Replace the previous User account with a different one

My daughter bought a Windows 8 Acer Laptop two or three years ago and did the prompted Windows 10 upgrade. She recently bought a new computer and gave me her old one. I can log in to her account which is tied to her Microsoft account, but I would much rather establish myself as the sole User with my Microsoft credentials (whatever they call them now, they were Passport when I established my account).

Frustrations are: It appears that all one can do in trying to create a new account is either "join a family" of the original person's account, or establish a local account. My tower logs in with my MS credentials so I think that is the same thing I would want to do on this laptop.

If I am correct, can anyone explain what steps I need to take to create the new account? I would also like to eliminate my daughter's login but keep her files in case she ever needs anything on that computer.

Thank-you!

@brucemc777, there are tutorials for all the steps you need.

First, create yourself a local user account.
Important: make it an administrator (a new account is always a standard user at first).
Add User Account in Windows 10
Change Account Type in Windows 10

Now switch you daughter's account to a local account.
Switch to Local Account in Windows 10

You can delete her account now, if you wish. To have the option to keep her files, you must do this from the Control Panel.
Delete User Account in Windows 10

Then you can switch your local account to a Microsoft account.
Switch to Microsoft Account in Windows 10

"It appears that all one can do in trying to create a new account is either "join a family" of the original person's account, or establish a local account. My tower logs in with my MS credentials so I think that is the same thing I would want to do on this laptop."

Much less complicated than you're making it. While signed in on her log-in, just establish a new Local Account with the User name, that you want to use, w/Admin privileges, NOT the Family option. Do NOT say that you have an MS acct yet. Log out, you will now have 2 users in lower L corner. Select yours and THEN go to Action Center/Settings/Accounts and follow prompts when you click "Sign in with MS account instead'. You will have to verify the account by entering a code that can be texted to your phone or sent to your backup email acct on your MS email acct.

If, at this point, she wants her files, I would just simply copy them to an ext backup drive and then delete her account in Control Panel/User Accounts/'Manage another account'. If you check 'keep user's files' that will place them in a desktop folder for copying later (why bother) or for access under your sign-in. Or, just leave her on as a 2nd user, up to you guys. Now the Acer and your tower will sync OneDrive files and settings between the 2 machines too. Good Luck

Thank-you for setting me on the right path!

After getting part way through it (and I well admit I could have made a mistake or mistakenly skipped something at any point), I ran into "User Profile Service failed the sign-on, User Profile cannot be loaded."... and after finding a solution (I think) to that, I am running into "Another user on this device uses this Microsoft Account, you can't add it here", which I am again working on solutions to.

W10 really isn't yet ready for commercial release, is it?...

brucemc777 said:

I am running into "Another user on this device uses this Microsoft Account, you can't add it here...

I'd start by switching every user account to a local account. That should let you make your account a Microsoft one.

Well, that was fun. After hacking my way through the above, I found that the Start Menu did not operate in my account, though it still would in my daughter's, so I did the Windows Refresh thing as I didn't need to retain any programs that she had loaded, then just ran into a problem with 1607 freezing at 5% which I found solution for (one intended for folks part of the Insider program, of which I am one, but the problem was not on a computer running under the Insider Preview program, and it appears I finally have gotten it straightened out!

Thank-you everyone, for coming to my aid; I really do appreciate it.

Thanks for marking topic 'Solved' so Others with the same issue can more easily find.