complete, ensure all data is written by running:

sudo sync

Then, safely remove the USB drive:

sudo eject /dev/sdX

Remarks

• For bigger ISO images, the process will take longer.
• You should use the root device name (e.g., /dev/sdX) and not a partition (e.g., /dev/sdX1).
• For all options you can use with dd, you can consult the dd man page.

Now, your USB drive is ready to boot into the written ISO image!

If you would like a video guide, I also have one available:

The post How to Write an ISO to USB Drive in Linux appeared first on TechOpt.

Why Upgrade Now?

Ubuntu LTS (Long-Term Support) versions receive five years of updates, meaning 20.04 will stop receiving standard support in April 2025. While Ubuntu does offer Extended Security Maintenance (ESM) for an additional five years, that requires an Ubuntu Pro subscription, which costs money and may not be ideal for all users.

Checking Software Compatibility Before Upgrading

One of the main reasons I stayed on Ubuntu 20.04 was because I run the TP-Link Omada Controller, which historically ran best on older LTS versions. However, as of now, Omada supports Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, making this a good time to upgrade.

If you’re running custom software, self-hosted services, or enterprise applications, check their documentation or forums to confirm compatibility before proceeding.

Steps to Upgrade from Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS

To ensure a smooth upgrade, follow these steps:

1. Back Up Your System

Before making major changes, always back up important data. If you’re running a production server, consider creating a full system snapshot using tools like:

• Timeshift (for desktop users)
• rsync or tar for manual backups
• Btrfs snapshots (if you’re using a Btrfs filesystem)

I also backed up my Omada configuration through the web administration page, as well as made a snapshot of the virtual machine in Proxmox.

2. Update Ubuntu 20.04 Fully

Before upgrading, ensure your system is fully up to date. Run the following commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo apt autoremove --purge -y

After the updates complete, reboot your system:

sudo reboot

3. Start the Upgrade Process

Once back online, use the following command to begin the upgrade:

sudo do-release-upgrade

This will check for a new release and guide you through the upgrade process.

4. Follow the On-Screen Prompts

• The upgrade tool will download necessary packages and warn you about changes.
• If prompted to replace configuration files, choose the default option unless you’ve manually customized them.
• When prompted to remove obsolete packages, confirm with Y.
• The process may take some time depending on your internet speed and system resources.

5. Reboot Into Ubuntu 22.04

After the upgrade is complete, reboot your system:

sudo reboot

Once your system boots up, confirm the upgrade with:

lsb_release -a

This should display Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

Post-Upgrade Checks

1. Verify Software Functionality – Ensure your applications and services, like the TP-Link Omada Controller, are running properly.
2. Check for Remaining Updates – Run: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
3. Remove Old Packages – Clean up unnecessary files: sudo apt autoremove --purge -y

Conclusion

Upgrading from Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS is straightforward but requires some preparation. Since Ubuntu 20.04 reaches EOL in April 2025, it’s best to upgrade sooner rather than later to stay secure and supported. If you run software that relies on very specific versions on Ubuntu (such as the TP-Link Omada Controller), ensure it’s compatible before proceeding.

The post Upgrade Ubuntu 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS appeared first on TechOpt.

A key advantage of using Btrfs on openSUSE is its integration with Snapper, a tool that automatically creates snapshots before critical system changes, such as package installations through YaST or zypper. This allows users to quickly rollback openSUSE if something goes wrong.

While openSUSE is known for its strong Btrfs integration, the filesystem is not exclusive to it. Other Linux distributions, such as Fedora, Ubuntu, and Arch Linux, also support Btrfs, though the level of integration varies.

In this guide, we’ll explore how Btrfs works in openSUSE, how automatic snapshots function, and how to manually create and restore snapshots when needed.

Automatic Snapshots in openSUSE

openSUSE, through Snapper, automatically creates Btrfs snapshots before major system changes. These snapshots act as a safety net, allowing you to rollback openSUSE to a working system state if something breaks.

For example, when installing or updating software via YaST or zypper, a snapshot is taken before the changes are applied. This means that if an update causes issues, you can easily revert to the state before the update.

