News Sidestep Windows 11's Microsoft Account Requirement With Rufus Beta

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

SyCoREAPER

Honorable
Jan 11, 2018
765
275
13,220
It's a very poor argument, imo. "Some people think" a lot of things...;) Doesn't mean "some people" are correct, they often are not. Some people think AV/Malware software is "unnecessary", too. And yet it isn't, unless you are simply disconnected from the web permanently. I game a lot and don't see any problems or slowdowns, myself. Like I said, if you don't care about the security features, stick with Win10 where they are all optional. Rufus is a decent utility--I use it myself at times. But shutting off all that stuff just to run Win11 without it via Rufus seems like a lot of effort for what I see as essentially a 0 payoff. I'm sure that some people will be all over this, though, thinking they are pulling something off on Microsoft...;)

I think the point they were making with requirements was in regards to things like TPM 2.0 and such. I agree that TPM is unnecessary. I don't even think Microsoft ever explained in detail other than just "Security" why it's needed all the sudden.
 
  • Like
Reactions: horsecharles

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I think the point they were making with requirements was in regards to things like TPM 2.0 and such. I agree that TPM is unnecessary. I don't even think Microsoft ever explained in detail other than just "Security" why it's needed all the sudden.
MS has been pushing the TPM concept for years. Manufacturers blew it off.
 

SyCoREAPER

Honorable
Jan 11, 2018
765
275
13,220
MS has been pushing the TPM concept for years. Manufacturers blew it off.

Fair but why now? It seems like they shot themselves in the foot. Not only did they make some hated changes to the look and feel felt by many but subjectively created an OS with a bad reputation without the requirements.

Basically what I'm trying to say while explaining my thought is, they created a new OS that most don't like and are making you "pay for admission" with all the requirements.

Personally after some tweaking, I think Windows 11 is pretty decent but most won't want or know how to make it feel familiar.
 
  • Like
Reactions: horsecharles

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Fair but why now? It seems like they shot themselves in the foot. Not only did they make some hated changes to the look and feel felt by many but subjectively created an OS with a bad reputation without the requirements.

Basically what I'm trying to say while explaining my thought is, they created a new OS that most don't like and are making you "pay for admission" with all the requirements.

Personally after some tweaking, I think Windows 11 is pretty decent but most won't want or know how to make it feel familiar.
UI changes happen with every single OS from Microsoft.

10 to 11 is the least amount of change I've ever seen.

There is no "pay for admission".
There is no requirement for changing a currently running Win 10 system to Win 11. Nothing is forcing you to do that.
Win 10 is fully supprted until (at least) Oct 2025.

People buying prebuilt new systems will get Win 11. No big deal.
Parts you put together today are likewise Win 11 capable, out of the box.
Any system built in the last 3 years or so are also WIN 11 capable.

The only ones who are having heartache over this are those with older systems, wanting to forcefit the NewShiny Win 11 onto their older system.

I have several systems.
Most still on Win 10, the one known compatible is on Win 11.

No big deal.
The ones still on Win 10 will be almost a decade old, or more, by the time Win 10 falls off support in 2025.
 

SyCoREAPER

Honorable
Jan 11, 2018
765
275
13,220
UI changes happen with every single OS from Microsoft.

10 to 11 is the least amount of change I've ever seen.

There is no "pay for admission".
There is no requirement for changing a currently running Win 10 system to Win 11. Nothing is forcing you to do that.
Win 10 is fully supprted until (at least) Oct 2025.

People buying prebuilt new systems will get Win 11. No big deal.
Parts you put together today are likewise Win 11 capable, out of the box.
Any system built in the last 3 years or so are also WIN 11 capable.

The only ones who are having heartache over this are those with older systems, wanting to forcefit the NewShiny Win 11 onto their older system.

I have several systems.
Most still on Win 10, the one known compatible is on Win 11.

No big deal.
The ones still on Win 10 will be almost a decade old, or more, by the time Win 10 falls off support in 2025.

Few yes, but I'd disagree with minor. The start menu is massively different, the ribbon in windows is different and so is the right click. They made everything need more clicks.

Again, I like Windows 11 but I'm talking from a perspective of an average or less tech savy users shoes
 
  • Like
Reactions: horsecharles

sadsteve

Distinguished
Mar 6, 2013
61
12
18,535
Spot on. The whining from anti 11 idiots is absurd. Most of those idiots have never even used it. Its real obvious.

