Whether to select setup personal or setup work or school account?

Question

HI

I am setting up a brand new laptop. I am setting this new laptop up with MS365 business standard. I am the only user/admin etc no IT department here. I am trying to install the office apps but it wont let me because I am not logged in as the Administrator and I don't seem to have an Administrator account on the new laptop yet. How do I setup the administrator account? I own the pc; there is no one else in the business. I want the full business functionality of MS365. Lenovo is telling me i should install as a personal, copilot is adamant i should install as setup school or work account and that if I don't I won't have the business functionality (Teams business, onedrive business. Sharepoint etc). Lenovo is wanting to me to wipe the windows install and start again with selecting personal on the windows install setup. Please advise the correct way to setup and get myself administrator access to my own pc.

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Moved from: Windows for business | Windows 365 business

Answer 1

Dear Catriona P,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Thank you for sharing the details of your issue. Based on the information you provided, it seems that you are unable to sign in to your Windows profile because it is requesting administrator permissions. 

To help you set up your device correctly, please start by signing in with your personal Microsoft account to finish the initial Windows setup. After that, you can still use all Microsoft 365 services, such as SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive, by signing in with your business account inside each app. You will also be able to download and use the Office desktop apps without any problems. 

If you want to sign in to Windows directly with your business account, the device must be Microsoft Entra joined and managed by your organization. You can find more details here: What is a Microsoft Entra joined device? - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn 

However, since you mentioned that you are the only person in your company, I would strongly recommend using your personal account to sign in to Windows. This gives you full admin control of the device, and in this case, using a business account for the Windows login is not necessary. 

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. I’m happy to assist. 

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Answer 2

I don't have the Family and Other Users option under accounts? Any suggestions how to get this?

Answer 3

To set up your new laptop with Microsoft 365 Business Standard, you should select the option to set up a work or school account during the installation process. This choice is essential for accessing the full business functionality of Microsoft 365, including Teams for business, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint.

Since you are the only user and administrator, you will need to ensure that you are logged in with an account that has administrative privileges. If you are currently unable to install the Office apps due to not being logged in as an administrator, you may need to create an administrator account on your laptop. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Create an Administrator Account: If you haven't set up an administrator account yet, you can do so by going to the Windows settings. Navigate to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users. Here, you can add a new user and set that user as an administrator.
2. Log in with the Administrator Account: After creating the account, log out of your current account and log in with the new administrator account.
3. Install Microsoft 365: Once logged in as the administrator, you can proceed to install Microsoft 365 apps. Make sure to sign in with your work or school account to activate the business features.

If Lenovo is suggesting a wipe and reinstall with a personal setup, this may not be necessary if you can create an administrator account as described above. However, if you encounter further issues, you might consider their advice as a last resort.

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References:

• Set up Microsoft 365 apps for business
• Sign up for a Microsoft 365 Apps for business subscription