New Dell Inspiron Microsoft Account

[Purhonen]

I was trying to help a friend set up his new Dell Inspiron laptop.

After it was turned on, it went immediately to a sign-in for a Microsoft account. My friend couldn’t remember his password so we couldn’t proceed any further.

It made me wonder, if someone with no Microsoft accounts at all bought this computer how can they use it? 
Steve

[crp]

Microsoft provides ways to confirm you are who you say you are in order to reset the password.

 

or just setup a new Microsoft account.  People have no qualms doing so with their phones (and mac and chromebook), this shouldn't be any different.

 

 

Edited September 3 by crp

[Purhonen]

crp, thanks for your comment. Let me give you the back story so my question makes more sense . . . maybe.

- Non-techie friend wanted me to help him transfer data from his old broken (screen) Lenove Yoga to his new Dell Insprion.

- We fired up the Dell and were presented with a screen directing us to sign on to a Microsoft Account. He's unsure if he has one. I tell him he does because his email address is with *@hotmail.com, one of many Microsoft email programs with varying Top Level Domain names (mine is *@msn.com from mid 90's)

- We enter his email address and, of course, the next screen asks for his password. Well, this is where things fall apart because I know from previously helping this gent that his password management consists of the back page of a stenographer's notebook with many, many user IDs and passwords. We are lucky if a service is even tied to these various credentials.

- We try a few passwords, no luck. Now we are notified that his account is locked for 1 hour due to too many erroneous password tries (knew that was coming).

- Hey, there's an option to reset/recover your password. They say they will send a code to the other email address listed for his account which is a Gmail.com address. He says I have no idea what that address is. So, no luck there.

- Finally we try going to the MS site where you can document your bona fides by answering a bunch of questions about your life. This turns out to be a bust because there are too many he is unsure of some of the items (we are both 79 by the way; but no dementia has been diagnosed!).

- He bought the Dell at Best Buy so he is there right now consulting with their Geek Squad to see if they can do anything.

- Your comment of "why not just create a new account with Microsoft?" I thought of that as well, but that still does not get him into his hot.mail account where there are emails he needs (I know this is not a function of getting them from his broken laptop's HD because they are on his email server in the cloud).

- I had a double-male USB cable ready to connect the two laptops hoping his new one would recognize his old one as a drive and we could do a simple transfer of the data he wanted, but one end turned out to be non-standard.

- I gave him a quick tutorial on password management, but I've done that in the past with no change in his habits. (Hello BitWarden! problem is that as simple as it is to use that open-source app, it's likely beyond is ability)

BOTTOM LINE: So my basic question remains. If a regular person (WITHOUT A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT OF ANY KIND) walks into a Best Buy wanting a Dell laptop to do computer stuff, how can he gain access to it to do that "stuff" without a Microsoft account? Is his ONLY option to bow to the Microsoft God?

Steve

 

 

[sunrat]

Is the old Yoga still functioning apart from the screen? Maybe you could connect it to a monitor and find the passwords on that. They should be saved in the browser, probably.

[Bookmem]

1 hour ago, Purhonen said:

crp, thanks for your comment. Let me give you the back story so my question makes more sense . . . maybe.

- Non-techie friend wanted me to help him transfer data from his old broken (screen) Lenove Yoga to his new Dell Insprion.

- We fired up the Dell and were presented with a screen directing us to sign on to a Microsoft Account. He's unsure if he has one. I tell him he does because his email address is with *@hotmail.com, one of many Microsoft email programs with varying Top Level Domain names (mine is *@msn.com from mid 90's)

- We enter his email address and, of course, the next screen asks for his password. Well, this is where things fall apart because I know from previously helping this gent that his password management consists of the back page of a stenographer's notebook with many, many user IDs and passwords. We are lucky if a service is even tied to these various credentials.

- We try a few passwords, no luck. Now we are notified that his account is locked for 1 hour due to too many erroneous password tries (knew that was coming).

- Hey, there's an option to reset/recover your password. They say they will send a code to the other email address listed for his account which is a Gmail.com address. He says I have no idea what that address is. So, no luck there.

- Finally we try going to the MS site where you can document your bona fides by answering a bunch of questions about your life. This turns out to be a bust because there are too many he is unsure of some of the items (we are both 79 by the way; but no dementia has been diagnosed!).

- He bought the Dell at Best Buy so he is there right now consulting with their Geek Squad to see if they can do anything.

- Your comment of "why not just create a new account with Microsoft?" I thought of that as well, but that still does not get him into his hot.mail account where there are emails he needs (I know this is not a function of getting them from his broken laptop's HD because they are on his email server in the cloud).

- I had a double-male USB cable ready to connect the two laptops hoping his new one would recognize his old one as a drive and we could do a simple transfer of the data he wanted, but one end turned out to be non-standard.

- I gave him a quick tutorial on password management, but I've done that in the past with no change in his habits. (Hello BitWarden! problem is that as simple as it is to use that open-source app, it's likely beyond is ability)

BOTTOM LINE: So my basic question remains. If a regular person (WITHOUT A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT OF ANY KIND) walks into a Best Buy wanting a Dell laptop to do computer stuff, how can he gain access to it to do that "stuff" without a Microsoft account? Is his ONLY option to bow to the Microsoft God?

Steve

 

Turn off the wifi and reboot. When it ask to connect to internet, there is an option to click saying you don't have internet. This will allow you insert a user name and password (you don't have to enter a password, just hit enter.) and it will go to the desktop. Then turn the wifi back on and connect to your router. You can then download your favorite browser and use its password manager.

 

[Purhonen]

SUNRAT: great idea! I didn’t think of that and it’s definitely a possibility if we don’t make progress. Thanks.