We’re removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to enhance security and user experience of Windows 11. This change ensures that all users exit
[See the full post at: Removing bypassnro]
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
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There are isolated problems with current patches, but they are well-known and documented on this site. |
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Removing bypassnro
- This topic has 67 replies, 27 voices, and was last updated 9 hours, 51 minutes ago.
AuthorViewing 30 reply threadsAuthor-
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Ok here’s a question. If one is upgrading from win10 pro with a local account, will the local account be “honored” by win11 at upgrade or will one have to log onto a Microsoft account?
3 users thanked author for this post.
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You can use Rufus setup to bypass the MS account and set up a local account directly, I believe. If installing W11 Pro, you can designate the device is for work and elect to join a domain and then set up the local account. That said, Microsoft is really becoming insufferable in the cr$p they are trying to force on users to engineer a growth rate for Azure in their quarterly reports. That, and their desire to use the OS as an adverting billboard is getting exceedingly unprofessional IMHO. I consider my comment an observation rather than a rant.
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Well, well. As a 30+ year IT Pro and consultant, I stand by my advice: Never use Windows Home, it is a worthless OS.
4 users thanked author for this post.
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It is my understanding that this “bypassnro” needs to be used for ALL Windows 11 installations not just Home to be allowed to set up a Local Account, No?
I’m expecting my new computer build next week with Windows 11 Pro 24H2. Maingear (the builder) will probably be loading whatever they currently have sometime this week. When will this announcement take affect?
For those still successfully being able to use the “bypassnro” for a Local Account, does this mean MS is planning on “force implementing” this on all of us in future updates?
IF forced into an initial MS Account at setup, will we still be able to switch to a Local Account after the fact?
No, it’s only required on Home. On the others, use the “Domain join instead” option in the “sign-in options” link, even if you don’t plan to join it to a domain. That will create a local account.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Not all insider items make it to released code. If it gets to released, my guess is later on maybe several months from now?
Bottom line this is in a pre-release beta.
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Windows was originally an OS that could be installed on one’s PC – which meant a Personal Computer. Other choices were OS2, DOS, CPM, etc.
If I can’t install an OS on my computer without a connection to the web nor without an account with the maker of that OS, then it is no longer my Personal Computer. It becomes, in effect, the OS maker’s computer.
Google, Apple and now Microsoft (post-Windows 7) have all usurped foundational control of our personal tech. I believe it is less about “security and user experience” and more about the surveillance economy and increased revenue streams.
Hopefully, Linux (and maybe some other fringe OS’s) will keep some semblance of the Personal Computer a reality.
Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.
6 users thanked author for this post.
This sort of flies in the face of Microsoft’s own marketing, see 7 common myths about Windows 11:
Myth 2: You need a Microsoft account to use Windows 11
While having a Microsoft account can enhance your experience, you can still use Windows 11 with a local account if you prefer.Looks this like this myth is about to become legend!
Note: I am mincing words a bit because it says use not setup.Personal note:
Past experimentation has shown that with a local administrator account it is possible to go to Settings > Accounts and select “Sign in with a Microsoft account instead”. Later I was able to remove that again in Settings. So even if you were to have to use a Microsoft account during setup, I believe you should be able to convert the account back into a local account by removing the email address in settings.When you use a Microsoft account for signing in, your online Microsoft account will list your computer in Devices. When changed back to a local account, it may say “We don’t see any devices” like mine does at moment.
Also, when local account user signs into the Microsoft Store to download an app with in-app purchases that requires it, the login is remembered separately by the Microsoft Store but also can be removed. Aw shucks, in my case there are no payment options available! Too bad…
That said, if the Microsoft account is used to login does not have administrator privileges on the computer, various things in Settings > Accounts will fail. In particular, when I tried that on a test system OneDrive failed because it could not login.
HP Compaq 6000 Pro SFF PC / Windows 10 Pro / 22H2
Intel®Core™2 “Wolfdale” E8400 3.0 GHz / 8.00 GB
HP ProDesk 400 G5 SFF PC / Windows 11 Pro / 23H2
Intel®Core™ “Coffee Lake” i3-8100 3.6 GHz / 16.00 GB1 user thanked author for this post.
Hey Y’all,
I just made a copy of it to my network drive and took a look. Pretty simple.
@echo off reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f shutdown /r /t 0
You could just type those two commands into the Command Window yourself. Or save the file to a USB drive and run it from there.
Note: they didn’t say they were removing the functionality just the file!
Here’s how to run the BYPASSNRO.exe from your install USB:
- Copy BYPASSNRO.exe to you prepared installation USB disk.
- Boot the computer from the USB disk and begin setup.
- When you get to the point where you need internet disconnect the internet and hit SHIFT+F10.
