Windows 10 version 1909 is, by all accounts, a really minor update. But there's one major change, a minimum of for Windows 10 Home users. And it’s something you’ll only experience during the Out of Box Experience (OOBE) phase of Setup.
For those unfamiliar, Windows 10 Setup is split into two main sections, an offline interactive setup sequence (which businesses can automate via scripting and other tools) and therefore the Out of Box Experience (OOBE), an interactive wizard for the customer. If you clean install Windows 10 using USB install media, you’ll need to affect both parts of Setup. But if you purchase a replacement PC or use Reset this PC (or other Windows 10 recovery tools), you'll only got to affect the OOBE.
And the OOBE has changed in Windows 10. It’s changed in somewhat minor ways for Windows 10 Pro users. And in one major way for Windows 10 Home users.
Indeed, I’m still trying to work out the way to handle these changes within the Windows 10 guidebook , as I’ll got to update this book in how . the difficulty is that the OOBE previously allowed individuals installing Windows 10 Pro and residential for private use to settle on between a Microsoft account and an area account (or what Setup called an “offline account”) during Setup.
Now, however, these two product editions handle this a part of the OOBE differently.
Windows 10 Pro still allows you to choose from a Microsoft account and an area account, and therefore the “Sign in with Microsoft” screen hasn’t changed; if you'd like better to use an area account, you want to click the subtle “Offline account” link within the bottom left.
What’s changed is that once you select this link, the OOBE shifts into a replacement “Limited experience” setup after prompting you with a replacement screen to once more reconsider and just use a Microsoft account already.
If you are doing accept this limited experience setup, you’ll be prompted to make an area account username and, optionally, a password. Then, you'll see a more limited number of configuration choices than you'd with a Microsoft account: You’re prompted about activity history (Timeline), your digital assistant (Cortana), and your privacy settings only.
The changes on Windows 10 Home office.com/Setup are more profound.
First, you’ll need to affect Cortana scatting and screeching her way into your eardrums: Microsoft removed the pointless “Welcome” a part of Setup during which you want to sit through a painful Cortana monologue from Windows 10 Pro. But it’s still there in Windows 10 Home.
Worse, unlike with Windows 10 Pro, you're not even offered that “Offline account” link once you get to the “Sign in with Microsoft” screen: If you connected to a network previously within the OOBE, that option won't appear.
The key, of course, is to not hook up with a network if you plan to make an area account. (I recommend creating an area account during Setup for a spread of reasons, albeit you plan to later convert it to a Microsoft account.) And if you don’t hook up with a network, Setup will, of course, bleat at you that , too.
But the great news is, once you get by that—by choosing the so-called “limited experience” noted by the link at rock bottom left—you can simply sign-in with an area account.
After that, you’ll be prompted with an equivalent three configuration steps—activity history (Timeline), your digital assistant (Cortana), and your privacy settings—as we see with Windows 10 Pro.
But there's another change.
If you don’t configure a network during OOBE but later do hook up with a network, Windows 10 Home (or Pro, though this is often more likely to happen with Home) will suddenly prompt you to finish the OOBE steps that were previously hidden from you because you had chosen an “offline” (or “limited”) Setup experience.
And yes, it’s Setup again, back from the dead.
That was never any case with previous Windows 10 versions. And you'll just cancel it if you would like , thankfully: Just select “Skip for now.”
Together, these changes represent a serious shift from previous Windows 10 versions, especially if you’re using Windows 10 Home. you would possibly view this as a “Microsoft giveth, Microsoft taketh away” moment since the software giant recently relented on its terrible policy of not letting Windows 10 Home users delay software updates, only to show around and now prevent most Home users from even considering an area account.
More to the purpose , if you’re installing Windows 10 Home and do wish to use an area account, just make certain to not configure a network when prompted.
Finally, I had hoped to update the Window 10 guidebook before posting about this, but deciding the way to squeeze this information into an already-dense installation chapter is proving a touch frustrating. I’ll get that updated as soon as possible.
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