User account types

rolldog · 15 Nov 2016

I upgraded my laptop automatically to Windows 10 a long time ago, but I just finished my new build, and I've been dealing with security settings, admin privileges, local account, Microsoft account, etc trying to get everything working seamlessly, and I'm hoping someone can answer this one question for me.

When installing Windows 10 on a new PC, and when given the option for the type of account to setup, are there any advantages/disadvantages to use a Microsoft Account vs a Local Account, or vise versa? Are there any specific reasons why I should choose one over the other? It just seems to me like if I setup a Local Account, then none of my information is synchronized between my PCs, which might prevent issues from spreading from one PC to another. After choosing the type of account to use, is it difficult to switch the account type down the road?

Try3 · 15 Nov 2016

There are fewer things that might go wrong with a local user account.

A local user account might develop a user profile fault.
An MSAccount might develop a user profile fault or it might suffer from some account / password online synchronisation problem

You can switch the account to an MSAccount later on if you wanted. But you could also consider keeping your local user account as your day-to-day account and then adding an additional account to link to your MSAccount. That way, you could have the convenience of an MSAccount when you wanted it but could switch back into a local account at any time.

Make sure that you have at least one password-protected Admin-level account

that is a local user account

and

that is in addition to whichever account you end up using for your day-to-day activities.

By doing so you are protected against the risk of your day-to-day account developing user profile faults. If your day-to-day account ever starts failing to log on & you get allowed in with a temporary profile then you can just log on with this additional Admin-level account to get back full access to your computer.

Denis