Windows 11 – Another Windows, Another Annoyance

So I booted up a non-TPM Windows 11 installer which allows installation on a VM. Annoyance numero uno: TPM. Another Windows 11 install annoyance, is the ‘insistence’ of using a Microsoft Account (MA).

A Windows 11 installation screen, prompting for the user to select a contry or region. — Choose Country Screen

Windows 10 also foist MA, but during setup you have the choice for a local account unlike Windows 11. In this Tom’s Hardware article, How to Install Windows 11 Without a Microsoft Account, you need to execute a command in command prompt at the “Choose a country” screen. As per my usual procedure, I didn’t read the whole article prior to installation.

I missed this particular step here, and have had to reboot to return to this screen. Forcing a system log off can bring this screen back even if you have passed the country/region selection.

Press Shift+F10 to bring up the command prompt, and you can restart the installation. Type in shutdown -l (this executes the logoff command) and the Country/Region screen will pop-up again after a system logoff. Just follow the instructions in the linked article, and you’re good to go.

You can switch to a local account after installing Windows 11 if you prefer. If you’re interested, you can learn how to add a local account after installation. Microsoft has received criticism for their software’s tendency to communicate with external servers, which is why I am not a fan of Microsoft Accounts. There are other reasons as well.

You need to be connected to the internet for the initial login.
Customisations on your Windows aren’t uniform over all devices. OneDrive isn’t a robust file sharing/sync app.
In a work environment, desktops’ customisations may overwrite different computers in the same workgroup.

I’m seeing more Windows 11 installs and it can be frustrating just trying to navigate the OS. The dock-wannabe-menu, and apps’ launching from the middle is disorienting. I am a die-hard fan of the classic start menu of Windows 9x. Windows XP and 7’s menus were tolerable, to an extent. It is the drop-down hierarchical folder/sub-folder nature of Windows 9x menu that made is more organised and logically arranged for me. Which is why I always install Open-Shell, which brings back the classic Windows Start Menu.