Читать книгу Windows 11 For Dummies - Andy Rathbone - Страница 25

Whether you’re signing in to Windows for the first time, trying to access some apps, or just trying to change a setting, you’ll eventually see a screen similar to the one in Figure 2-4.

FIGURE 2-4: You need a Microsoft account to access many Windows features.

You can sign in to your computer with either a Microsoft account or a Local account. Although a Microsoft account makes Windows much easier to work with, each type of account serves different needs:

 Local account: This account works fine for people using traditional Windows programs on the Windows desktop. However, Local account holders can’t store files on OneDrive, where they’re available from other PCs and devices. Local account holders can’t buy apps from the Microsoft Store app, either.

 Microsoft account: Required to access many of Microsoft’s services, a Microsoft account consists of simply an email address and a password. Microsoft account holders can store files on the internet with OneDrive, download apps from the Microsoft Store, and monitor their children’s online activities. When you log in online to any PC with your Microsoft account, you find your email, browser favorites, OneDrive files, and settings automatically waiting for you.

You can sign in with a Microsoft account in one of these two ways; I’ve listed the simplest method first:

 Use an existing Microsoft account. If you already have an account with Hotmail, MSN, Xbox Live, Outlook.com, or Windows Messenger, you already have a Microsoft account and password. Type in that email address and password at the screen shown in Figure 2-4, and then click the Sign In button.

 Sign up for a new Microsoft account. Click the words Microsoft Account, shown in Figure 2-4, and Microsoft takes you to a website where you can create your own Microsoft account. You can use any email address for a Microsoft account. You simply enter that email address, create a new password to go with it, and wham: You’ve created a Microsoft account.

Until you sign in with a Microsoft account, the nag screen in Figure 2-4 will haunt you whenever you try to access a Windows feature that requires a Microsoft account. (I explain how to convert a Local account into a Microsoft account in Chapter 14.)

When you first sign in to your new account, Windows may ask whether you want to find other PCs, devices, and content on your network. If you’re using a home or work network, click the Yes button. (That lets you print to network printers, for example, as well as share files with other networked computers.) If you’re connecting to a public network, perhaps at a hotel, coffee shop, or airport, click the No button.