Help with Windows 10 setup: My wife has received an HP Windows 10 17" laptop. Is a Microsoft Outlook account / e-mail mandatory? We have G-mail. Do I have to set it up with facial...

YNY Loc: Youngstown NY (Western New York)

My wife has received an HP Windows 10 17" laptop. Is a Microsoft Outlook account / e-mail mandatory? We have G-mail. Do I have to set it up with facial recognition or fingerprint ID to log in? She would much prefer password only. Much less subjective. Nothing financial or sensitive would be on it. Just recipes, music etc. Also, must One Drive be activated? I would prefer to back up to external hard drive for her. Google searches keep dodging the issue when I search. Can someone help or point me to the right spot? Thanks, YNY.

randave2001 Loc: Richmond

Hello YNY, you do not have to have a Outlook account to use Win10. Gmail will work just fine. Also, I am pretty certain you can deactivate the facial recognition and fingerprint ID and just log in with a password. As far as One Drive is concerned, here is a link to help you with the deactivation http://www.windowscentral.com/how-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive-windows-10

Good luck

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

YNY wrote:

My wife has received an HP Windows 10 17" lap... (show quote)

Your don't have to use the Outlook account if you don't want to but it will connect to other e-mail programs.
If you use Google Chrome for your search engine then G-mail can be opened through it, in fact it will be in the app folder on each blank you open or you can set it to open as one of your home pages.
I have no interest in facial recognition or fingerprint ID so have never even looked at a machine with them but there should be a way to turn them off.
I have never activated an account in OneDrive, it asks me every so often and I just click no and move on.
Windows 10, once you have it set up for a password can be set to use a PIN number instead. There are other options, here is an article about them: https://mashtips.com/windows-login-security-options/

My wife prefers the no password it just opens when powered up option so I have her account as a standard/user account (has restrictions on things it can do) and I have an administrators account on her machine with my password/pin.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

You do not have to use any of that stuff. It will just slow your computer down anyway because it just uses computer resources for something you won't use anyway. You can delete that one drive stuff, and you can go into settings to deactivate all of the things you don't want. If you are not familiar with these settings it is best to find someone that is familiar with them.

philmurfin Loc: Bakewell, Derbyshire UK

AirWalter wrote:

You do not have to use any of that stuff. It will just slow your computer down anyway because it just uses computer resources for something you won't use anyway. You can delete that one drive stuff, and you can go into settings to deactivate all of the things you don't want. If you are not familiar with these settings it is best to find someone that is familiar with them.

As mentioned elsewher, the is absolutely no need to have any of the things you mentioned and a lot can be deleted.
Also, if you go into settings, select privacy and there's a whole load of stuff that can safely be turned off, especially telemetry and feedback to Mircoflop, there's nothing in there that can bite you.

Phil

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

You don't need a password for Windows, and you don't have to use Outlook. You do need a password for Gmail. You don't need OneDrive, and an eternal drive for backups is a good idea. A password manager, like LastPass, might be a good idea.

Some tips -
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3040361/how-to-set-up-new-computer.html

And -
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2861858/computers/7-critical-things-to-do-immediately-with-a-new-pc.html#tk.rss_all
http://www.computershopper.com/feature/13-essential-steps-set-up-your-new-pc

LenCreate

You might be confusing an Outlook account with a Microsoft ID. You need a Microsoft ID when you boot the computer for it to open Windows 10.

philmurfin Loc: Bakewell, Derbyshire UK

LenCreate wrote:

You might be confusing an Outlook account with a Microsoft ID. You need a Microsoft ID when you boot the computer for it to open Windows 10.

That's not correct, you can choose to use a Mirosoft ID or you can use what's called a local ID.
I only ever use the local version. I've nothing to hide, I just don't want M-soft knowing my every move.

bamfordr Loc: Campbell CA

Lots of options choices as described by others. However, i’d suggest trying fingerprint login and recognition. With a password manager like 1Password it is very useful.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

philmurfin wrote:

As mentioned elsewher, the is absolutely no need to have any of the things you mentioned and a lot can be deleted.
Also, if you go into settings, select privacy and there's a whole load of stuff that can safely be turned off, especially telemetry and feedback to Mircoflop, there's nothing in there that can bite you.

Phil

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

jerryc41 wrote:

You don't need a password for Windows, and you don... (show quote)

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

LenCreate wrote:

You might be confusing an Outlook account with a Microsoft ID. You need a Microsoft ID when you boot the computer for it to open Windows 10.

Really? Not on mine!

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

philmurfin wrote:

That's not correct, you can choose to use a Mirosoft ID or you can use what's called a local ID.
I only ever use the local version. I've nothing to hide, I just don't want M-soft knowing my every move.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

bamfordr wrote:

Lots of options choices as described by others. However, i’d suggest trying fingerprint login and recognition. With a password manager like 1Password it is very useful.

For what is it useful? I never install the driver for this.

YNY Loc: Youngstown NY (Western New York)

Thank you all for your help. YNY.