When run during Windows 11 setup, it creates a Registry value that removes the requirement to connect to the Internet during setup, which allows you to set up the operating system with a local account ...

TL;DR: Microsoft is eliminating a workaround that allowed users to bypass the requirement of having a Microsoft account during the Windows 11 setup process. This change means users will now need a ...

This process is called a clean install, which is ironic as there's nothing particularly clean about it: Microsoft has enshittified Windows Setup.

There are plenty of people, for plenty of reasons, who really don’t want to sign into their copy of Windows 11 using a Microsoft account, no matter how seamless an experience this brings to the ...