If you already have a Microsoft account

1. Enter your Microsoft account email address and password. If you have more than one Microsoft account, you'll need to choose one.

For more info, see Which email address should I use for my Microsoft account?

1. We'll send a security code to the alternate email address or phone number you've set up for this account, and you'll need to enter that code to verify that you're the account owner. This helps us protect your account and devices when you access sensitive info. If you don't have alternate contact info set up for the account yet, you'll be asked to provide it now.

If you signed in to your PC using a Microsoft account before you installed Windows 8.1, then you might not see this step.

If you want to create a Microsoft account

1. Click Create a new account.
2. Next, you'll be asked to choose an email address you'd like to use as a Microsoft account. This can be any email address you use, and isn't limited to just addresses that come from Microsoft. Enter the email address that you use the most. We'll use it to set up the Mail and People apps for you with email and contacts that you already use every day.
3. Enter the password you'd like to use, and fill in the rest of the info, including your first name, last name, and your country or region.
4. Next, you'll be asked to provide an alternate email address or phone number where we can reach you by email, phone, or text message (SMS). This helps us protect your account and devices whenever you access sensitive info using this account. After you enter this info, we'll send a message to you containing a security code, and you'll need to enter that code to verify that you're the account owner.

If you want to keep using a local account

Windows 8.1 is designed to be used with a Microsoft account, so we recommend that you give it a try. Simply put, a Microsoft account is the glue that holds together so many useful features of the new Windows. Without one, you won't be able to, for example, get new apps from the Windows Store, automatically sync your settings and documents between PCs, back up your photos to the cloud so you can get to them from anywhere, or see all your contacts from multiple email and social networking accounts together in the People and Mail apps.

But if you're sure you want to use a local account instead, click Create a new account, and then on the new account page, click Continue using my existing account.

Appendix:

Article ID: N001-01 ( Alphabet based on category(Network)  – Article ID(Wired) – Article No)

Last Review: 3/9/2016

Revision: Rev 0.1

Applies to:

ü  Windows XP

ü  Windows  Vista

ü  Windows 7

ü  Windows 8/8.1

ü  Windows 10