- Type: diskpart [Enter]
- Type: list disk [Enter]
- Note the disk number of the USB drive (this will be the smallest drive listed.
- Type: select disk # [Enter] where # is the info from previous command.
- Type: list volume [Enter]
- Note the letter of the desired partition.
- Type: Exit [Enter]
- Type: CD d: [Enter] where d: is the letter of the drive from above.
- Type: Bypassnro.exe [Enter]
- Installation will continue as expected with the “I don’t have Internet” prompt.
3 users thanked author for this post.
AH HA – just removed the script/batch file, did not remove the impact of the registry key. Scroll down this Will Dormann post and the responses.
Will Dormann: “Upcoming Windows 11 builds won…” – Infosec Exchange
“..turns out that yes, the registry entry that the script sets still works – they just removed the script lol”
reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
@wdormann @ajn142 I mod my install media to have this inserted, as it skips the need for a reboot during OOBE.
Write-Host "Set BypassNRO" -ForegroundColor Cyan & reg load HKLM\SOFT $workdir\Windows\System32\Config\Software & reg add HKLM\SOFT\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f & reg unload HKLM\SOFTSusan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
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Good work, Susan…but…
I have no doubt Microsoft monitors AskWoody and similar sites, and that as soon as work around are published, new fixes are being developed to disable them.
Microsoft won’t budge, no matter how much we petition to keep local accounts. They will force those (and other things) on users as long as they are a monopoly. If users don’t like that, the best option is to move to another OS.
1 user thanked author for this post.
would Microsoft present the machines win11 23H2?
Microsoft will present 24H2 to Windows 10 users.
If you want 23H2 you will have to set InControl to this version.-
…How would the same thing be done by someone who had just had their new PC delivered to their front step?
My name’s not Susan, but I believe I have an answer for you.
In RG’s first post, he wrote
You could just type those two commands into the Command Window yourself.
So, once one gets to the point in the OOBE where they’d normally invoke the (possibly soon to be non-existent) script, they’d summon the command line by using the correct key sequence and enter the commands themselves, one at a time, hitting [Enter] after each one. The first command would add the registry key and the second one would then reboot the machine immediately upon hitting the [Enter] key. Once the machine reboots,
Installation will continue as expected with the “I don’t have Internet” prompt.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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…the two commands are, first, “@echo off” and, second, the text that starts with “reg add” and ends with “shutdown /r /t 0” as offered by RG, right?
No, the first is;
reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
and the second is;
shutdown /r /t 0
3 users thanked author for this post.
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Being picky, but I assume the “first command line” (shown above as 3 lines probably due to display space limitations) would still be properly entered as 1 single line starting with “reg add”- correct?
Yes.
What happened to the “@echo off” line? Is that not needed?
Not needed (it just hides the commands when a script is run).
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I think it is clear that Microsoft eventually wants everyone who uses Windows (Home, at least) to use a Microsoft account, and these little things show that it is moving in that direction. I can’t even setup Windows without access to the internet and a Microsoft account? No thanks.
I never used the Home version of Windows since Windows 8.1, and from what I can see the Home version of Windows has since become more and more crappy and rubbish.
I echo Donny H’s advice above :
Never use Windows Home, it is a worthless OS.
Yesterday morning my aunt came to my home and I helped her to “configure” a preinstalled Windows 11 Home on her “brand new” notebook with a Intel 13th generation CPU (two generations behind) as she has complained she can’t navigate around the “shiny new” interface. I installed Open Shell and configured Windows to present the old right click context menu for her. Also installed LibreOffice on her computer for her to try and use (instead of the “free” Microsoft 365 given to her as part of the purchase of the new computer). Didn’t do anything else as she needed to leave for work. I suppose she now has a Microsoft account although I am pretty sure she is not aware of it.
Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
1 user thanked author for this post.
.cmd files are actually batch scripts not programs and @RetiredGeek posted the full contents of BypassNRO.cmd in his above post #2758761.
As a simple solution in case Microsoft does decide to remove it, I copied my existing BypassNRO.cmd to an alternate location on my drive and renamed it BypassNRO.bat.
Just FYI,
.bat files were for the old DOS command.com
.cmd files are for the new cmd.exe.
And, while they both work in Windows 10 & 11, there are “some” differences in exactly how they function (CMD vs BAT | top 17 differences).
1 user thanked author for this post.
Disclaimer: I don’t use Bitlocker, don’t ever intend to use Bitlocker, and I disable it in Servicces, along with a few other things. I don’t need a MS account to recover a key.
In my experience, this method does not trigger Bitlocker encryption. To insure that Bitlocker stays off, I open Services.msc, scroll down to Bitlocker, right-click and select Properties, then set it to Disabled.
