Installing Windows 8 on a new or formatted system (part 2) - Configuring your account

2. Configuring your account

After the devices have been configured, the system restarts and requests answers to some questions about configuring your account. During the final restart of the installation process, some configuration begins to initialize the computer for first use, which includes the following:

• Getting devices ready

• Getting the system ready

During the initialization process for the system and devices, the computer restarts and continues the configuration process.

1. When prompted, enter the following information, and then tap or click Next:

   • A color for the background and theme

   • A name for your computer

   On the Settings screen, you are given two initial options to configure general settings for your computer: Express Settings or Custom.

2. If you select Use Express Settings (shown in Figure 2), the wizard turns on the following options for you:

   • Enabling automatic updates

   • Enabling the phishing and malware filters

   • Opting to participate in the Microsoft Customer Experience program

   • Checking for solutions to issues online

   • Enabling location-based services for personalized content

   • Enabling sharing and connecting to devices on the network

   

   Figure 2. Selecting how to handle initial settings

   Select Customize and the wizard guides you through the available settings.

3. If a network is available, you can select the type of network sharing, depending on the network, on the first page.

   • For home or work networks, select Yes, Turn On Sharing And Connect To Devices.

   • For public networks, such as cafés or libraries, select No, Don’t Turn On Sharing Or Connect To Devices.

   You can change these settings later; for now, select the one that best matches your available network.

4. Tap or click Next to configure settings that help protect and update your system, as shown in Figure 3.

   

   Figure 3. If you customize installation, a wizard guides you through configuration of initial settings

5. Select the amount of information that is exchanged with Microsoft, such as information about malicious applications or location data when location-aware apps are used and then tap or click Next.

   The next page contains settings for online solution checking and information sharing between apps.

6. After configuring the settings for your computer, sign in, as shown in Figure 4. Choose from the following options and then tap or click Next.

   • Sign in with your Microsoft account by typing the email address associated with it.

   • Sign up for a new email address to use with a Microsoft account.

   • Sign in without a Microsoft account.

Figure 4. Signing in with your Microsoft account

There are a number of benefits to using a Microsoft account to access your system. Most notably, your system can take direct advantage of Microsoft services such as Hotmail and SkyDrive directly from the desktop. Because some of these services are built into Windows 8, this configuration seamlessly connects the local desktop to cloud-based services.

Note

ACTIVE DIRECTORY DOMAIN ENVIRONMENTS

If your Windows 8 system will be used in an Active Directory domain environment, selecting a local administrator user name and password is probably better than using your Microsoft account. To use an Active Directory domain account, select Sign In Without A Microsoft Account on the Sign In To Your PC screen shown in Figure 4. On the next page, select Local Account. On the next page, type a local administrator account name, confirm the password, enter a password hint, and then click Finish. Windows creates a profile and readies your environment for first use. When this process completes, you see your Start screen, and you can start using Windows 8.