Well, many of us 'idiots' read the reviews and feature announcements on tech websites. We have a fairly good grasp on what Win 11 is like. For me, the majority of the new 'features' Win 11 provides are negatives rather than positives. I don't have to run Win 11 to know that the task bar has been castrated. Heck, most of the stuff that's been promoted on the tech sites are the kinds of things that I normally disable when I do a fresh install of Windows. I'll be keeping my Win 10 VM till end of support (maybe longer). The VM is really just for games that won't work under Linux and the occasional photo editing session.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cyrusfox

cyrusfox

Distinguished
Yeah, the only real benefits people will have with Windows 11 over 10, that makes a definite difference is with all the Alder Lake hybrid core optimizations done to 11. Everything else is basically cosmetic.
I run Alder Lake on Windows 10, no reason they couldn't bring the thread director to Windows 10... For task that are dumb and fail to use the P cores(Handbrake) I utilize Process Lasso. I might get to the point of paying for that as I increase my systems to avoid going to windows 11.
 
Fair but why now?
If not now then when?!
They had to do it at some point so doing it several years before their old OS stops being supported is the most sensible time of doing it.
Can you imagine if they would have done this a month before win 10 would stopped being supported?!
Few yes, but I'd disagree with minor. The start menu is massively different, the ribbon in windows is different and so is the right click. They made everything need more clicks.

Again, I like Windows 11 but I'm talking from a perspective of an average or less tech savy users shoes
You need more clicks...for less frequent things, for people in offices it should be super convenient to only have the basic options there.
Also you can assign any keyboard or mouse button to shift+F10 this is the combo to show the old right click with all options.
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
I only have avoided Win 11, because I personally have 0 reason to make the switch. My desktops are Ryzen builds, and my laptop is a 9th gen i7. My next platform change, I will make the switch, but for now, no need to. I have considered upgrading the laptop, for the Android apps feature, but been too busy to bother.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I only have avoided Win 11, because I personally have 0 reason to make the switch. My desktops are Ryzen builds, and my laptop is a 9th gen i7. My next platform change, I will make the switch, but for now, no need to. I have considered upgrading the laptop, for the Android apps feature, but been too busy to bother.
The only reason I'm using Win 11 right now is because this Ryzen 5 5600X box for a ridiculously good price.
Otherwise, I'd still be using Win 10 on my older system.

Win 11 is nothing to be avoided, nor chased.

Every new OS from MS has UI changes.
And every single time, people bitch about the changes.

Me personally? I use applications, not the OS.
My CAD/photo/video applications see exactly zero difference.
 

horsecharles

Reputable
Mar 7, 2019
5
0
4,510
As i agree with 95% of it, the fast that I have "Older" PC users and they sometimes forget their password and then the only way to password reset is through MS which then half the time they only check on their PC and don't remember what their password is and it becomes a hassle vs. Boot to some Win PE enviroment, rename utilman, copy cmd and name as utilman, boot up, get to CMD, erase password. We in. Then undo what you did.

The other reason is on windows 11 i heard they are forcing even Pro version to user an MSA even when joining a domain!

And the forcing it on old hardware. Why upgrade from a 6/7th gen when they work just fine?
Well, nowadays forgetting password is no longer a problem \ shouldn't need involved classic recovery methods- precisely by because of instead using provider account, besides all the latest password-less measures- 2fa, biometric, etc.

The only one still needing to worry is some grandpa with an old & only computer + never kept the previous one + has no wifi \ Internet available + doesn't use smartphone or tablet + doesn't remember email PW + never set phone # as recovery option + never set alternate face \ biometric \ pin \ trusted or nearby device \ network \ location.
Whether on MS \ Windows, Android \ Google, or Apple (& some big hardware maker firmwares)- we can easily get back in (in fact, you could call it a security issue) if you formally set up an account & use their products on other devices- which by gist are considered trusted devices, to say nothing of app & OS stored autofill data. In fact, there're possibly too many options.

Any older device we have laying around is a trusted device that can approve getting back in. And we all use some of: browser, email, office & other prog, backup\photos\cloud\, wallet, voip\addtnl #, paired watch\tablet\etc.

Staying on topic with only Windows- for the FREE: Outlook, OneDrive, Edge browser(which by MS design overperforms all other browsers on Windows, Office on other devices, Skype, etc...why not use it also as the Windows Account...& Recovery for your Google\Apple\Samsung\etc. & vice versa.

