I have a Windows 10 laptop that is 4 years old. Yesterday I put a new solid state C: drive in it an re-installed Windows 10. So this is a newer version of Windows 10 than I had originally. (This one is 10.0.17763 Build 17763, AKA RS5 1809.)
A number of things seem to have changed in the setup of Windows. When installing it this time, I think I was forced to enter a "Microsoft Account" email address. I tried to skip this step, but I couldn't find a way to avoid it.
The first 5 letters of my email address are "jeffh". When I put a text file named "find_me.txt" on the desktop, the path to that file is:
C:\Users\jeffh\OneDrive\Desktop\find_me.txt
Previously, that file's path would have been the far more elegant:
C:\Users\me\Desktop\find_me.txt
I am really puzzled and annoyed by that "OneDrive" in the path. I don't want to use OneDrive. The first thing I did when the computer was up-and-running was uninstall OneDrive. But by then my "Desktop" folder would have alrady been in this freaking OneDrive folder.
I am also annoyed by that "jeffh" in the path. I never said I wanted a username of "jeffh". If I had been asked to provide a username, it would have been "me".
Maybe I should just relax in give in to these Microsoft paradigm changes, but I just want my old setup back. Is there any way to avoid this intrusion of "OneDrive", and the required Microsoft email address, in a fresh install of this newer Windows 10?
Best Answer
A change by Microsoft requires you to install Windows while disconnected from the Internet to create a local user (such as
me). Happened on Pro 1809. I've done it that way, and it works.If you don't want to reinstall Windows, you can create a local user as explained in the second link above, make it an Admin, login as that local user, and delete the jeffh user, then move all their files or delete them.