I use OneDrive on Linux.

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

I use OneDrive on Linux.

via a browser, or is there software available to sync? I know Ms don't have their own software, unless that have changed. Not that it matters now anyway, I use the NAS and have taken any files I stored on dropbox off. I also don't use the laptop a lot, but I have been mucking around with it for the last couple of days trying to get my printer to work on it and failing.

Anyway, I still don't have the need for a MS account,

Edited by zyborg47 (Mon 21-Feb-22 23:09:30)

In reply to a post by TinyMongomery:

I find the Microsoft account incredibly useful in syncing applications across various devices.

All of which are of course only as secure as the weakest programme/app running on them, often silently. Thus reducing the security of all to that of the most vulnerable device. Or of the most gullible person using any of them.

Just like COVID-19 gets into communities .

It's great however that no corporate username/password database ever gets hacked, providing entry to your contacts and thereby a route to them. Your earlier suggestion that hackers go after the easy meat like someone without a Microsoft account rather than the more supposedly secure is somewhat naive.

Yes, small fry might. The serious guys go after the serious databases, harvesting six or seven-digit numbers of IDs.

Having said that, even loners have been known to hack into places like the Pentagon.

I have six desktops here and five at our Scottish property, none of which pass the specs for Windows 11 installation, most old Dell machines but all happily running Windows 11 perfectly and have been long before Windows 11 release as a Windows insider helping to develop and snag the beast.
I have made USB installation media that has the checking code removed which will install Windows 11 on any machine 100%, that includes a laptop here that used to run Mint that couldn't handle Windows 10, which shows Windows 11 is light on systems.
Getting back to the password issue which even these installations now require upon running there is still a perfectly good workaround allowing all machines here to run Windows 11 without a Microsoft account or password. Simply sign in with any Microsoft account initially, then create another user using the user with no Microsoft account option, name it simply user in my case and DON't enter a password. Give that account full rights, then log out, swtch to the account named user and delete the microsoft account. Job done. Windows 11 supposed machine capability is more about software control than security which we can all run or machine capability!

Edited by professor973 (Fri 25-Feb-22 12:41:59)

I have put Windows 11 on this machine, and it worked, kind of, but file explorer was flaky, not sure if it is sorted now, but it was not a couple of weeks ago, copy some large or a lot of files and file explorer will freeze, there are other issues, Windows 11 is to be honest full of more bugs than Windows 10 was on launch, if that is possible, or it seems like it anyway.

I used Rufus to make the last ISI of windows 11 i downloaded able to work on my computer. the problem is, while it may work now, we don't know what Ms will do to stop it, already they are putting reminders and watermarks on the desktop, what stops them for doing something worse?


As the Ms account, what if you have not got one in the first place? So I would have to make an MS account, to set up the way you are saying?

i installed Windows 8.1 on my machine a couple of days ago, it is so fast, much faster than Windows 10, and I have got none of the memory management errors I did when I tried to run Windows 8.1 on this Ryzen machine when I first built in 5 years ago, which is one of the reason I went to Windows 10, the other reason was because MS made it a pain to use on my machine by stick a notice up all the time saying Windows 8.1 don't support my processor. not getting that now.

i only put Windows 8.1 on to see what it will do0, but to be honest I may keep it on, at least until I decide what I am doing, staying with Windows or going for a Mac.


I looked at prices of CPU, motherboard and memory to update this thing and to make it worthwhile updating I would have to go with a Ryzen 9, I don't think the newer Ryzen 7s will be much of a update from the R7 1700 I have in my machine, anyway, for a ryzen 9, memory and mother board I am looking at £700, I can almost buy a Mac mini for that, a whole computer and the new model when it comes out will be even more powerful.

I have no problems with Windows 11 on any machine. As for the password requirement, there is little else we can do at the moment. Linux is a much better OS, but that or iOS as has been suggested won't avoid passwords. We will just have to see what the MS bods come up with, but whatever it is it will be defeatable.

Just don't try moving or copying a load of files, certainly over a network.

What do you mean there is little we can do about password requirement? I have not had a password on Windows for years, while you do need a password on Linux, you can get the OS to boot up without and the same with macOS, the difference is that these passwords don't have to be linked to some online account that Ms seems to want us all to have.

I didn't say there is little we can do about a password requirement. I said there is little we can do about future changed until we know what they are and when we do they will be defeatable. I move masses of data from my network NAS boxes between addresses.

Edited by professor973 (Sat 26-Feb-22 23:36:18)

In reply to a post by professor973:

I didn't say there is little we can do about a password requirement. I said there is little we can do about future changed until we know what they are and when we do they will be defeatable. I move masses of data from my network NAS boxes between addresses.

If I was the only one having problems then I would say it is something here, but other people have the same problem.


As for passwords, it is my computer, surly it is up to me and not MS if I want a password?

I have also found a few problems with Windows 8 running on this machine, one is that my video editor will not update to the latest version on here, saying it needs Windows 10 or later, another is the video drivers are not great as they are Windows 7 drivers, I thought Windows 10 was based on 8 so Windows 10 drivers would work, but they don't.

So i may have to go back to Windows 10 sadly.

It's the control we face these days. I'm sure Microsoft would say abide by their conditions of use or don't use their OS and of course no password needed without an one.
I am increasingly disillusioned by Microsoft and if not for one or two pieces of software that only cater for Windows I would have been all Linux long ago passwords or not, a rock solid system.
Microsoft obviously struggling a little this month with 11 as I've never seen so many updates to patch during a month and Microsoft make sure you install pending updates as they tend to slow a machine to a crawl untill the update is installed.