No for Privacy & Security? That argument settled decades ago- it's like the old blocking \ freezing of Credit\Landline\Snail Mail. It's not a great life, most of what we learn \ makes us money finds us- there's too much for us to find on our own. And anyway today there's a backdoor to everything \ there are no secrets.

No to save money? Maybe with extremely light emailing and browsing one tab or two at a time.
Even just for significant surfing only, nowadays we need a fairly new and decent computer system.

I recycle older phones & computers, but only as peripherals - cam, hotspot, server, etc. They don't cut it for everyday work & multitasking. Granted I'm a heavy user.
 

horsecharles

Reputable
Mar 7, 2019
5
0
4,510
Windows 11 not great for non-touch screens... too many clicks esp. to find & open Programs, the scroll bars too thin & indistinguishable from background (yes we all here know how to compensate).
I can't believe beta testers didn't trigger many complaints- unless if most were on touchscreens.

Too much stuff has changed location or been renamed or is nested deep within. There is no need for these kind of arbitrary cosmetic changes.
 

horsecharles

Reputable
Mar 7, 2019
5
0
4,510
The problem with Windows 11 for many users is that these additional requirements are requirements and not optional when the requirements are entirely artificial. That's most peoples argument at least.

My biggest issue with some of these security measures is that they can slow down gaming performance, which is why i leave some of them disabled personally on my Win 11 system.
They've become extremely onerous over the years. I stopped using third party AV & FW 10-15 years ago & briefly used Windows versions on the lightest settings thru 10- although with plenty of time spent re settings & whitelist tinkering.

Now lately, esp. on 11, besides the irritable nagging - it doesn't want to obey changes you make re pass through \ allow \ whitelist...and worse: won't even admit it's purposefully blocking- either presenting error message blaming the website or program, or nothing but a forever frozen action or download.

There are reputable tech \ self-help sites blacklisted by MS over 20 years despite wide acclaim & complaints. Ditto some file extensions & older programs. It even restricts its own system modules at times.
You can whitelist all files, extensions and websites used by a particular program- each & everything in all its folders, @ public & private network, enabling full Permissions \ run as Admin \ Compatibility Mode, full computer power use \ awake enabled- set Windows security settings to always allow \ don't ask- and still no dice.
But run it in a VM, use non-MS or Chromium browser, or shut off Windows Firewall & Defender completely- and no problem whatsoever.
 
Jun 30, 2022
1
0
10
The vast majority of people DO NOT purchase a standalone Windows OS.
It comes preinstalled on whatever system they buy.

Beyond that, the current majority of users looking for Win 11 are updating their Win 10 system to WIn 11. $0.
But most people are just not bothering with Win 11, because it provides no real change from 10.

I have both here in the house, and there is no magical reason to forcefit Win 11 on the unsupported systems.

Anyone who is buying a standalone Win 11 license is doing so on hardware that is already supported.

And the thrust of this article and the Rufus workaround for a MS account?
Having " a Microsoft account" is no real hassle. It is simply an email address and a password.
My MS account is a gmail address...lol
My daily driver accounts are both local. One Standard user and one Admin user.
The "MS account" is used rarely.
"OMG!!! Microsoft knows my google email address! Whatever shall I do???!!"
A user should not be forced to use a MS account and most importantly shouldn't need internet just to install an OS. Windows 11 is garbage and drm so you don't own your computer anymore.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
A user should not be forced to use a MS account
Oh noes!! Microsoft knows about a throwaway email address (gmail) that I never use otherwise. Whatever shall I do?

and most importantly shouldn't need internet just to install an OS

Windows 11 is garbage and drm so you don't own your computer anymore.
Please expand on this "drm" concept.
 
Forgetting a password?
Well, thats all on you.

Joining a domain and it fails? Talk to your IT staff.

Older hardware? We have MANY users here who advocate that.
Just jump through these 18 hoops, install Win 11. Piece of cake!
(Of course, there is no real benefit of 11 vs 10, but....)

I don't forget my password, but I have many clients that do. And most of the time they just make a MS account and don't even know what they are doing.

ANd its not 18 hoops. Its 1-2 depending on you build. Most PC's probably just 1 (TPM version) and most OEM's have been doing uEFI since windows 8 and like 4th gen intel.
 

TRENDING THREADS