Windows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft's forcedWindows 11 users reportedly losing data due to Microsoft's forced BitLocker encryption
You can still force local account. Edit: nevermind, first sentence of the article:
Earlier today, we published an article regarding Microsoft's recent removal of the BYPASSNRO script and how it has irked Windows 11 users
Well, fuck.
On setup: Shift + F10 -> click into the CMD window (it opens unfocused)
cd oobe
bypassnro
And do not connect to network until you finish setup.
Disabling auto updates was also very simple and intuitive. Couldn't be easier.
Meta + R -> Type gpedit.msc and press enter -> On left click Administrative templates -> All settings -> Configure Automatic Updates -> Select option 2, Enabled and Apply
Bypassnro is the old method, no longer working since 24H2. I've tested this method on GitHub and it works for normal AND S-mode devices.
Ctrl + Shift + J before selecting secondary keyboard layout (sometimes you need to click on the outside borders of the form so the dev console pops up)
Type this (can use autocomplete): WinJS.Application.restart("ms-cxh://LOCALONLY")
All the time, then people get ran around in circles, are given a too technical explanation and give up more often than not.
The encryption is not inherently a bad thing, but forcing people into account creation is where the trouble starts. With piss-poor customer support as the cherry on top, this should never be allowed.
I'd say it's a bad thing because it's the wrong threat model as a default.
More home users are in scenarios like "I spilled a can of Diet Sprite into my laptop, can someone yank the SSD and recover my cat pictures" than "Someone stole my laptop and has physical access to state secrets that Hegseth has yet to blurt on Twitch chat". Encryption makes the first scenario a lot harder to easily recover from, and people with explicit high security needs should opt into it or have organization-managed configs.
I agree, the encryption should be deliberate choice. And we've said nothing yet about the impact on performance.
You used to almost be forced to make a recovery CD or USB when encrypting a drive, now people don't even know how 'important' the MS account actually is.