Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

The "OOBE" post-update prompt has become incredibly toxic. The last one even started blocking Alt-Tab so you couldn't get out, and demanded a Microsoft account password which I never use so don't have memorized. And of course I couldn't get to my usual reminders. If I didn't have a mobile handy as backup (which I didn't, until recently) I'd basically be looking at a bricked PC.

This is about as dark-pattern-ey as it gets. Pretty sure I'm going to be making the jump to Linux for my next machine, or on this one if W10 becomes unusable after EoL.



I had a neighbor get completely locked out of a laptop after a Windows update due to this. They didn’t have the password or phone number to the Microsoft account. Of course, you can’t send a password reset email to the account you’re locked out of. I couldn’t figure out how to reverse it converting a local account into a cloud one.

There’s probably a way but I haven’t troubleshooted a Windows problem since 2008.


I have a bricked gaming laptop in my attic somewhere because of this. I still purchased another after, but I'm still vulnerable to the same problem because I don't have a MS account.


You can disable the post-update OOBE prompt in Settings.

Settings -> System -> Notifications -> Additional Settings

Ofc it's buried.


If it helps; I've never gotten an oobe from an update on win 11, though I have enabled auto login, and I had edited the install medium to add a local account.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: