Arthur typed a command into the void: taskmgr

# Create a local user that cannot be used for network logins New-LocalUser -Name "TempAudit" -Password (ConvertTo-SecureString "TempPass123" -AsPlainText -Force) -AccountNeverExpires -UserMayNotChangePassword

"Mrs. Gable," Arthur typed. He set a simple local password she could remember, answered the security questions (Name of first pet? "Fluffy"), and watched as the setup finally proceeded to the desktop, blissfully offline and unconnected to the matrix.

To create a local user on a domain-joined Windows 11 Pro machine:

This is a faster alternative that works directly from the desktop.

Click it, then select to create a local account.

But just as he was finishing, the shop door chimed. In walked Jason, a freelance graphic designer. He was clutching a USB drive.

Adding a user without an MSA is not a free lunch. You are trading cloud convenience for local autonomy. Here is what that local user cannot do:

Arthur pointed at the tablet. "On the Home edition, if you are connected to the internet, you cannot make a local account easily. You have to be brutal."