To list all available snapshots, run:

snapper list

You’ll see a list of snapshots with IDs, timestamps, and descriptions of what triggered them.

Creating a Manual Snapshot

While automatic snapshots provide great protection, there may be times when you want to create a manual snapshot before making significant changes.

To create a new snapshot manually, run:

sudo snapper create --description "Before major change"

This will create a snapshot that you can revert to if necessary. You can confirm its creation by running snapper list.

Rollback openSUSE to a Snapshot

If something goes wrong after an update or system change, rolling back to a previous snapshot is straightforward. You can do this in two ways: using Snapper or from the GRUB boot menu.

Method 1: Rollback via Snapper (Live System)

To rollback openSUSE to a previous snapshot while still inside your running system, first identify the snapshot ID from snapper list, then run:

sudo snapper rollback <snapshot-ID>

For example, if you want to rollback to snapshot 20, you would run:

sudo snapper rollback 20

After rolling back, reboot your system to apply the changes:

sudo reboot

Method 2: Rollback via GRUB

If your system becomes unbootable after an update or change, you can rollback openSUSE from the GRUB menu:

1. Reboot your computer.
2. In the GRUB menu, select Advanced options for openSUSE.
3. Choose Start bootloader from a snapshot.
4. Select a snapshot from the list and boot into it.
5. If the system works fine in this snapshot, you can make it permanent by running:sudo snapper rollback sudo reboot

This will set the selected snapshot as the new baseline.

Btrfs and Snapper Make a Rollback in openSUSE so Easy!

Btrfs, combined with Snapper, provides openSUSE users with a robust and reliable way to manage system changes, and rollback if necessary. Automatic snapshots ensure that package updates and system modifications can be easily undone if needed, and manual snapshots give users additional control over their system state.

Although Btrfs is especially well-integrated in openSUSE, it is also available on other Linux distributions like Fedora and Ubuntu. However, openSUSE’s implementation with Snapper makes it one of the most user-friendly and reliable choices for those looking to take full advantage of Btrfs.

The post Rollback openSUSE with Btrfs: A Filesystem with Snapshots appeared first on TechOpt.

This guide includes examples for various Linux and BSD distributions to make your system management easier and more efficient. I often use these commands myself when managing my various systems.

Keep in mind that these commands will generally auto-accept/default on any user prompts that would normally appear since they’re meant to be unattended.

Why Use a One-Line Command to Update and Reboot Linux/BSD Systems?

Combining commands into a single line streamlines routine maintenance, saving time and effort. Moreover, it’s especially helpful for:

• Servers where uptime is critical and automation is desired.
• Workstations where you want updates done quickly without constant supervision.
• Any user who values convenience and simplicity in managing their system.

Another key advantage of these commands is that they generally don’t require human interaction once executed. This makes them ideal for unattended updates, ensuring your system is updated and rebooted with minimal effort.

General Structure of the Update and Reboot Linux/BSD Command

Most package managers can refresh repositories, perform upgrades, and handle reboots. Therefore, the typical structure looks like this:

<refresh repositories command> && <upgrade software command> && reboot

Let’s look at specific examples for popular distributions.

openSUSE Leap

openSUSE Leap uses the zypper package manager. Consequently, the following command refreshes the repositories, upgrades the installed packages, and reboots the system:

zypper refresh && zypper up -y && reboot

openSUSE Tumbleweed

For the rolling-release version of openSUSE, Tumbleweed, you’ll typically use a distribution upgrade command. Here’s the one-liner:

zypper refresh && zypper dup -y && reboot

Debian and Ubuntu

Debian-based distributions use apt. Thus, this command refreshes repositories, upgrades software, removes unnecessary packages, and reboots the system:

apt update && apt upgrade -y && apt autoremove -y && reboot

Fedora

Fedora users can utilize the dnf package manager. Accordingly, the command for refreshing repositories, upgrading, and rebooting looks like this:

dnf update -y && reboot

Arch Linux and Manjaro

Arch Linux and Manjaro both use pacman for package management. Consequently, the one-liner for refreshing repositories, upgrading software, and rebooting is:

pacman -Syu --noconfirm && reboot

FreeBSD

FreeBSD employs the pkg tool. Therefore, the equivalent command for refreshing repositories, upgrading software, and rebooting is:

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y && shutdown -r now

(Note: FreeBSD uses shutdown -r now instead of reboot.)

