How to prevent forced Microsoft Account login?

[Jamesfrench]

Hey,

I’m working on creating a custom Windows 11 ISO, and I’ve run into a problem. I’m a gamer and mainly play Minecraft and Sea of Thieves. Every time I log into the Minecraft Launcher or Microsoft Store, Windows forces my local account to switch over to a Microsoft account.

I’m trying to create a custom iso that disables this forced login so I can keep my system running on a local account while using my Microsoft account only inside the apps where it’s required.

Image of what is happening:

View attachment 13634
Is there any way—no matter how small or technical—to stop Windows from doing this? I’d really appreciate any advice or workaround.

Thanks for your help! (If the screenshot looks a bit odd or I used strange wording, it's because i'm french, sorry about that )

 

[garlin]

The short answer is unfortunately no. If you log into a MS Account, an authentication (auth) cookie is created using a web form. Windows caches this auth cookie for whatever connected MS online service requires it.

Some services that require MSA credentials include:

- OneDrive​

- Skype​

- Store (for paid apps)​

- Xbox Games Pass​

- O365/M365 subscriptions​

- Teams​

Your best solution would be to create two Windows accounts: one Local Account, and one MSA-based account. You would "Switch users" between two desktop sessions so the MSA user can always stay logged on. In addition, separating the two accounts increases your privacy since the Local Account's activity isn't visible to Microsoft.

The cost of Switching users is mostly how much process memory the idle session has reserved, because you have existing processes running and haven't been closed. If you have 16 GB or more of RAM, this shouldn't be a problem. Some unused processes may get paged out to disk.

 

[Jamesfrench]

The short answer is unfortunately no. If you log into a MS Account, an authentication (auth) cookie is created using a web form. Windows caches this auth cookie for whatever connected MS online service requires it.

Some services that require MSA credentials include:

- OneDrive​

- Skype​

- Store (for paid apps)​

- Xbox Games Pass​

- O365/M365 subscriptions​

- Teams​

Your best solution would be to create two Windows accounts: one Local Account, and one MSA-based account. You would "Switch users" between two desktop sessions so the MSA user can always stay logged on. In addition, separating the two accounts increases your privacy since the Local Account's activity isn't visible to Microsoft.

The cost of Switching users is mostly how much process memory the idle session has reserved, because you have existing processes running and haven't been closed. If you have 16 GB or more of RAM, this shouldn't be a problem. Some unused processes may get paged out to disk.

Thanks for you response, have a nice day/evening!