A new Asus laptop arrived today; I plugged it in, turned it on without examining what was on the screen, and started the three-hour battery charge. When I looked at it a while later, a Microsoft Cortana Setting Up Your Account page was on the screen and I can't get out of it. There was no desktop, no Start menu--nothing but the Cortana page with no exit.
Is there a way to fix this? An Asus support person was not able to help me.
Correct me if I am wrong but I think this is a normal occurance. All Windows 10 computers and laptops when brand new go through a set up process much like you are telling us and also require you to log into a Microsoft account or create one if you don't have one. Thank you and have a nice day. Hope this helps.
It's been more than 5 years since I bought this newest computer. As I recall, the very first screen that always appeared was a desktop with menus and Start. Yes, I know that Microsoft requires answering questions, but this had me inside Cortana with no way to get out. I started its process to the point where it would not accept my email password, which I use every day on my two other computers. It's now the "installing a system device" "flash utility" and "bios" that have me too concerned to turn the laptop on again. Over 25 years, I've owned many computers; this is the first time I've had a problem like this. Thank you for responding.
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By doing a Search on "installing a system device, utility, flash, bios" I see that there is such a thing as "flashing a bios." It may be harmless, but I don't think it should happen automatically on a brand new computer.
Last edited by noguru11; 23 Feb 2021 at 07:03.
When you start a computer for the first time it enters the OOBE so you create the first user and it ask some questions about privacy and Cortana is one of them.
You can link the user to a MS account (outlook, hotmail etc) or not.
As it has started the wrong, do a factory reset to start over. This time don't connect to the internet when setting it for the first time.
Reset Windows 10
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