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.

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.

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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.

Unlike Windows 11 Home, these versions of Windows 11 still give you the option upon first setup, albeit somewhat hidden behind the “domain join” option.

Creating a Local Account During Windows 11 Pro & Enterprise Setup

To create a local account during Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise setup, follow the initial setup wizard.

1. Follow Initial Wizard, Select “Set up for work or school”

You will eventually get to the following screen, which asks how you would like to set up your device. Select the Set up for work or school option and click Next.

2. Click “Sign-in options” When Asked to Sign in

You’ll get to the following screen, which asks you to sign in with a Microsoft account. Click the Sign-in options text.

3. Select “Domain join instead”

On the next screen, click the Domain join instead option.

This option is a bit misleading (probably on purpose). You don’t need to join a domain, but you do need to select it to create a local account on Windows 11 Pro or Windows 11 Enterprise.

4. Create a Local Account

Type a username, create a password, and you’re done!

Remarks

• This only works for Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise editions. To create a local account on Windows 11 Home, the steps are a bit different and more complicated.
• If you’re not sure which edition of Windows 11 your computer is running, it’s most likely Windows 11 Home and you should follow this guide instead.

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