Answers to Common Windows 10 Questions

GEEK FREE
14 January, 2016
By Joe Callison
(updated 29 November 2019 to fix broken link)

As the number of people migrating to Windows 10 increases, either intentionally or accidentally, I have been hearing some common questions.

How do I revert back to the operating system I had?
If your system was updated to Windows 10 unintentionally or you are having problems with it and want to revert back to your previous operating system, remember that you only have 30 days to do so from the day it was updated.

Here are the instructions to uninstall Windows 10 and downgrade to Windows 7 or 8.1:
https://www.howtogeek.com/220723/how-to-uninstall-windows-10-and-downgrade-to-windows-7-or-8.1/

How do I change from a Microsoft account using my email address or phone number for login to a local account?
The screen instructions for setting up Windows 10 guide you toward creating a Microsoft account. It is not very obvious that there is an option to create a local account instead, like you had on Windows 7.

Here are the instructions to revert from a Microsoft account to a local one:
https://www.howtogeek.com/230543/how-to-revert-your-windows-10-account-to-a-local-one-after-the-windows-store-hijacks-it/

How do I remove the requirement for login and password?
Some people prefer not to bother with a user login and password at all. They want their computer to just start up and go to their desktop. There are two different settings that need to be changed to remove the requirement for login and password. One is for computer startup and one is for waking the computer from sleep mode.

Here are the instructions for removing the requirement for login and password after startup:
https://www.howtogeek.com/112919/how-to-make-your-windows-8-computer-logon-automatically/

 Here are the instructions for removing the requirement for login and password after sleep mode:
https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/7771/prevent-windows-asking-for-a-password-on-wake-up-from-sleepstandby/

How do I control what files sync to OneDrive?
OneDrive provides 15 GB of free cloud storage. Microsoft would love to sell you additional storage so you can sync all of your computer files and settings to OneDrive. To keep from filling up all of your OneDrive storage, you can configure only certain folders on your computer to sync with OneDrive.

Here are the instructions to configure OneDrive to sync only certain folders. Note the warning that if you stop syncing files or folders, they’ll stay on OneDrive but won’t be on the PC. If they’re already on the PC, they’ll be deleted unless you move or copy them to another location on your PC. Don’t worry if they do get deleted, since they are still on OneDrive you can download them back to your PC:
https://www.howtogeek.com/222817/how-to-configure-onedrive-to-sync-only-certain-folders-in-windows-10/

How do I change the network location from public to private?
Windows 8.1 and 10 changed from the three network locations of home, work, and public to just two locations of private and public. Unfortunately, they made the wording of the choices confusing when you first set up Windows so some people have their home PC network set to public instead of private. For your home network sharing, you want it to be set to private.

The instructions for changing the network location for Windows 7, 8.1 or 10 are in this article, which also has other useful information on settings for sharing:
https://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-10/change-from-public-to-private-network-in-windows-7-8-10/

Answers to Other Windows 10 Questions
You may have noticed that most of the links are to articles on How-To Geek. This is a good resource for your questions on how to do anything in Windows, Apple, or Linux. Use the search at the top right of the web page to easily find your how-to topic.
https://www.howtogeek.com/