Additional Tips to Update and Reboot Linux/BSD with One Command

• Use Sudo if Not Root: Ensure you run these commands with sudo if you’re not logged in as the root user. This grants the necessary permissions to update and reboot the system. For example, on openSUSE this would be:
  sudo zypper refresh && sudo zypper up -y && sudo reboot
• Automate with Cron or Systemd: To fully automate updates, schedule these commands with cron or a systemd timer. Additionally, ensure you have proper backups and are aware of the risks of unattended upgrades.
• Check Logs: After an unattended upgrade, check your logs to ensure everything updated successfully.
• Be Cautious with Rolling Releases: Systems like Arch or Tumbleweed may introduce breaking changes. Therefore, always review updates before running them unattended.
• For Servers: Test updates on a staging system before deploying them to production environments.

Conclusion

Updating and rebooting Linux or BSD systems doesn’t have to be a multi-step process. With a single-line command, you can simplify maintenance tasks and keep your systems running smoothly. Therefore, adapt the commands for your preferred distribution and enjoy the convenience of streamlined system updates.

Overall, this approach saves time and ensures that your systems are always up-to-date without much hassle. Additionally, the lack of required human interaction makes these commands an excellent choice for automation. Happy updating!

The post Update and Reboot Linux/BSD with a One-Line Command appeared first on TechOpt.

In this blog, I’ll guide you through the steps to install and manage your applications using Homebrew.

Steps to Keeping Apps up to Date on macOS Using Homebrew package manager

Homebrew is a package manager for macOS that allows you to install software using the command line, making it easier to keep your system organized and your apps up to date.

Step 1: Install Homebrew

Before we can start using Homebrew to install and manage applications, we first need to install it.

To install Homebrew, open the Terminal application on your macOS and run the following command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

This command will download and install Homebrew on your system. Follow the on-screen instructions, and once the installation is complete, Homebrew will be ready to use.

Step 2: Search for Apps

Now that Homebrew is installed, you can search for applications you’d like to install. You can either search from the command line or use the Homebrew website.

From the command line:

To search for an app, simply use the brew search command followed by the app’s name. For example, if you’re looking for Google Chrome, run:

brew search google-chrome

Homebrew will return a list of apps related to the search term.

Using the Homebrew website:

Alternatively, you can visit the Homebrew’s Formulae website and use the search bar to find available apps.

Step 3: Install Apps

Once you’ve found the app you want to install, you can easily install it using Homebrew’s brew install command. For example, to install Google Chrome, run:

brew install --cask google-chrome

Homebrew will automatically download and install the app, and it will be ready to use once the installation is complete.

Step 4: Keep Apps Up to Date

One of the biggest advantages of using Homebrew is how easy it makes keeping your apps up to date. Instead of manually checking for updates for each app, you can update all your installed apps with a single command.

To update your apps, simply run the following command:

brew upgrade

This will upgrade all outdated applications installed via Homebrew to their latest versions. It’s a simple way to ensure your apps are always up to date with minimal effort.

Step 5: Optional – Automate Updates with Crontab

To make sure your apps stay up to date without having to run the brew upgrade command manually, you can set up a cron job to run the update command automatically. For example, you could schedule it to run every Monday at 2 AM.

To do this, open your Terminal and type:

crontab -e

This will open the crontab file in your default text editor. Add the following line to schedule the brew upgrade command:

0 2 * * 1 /usr/local/bin/brew upgrade

This cron job will run the brew upgrade command every Monday at 2 AM. Be sure to save and close the crontab file, and your system will now automatically keep your apps up to date, as long as your computer is powered on at the specified time.

