| How to create a secondary account for troubleshooting
by Ed Bott
When a Windows PC begins acting wonky, the first troubleshooting step is to figure out where the problem lies. Is it in a core part of Windows itself, such as a driver or a system service? Or is it part of user-specific settings?
To make it easy to narrow the diagnosis, I recommend setting up a secondary user account. Signing in to that account allows you to perform a simple test. If you can't reproduce the symptoms using your clean secondary account, the issue is likely part of a setting or service associated with your primary user profile.
On any Windows 10 PC, you can create a new user account by going to Settings > Accounts > Family & Other People. Under the Other People heading, click Add Someone Else To This PC.
The default options strongly push you to use an existing Microsoft account or create a new one. Don't enter an e-mail address, as prompted. Instead, create a local account by looking for the small links at the bottom of the next two dialog boxes. Click I Don't Have This Person's Sign-in Information, click Next, and then click Add A User Without A Microsoft Account.
Follow the prompts to enter a username and password, then log in once to finish the initial setup. Save the credentials in a secure place so you can use them in your next troubleshooting session. Why Linkedin + GitHub profiles could be the hidden gem in $7.5B Microsoft acquisition Microsoft's acquisition of the version control platform could improve talent visibility and give the company a competitive edge. More TechRepublic stories |
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