A very simple installation method is to use a fake email address
@mail.com for a new MS account. Then when Windows offers to verify the account, decline. Go through the initial setup, add a new account in the Administrators group, reboot and log into the new local Administrator’s account, go through the “Hi” “getting things ready”. Next, delete the fake MS account (there will be warnings), and proceed as you like. You can accomplish the same thing using a real MS account for installation purposes, then follow the instructions to delete that user account from your PC.
I usually create a new Standard user account, reboot, log into the Standard user account and do everything else from there, dealing with UAC as it occurs. This works with or without being connected to the internet.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.We were all once "Average Users".-
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It… “offers” to verify? I would think it would be very pushy in verifying, like not letting you proceed setup without a code.
This works with or without being connected to the internet.
mail.com is a legitimate email service. For that reason, Windows “offers” to verify, but one can click the “Not now” (or something similar, I forget the exact wording) and continue with installation.
By using
@mail.com, one has entered a legitimate email service with an unverified username. The (fakename)(fakeemailprovider) loophole was eliminated, that’s all. I simply posted what I know to work. Take it for whatever it’s worth to you. Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.We were all once "Average Users".1 user thanked author for this post.
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Yea but that’s probably going to trigger bitlocker. You need to add instructions to disable bitlocker.
In my experience, installing Windows 11 Pro, it doesn’t trigger Bitlocker encryption. After the first OOBE is finished, Bitlocker status looks like this:
But I’ll edit to add disabling the service.
Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.We were all once "Average Users". -
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I figured this was coming eventually because it’s a terrible decision and Microsoft can’t help but make those.
I wonder when they’ll remove the option to create a local account entirely.
Personally I despise the idea that everything electronic must be identifiable and trackable. It’s a tool, it doesn’t need to know me and hold a conversation with me and report on me to a trillion-dollar master.
3 users thanked author for this post.
Yes, as corrected above it is BypassNRO.CMD and it can currently be found in:
C:\Windows\oobe-
Hi, RG:
Do you mean C:\\Windows\System32\OOBE for the location of BypassNRO.CMD ?
Mark
2 users thanked author for this post.
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Mark,
You are correct. I’m getting too old too fast! I used to be able to edit my posts at any time but AW changes have robbed me of that capability.
1 user thanked author for this post.
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WinJS-Microsoft-Account-Bypass
This guide explains a method to bypass the Microsoft Account (MSA) requirement during the Windows 11 Out-Of-Box Experience (OOBE) by using the Developer Console to invoke a hidden local account setup screen. ..
1. Start Windows 11 Setup
Begin the Windows 11 Setup Process.
Select your region and keyboard layout.2. Stop at the Secondary Keyboard Layout Screen
When you reach the Secondary Keyboard Layout screen, do not click Skip.
If you accidentally skipped and reached the Network Setup Screen, don’t stress. I have a guide in the troubleshooting section.3. Open the Developer Console
Press Ctrl + Shift + J to open the Developer Console.
Your screen will go dark and will appear with a prompt (indicated by a > symbol) at the top left of the screen.
Note: If you can’t open the console, troubleshooting steps are below.4. Enter the Restart Command
Type the following command exactly as shown:
WinJS.Application.restart(“ms-cxh://LOCALONLY”)
Note: This command is case-sensitive. You can use Tab-completion to help:After typing WinJS.A, press Tab to auto-complete Application.
After typing res, press Tab to auto-complete restart.5. Exit the Developer Console
After entering the command, press Enter to execute it.
Press Escape to exit the Developer Console and return to the OOBE interface.
Note: If the Escape key doesn’t close the Console, click anywhere on the screen to ensure the console is focused and then press the key again.6. Local Account Setup
The Secondary Keyboard Layout screen will refresh, and a Windows 10-style local account setup screen will appear.
Enter your desired username, password, and security questions and click Next.7. Complete the Setup
The Setup will go black and will then log you in to your newly created account. Allow Windows 11 a few moments to configure the user.
Continue with the remaining privacy setting prompts.
Once finished, you will have successfully created a local account in Windows 11…6 users thanked author for this post.
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That’s a need that any OEM or company needs in order to script their custom installs.
Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher
1 user thanked author for this post.
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Just another reason to ditch Windows.
When your OS manufacturer is fighting against you, you’re using the wrong OS.
2 users thanked author for this post.
There is no OOBE in the C:\windows directory !?
The default location for a standard Windows installation is C:\Windows\System32\oobe
You can also copy/paste the following into Notepad and then save it as BypassNRO.cmd
@echo off reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f shutdown /r /t 0
Note: the above is the actual contents of the BypassNRO.cmd file as it currently exists.
3 users thanked author for this post.
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