Remarks

• Many apps on macOS are available as “casks” in Homebrew. These are typically GUI applications, such as browsers and editors. You can install cask apps using brew install --cask <app-name>.
• If you want to check if any apps need updating before running the brew upgrade command, use brew outdated. This will list all apps that have updates available.
• If you’re having trouble, you can try running brew doctor to check your Homebrew installation for any issues.

By using Homebrew, you can streamline your app management process on macOS, ensuring that everything stays up to date with minimal effort. Enjoy the convenience of having all your apps in one place!

The post Keeping Apps up to Date on macOS with Homebrew appeared first on TechOpt.

Fortunately, there’s a workaround for this error that allows you to upgrade without performing a clean install. With this method, you can keep all your files, apps and settings intact.

Warning: This method is not officially supported by Microsoft and may stop working at any time. Proceed at your own risk.

Upgrading Windows 11 23H2 to 24H2 on Unsupported Hardware Steps

To bypass this error, we’ll pass a special flag, /product server, to the Windows installer. This flag will bypass the hardware checks and let us upgrade to the newer version without losing our apps and settings.

1. Download the Windows 11 24H2 ISO Image File

Download the Windows 11 24H2 ISO directly from Microsoft from the bottom of the official Microsoft Windows 11 download page. Select Windows 11 from the drop-down menu and select your language before clicking Confirm to download the ISO file.

Evidently this will download the Windows 11 24H2 image, or whatever latest version of Windows 11 is available.

2. Mount the ISO Image

Mount the ISO image that was just downloaded by right-clicking it, then, clicking Mount.

The mounted image will open in a new explorer window. Take note of the drive letter, which you will need for the next step. In my case, this was E:.

3. Open an Elevated Command Prompt

Open an elevated Command Prompt window by clicking Start, searching for cmd, right-clicking Command Prompt and clicking Run as administrator.

Then, click Yes on the User Account Control popup.

4. Run setup.exe with the “server” Product Flag (/product server)

Start the Windows 24H2 11 setup by typing E:setup.exe /product server and pressing Enter.

Make sure to replace E: with your drive letter from step 3.

The Windows setup will open. Note that labels throughout the installer will refer to the installation of Windows Server. This is because of the flag we passed earlier, but rest assured we’re still installing Windows 11, not Windows Server.

5. Click Next Through the Installation Wizard

You can simply click Next through the installation wizard. By default, it will be set to keep all your files, settings and apps. Lastly, click Install.

You’ll get a blue screen that says Installing Windows Server. Nonetheless, don’t panic, it’s installing Windows 11!

6. Complete Windows 11 23H2 to 24H2 Upgrade on Unsupported Hardware

After waiting several minutes (or even hours on older machines), and after several reboots, you should be back at the login screen and able to sign back in.

That’s it! As long as the update was applied successfully, you will be running Windows 11 24H2.

Afterward, you can double check you’re running the 24H2 update from the Settings app:

Remarks

• This method works because Windows Server uses the same installer as Windows 11, but Windows Server doesn’t have the same hardware restrictions as Windows 11. By tricking the installer with the product flag, we can bypass the hardware check and install Windows 11.
• This should work for upgrading from Windows 11 22H2 as well, and with future versions of Windows 11 higher than 24H2.
• You can also use PowerShell or Terminal instead of Command Prompt.

The post Upgrade Windows 11 23H2 to 24H2 on Unsupported Hardware appeared first on TechOpt.

This may be useful if you would like to enter your product key later, or use KMS activation.

This will work on any Windows Server version 2016, 2019, 2022 or 2025, regardless of if you’re using the desktop experience or not.

Converting Windows Server Evaluation to Full Version Steps

1. Check What Versions are Available

On Windows Server Evaluation, open a PowerShell window as Administrator.

To see what versions we can upgrade to with the dism tool, run:

dism /online /get-targeteditions

2. Upgrade Windows Server Evaluation to Full Version

We’re going to upgrade from Server Standard Evaluation to Server Standard, which is a supported upgrade path as confirmed by the previous command.

