Clean Install Windows 11 on a PC with Local Account
Windows 11 is here, and the reviews have started pouring in. If you are skeptical about whether to install Windows 11 or not, you can do it without a doubt. I have been using it for a while now and found it to be way better than Windows 10. The installation went smoothly, the UI looks perfect, the drivers are working fine. Overall, Windows 11 exceeded my expectations and I am sure it would be a great experience for you too.
The only hiccup for me was that I had to use a Microsoft account for setting up Windows 11 on my computer because Microsoft didn’t give me an option to set it up using a local account. Do not make the same mistake I made because I forgot my password and was unable to reset it because I didn’t have internet, and you cannot reset your Microsoft account password without going into their website. I couldn’t use my own computer for a day or two till internet was restored. Here are three different ways to install Windows 11 on a PC with local account instead.
First, Create a bootable Windows 11 USB
To clean install Windows 11 on a PC, you need to create a bootable Windows 11 USB drive at very first. The procedure remains more or less the same for all the 3 methods. There will be a small change in case of method 3, but don’t worry about it yet. Go through all the methods so that you have an idea of what you need to do and why, I’ll explain everything in detail here. Then, if you feel that you would be using the third method, you can follow the instructions given there to implement it.
The first thing you need to do to install Windows 11 on your computer is to create a bootable USB flash drive. For that, get a blank USB flash drive with at least 16 GB in size, and download Windows 11 Media Creation Tool. This tool does not need to be installed, launch it by double clicking on the EXE file.
1. Insert the blank USB drive in your computer, then launch Windows 11 Media Creation Tool.
2. You’ll see the license agreement, click on the Accept button to continue.
3. Next, choose the option to Create installation media for another PC, then click on Next.
4. Now, choose the Language, Edition, and Architecture for the Windows 11 operating system. Select the respective options and click Next.
5. You’ll be asked to select the media which you would like to use. In your case it would be the USB flash drive, choose that option then click Next.
6. Now, select your USB flash drive from the list shown in the next window.
7. On the next window, simply click Next, and then finally, click Finish.
Now we have finished creating the Windows 11 bootable USB flash drive. You can boot using this USB drive and install Windows 11 on your computer. Simply follow the instructions on the screen and you are good to go. Now, read the 3 methods described below to know the difference.
Method 1: Using a fake email address
You can implement this method during Windows 11 installation. This requires you to register a Microsoft account with a fake email address. That forces the Microsoft setup program to install Windows 11 using a local account. Here’s how you can implement it:
1. Follow all the instructions in Windows 11 setup utility till it asks you for adding a Microsoft account. On that window, you’ll be asked to enter an email address associated with your Microsoft account. Even if you have one, do not use it. Instead, use the email address no@email.com and click Next.
2. On the next window, it will ask you for the password. Enter the number 1 as the password and click Sign-in.
3. This will show you an error message saying something went wrong. Don’t worry, this is normal. Just click on the Next button to continue.
4. Guess what, now Windows 11 installation wizard asks you to set up a local account for login! Enter the details for the local account and you are good to go. Follow the rest of the instructions normally, and you’ll be able to setup Windows 11 using a local account.
Method 2: Disconnecting the internet
In case the first option looks a bit too hard to follow, you can try this method instead. This is much simpler since all you need to do is to prevent your computer from connecting to the internet. But remember, you need to do it before the Windows 11 installation begins.
If you are using a LAN cable, disconnect it from the computer. If you are using a WiFi router to connect to the internet, switch it off before Windows 11 installation starts. That’s it, Microsoft will ask you to connect to the internet.
Simply skip that step and you’ll be asked to install Windows 11 with a local account instead of a Microsoft account. That was way less instruction to follow, wasn’t it?
Method 3: Using unattended Windows 11 setup
In this method, we would be creating an XML file which would help in setting up Windows 11 without you having to fill up any details during the OOBE. Once you start the Windows 11 setup, it does everything on its own using the instructions given in that XML file. However, you can understand that this is geared more towards advanced users. If you are not comfortable with this method, feel free to try any of the previous methods. Here’s how you can create the XML file:
1. Open Notepad app, then copy/paste the entire code given in the following link into the blank Notepad: https://pastebin.com/M6MerC7R
2. Once done, save it with the file name autounattend.xml, under file type select *.* and we’re good to go.
3. Now, cut and paste this XML file in the root directory of bootable Windows 11 USB flash drive that you had created earlier.
4. That’s it, now go ahead and boot from this USB drive and begin the installation. It ensures all the selections are set automatically throughout the entire setup process, and installs Windows 11 with a local account named User having admin rights. This account will not have any passwords, but you can add a password once Windows 11 has been installed.
You should note that having a local account has its own merits and demerits. At some point of time, you may be forced by Microsoft to connect to a Microsoft account. However, you can use any of these methods given above to use a local account on your Windows 11 computer instead.