With this target edition in mind, run the command:

dism /online /set-edition:serverstandard /accepteula /productkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Replace the edition with the target you’d like to install accordingly. You’ll also need to replace the product key with your product key, or the KMS key for the version of Windows Server you are upgrading.

3. Wait and Reboot

You should now be on a screen like the following:

This will take several minutes and may appear to be stuck at 10% for awhile, but it’s not.

Be patient and afterward you will be asked to reboot. After you reboot, you will be on the non-evaluation version of Windows Server!

Remarks

• The dism PowerShell commands are case-insensitive, meaning you don’t need to worry about capitalization
• You will still need a valid product key for the version you are upgrading to, or you can use the corresponding KMS key if your organization uses KMS activation.
• Your server needs to have an internet connection to run the dism tool.
  

If you prefer a video guide, you can follow along with my video tutorial below:

The post Convert Windows Server Evaluation to Full Version appeared first on TechOpt.

Thankfully, since version 15.3, there’s a super easy way to upgrade to a new major version of Leap. These instructions are specific to upgrading openSUSE Leap 15.5 to 15.6.

Only upgrade to the next major version one step at a time. For example, go from 15.5 to 15.6, or from 15.4 to 15.5. Avoid skipping versions, like going directly from 15.4 to 15.6; upgrade to 15.5 first to avoid problems.

Upgrade openSUSE Leap With Zypper

To upgrade to the latest major version of openSUSE Leap, we can simply use the --releasever flag with zypper dup.

To upgrade openSUSE Leap 15.5 to openSUSE Leap 15.6, open a terminal and run:

sudo zypper --releasever=15.6 dup

Let the magic happen! This will both refresh the repositories to use the 15.6 repos, and upgrade the system to 15.6 at the same time.

You’ll probably want to reboot your system to complete the upgrade once it’s finished by running sudo reboot.

Remarks

• You should only upgrade to the next major version of openSUSE Leap (ex. 15.5 to 15.6, but you shouldn’t do 15.4 to 15.6).
• Using the --releasever flag with zypper dup makes upgrading to the next version of openSUSE Leap super quick and easy.
• If your original installation predates openSUSE Leap 15.3, you may not be using the releasever variable in your repository URLs. In this case, you should manually update your repositories to use the releasever variable before upgrading.
• The fate of openSUSE Leap after 15.6 is still yet to be determined as of this post, with several changes happening at the openSUSE organization. Stay tuned for more news about the transition!

The post Upgrade openSUSE Leap from 15.5 to 15.6 appeared first on TechOpt.

To free up some storage, we should delete these unnecessary images and volumes. We can use the docker system prune command to do so.

Free Disk Space by Pruning Unused Images

To remove unused images, use the following command:

docker system prune -a -f

The -a flag removes all unused images, and the -f flag skips confirmation.

Free Disk Space by Pruning Unused Volumes

Warning! This command may delete data created by the containers if the container volumes you want to keep aren’t in use. Therefore, use it at your own risk.

To remove unused volumes, use the following command:

docker system prune --volumes -f

The --volumes flag removes all unused volumes, and the -f flag skips confirmation.

Pruning Both Unused Images & Volumes

Warning! This command may delete data created by the containers if the container volumes you want to keep aren’t in use. Use it at your own risk.

To remove unused images and volumes together, use the following command:

docker system prune -a --volumes -f

The -a flag removes all unused images, the --volumes flag removes all unused volumes, and the -f flag skips confirmation.

Scheduling Pruning of Unused Images & Volumes

Unfortunately, at this time there is no way that is built into Docker to periodically prune unused images and volumes automatically.

However, if you’re on a *nix system, BSD system or macOS, you can use cron to periodically run one of the commands above periodically.

If you’re on Windows, you can use Task Scheduler to trigger one of the commands above.

Conclusion

By pruning unused images and volumes using the docker system prune command, you can often save tens of gigabytes of storage!

To see all the available flags for this command, please refer to the Docker documentation.

The post Free Extra Disk Space Used by Docker appeared first on TechOpt.