Microsoft Changed Windows 8.1 Login Without Permission Causing User Lockout Frustration

This morning there was a knock on my door. Opening the door I found Big Ed holding his laptop, flipped open and on.

What fresh hell is this I wondered?

Well, apparently yesterday Big Ed was attempting to create an Instagram account. To do so somehow he was led to believe he needed some Microsoft app from the Google Play store.

To get the Microsoft app Big Ed needed to create a Microsoft Account, along with a Hotmail email address. This was sounding so ridiculous I have no idea why Big Ed did not bail at the Hotmail point of the process.

After creating the Microsoft Account I assume all was hunkydory with Instagram.

What had Big Ed knocking on my door was the fact that this morning when he turned on his computer the login had changed to being the Microsoft Account login he had created the day before.

However, the password did not work, Big Ed could not login to his computer.

Googling "Microsoft Account Login Not Working" soon indicated a lot of users have had the same problem, with it being a Windows 8.1 problem. The fixes were varied and some seemed absurdly drastic.

However, the suggest to hold down the shift key while restarting, causing the computer to go into troubleshoot mode where one could access System Restore, seemed like it should fix the problem. Simply restore the computer to a point before Microsoft mucked it up.

However, to access System Restore Windows was asking for the same login/password info that did not work.

Eventually I came to the Microsoft webpage you see screencapped above. Clicking on "Can't access your account?" had me going step by step to resetting Big Ed's password. A new password was generated, Microsoft then sent a validation code to a Big Ed gmail address I quickly set up on my computer. Microsoft indicated all was well, so I entered the new password at Big Ed's login and soon his Windows were back open.

I forgot to mention, Big Ed has very poor eyesight, thus needed help.

Now, why would Microsoft do this to users? Why, without asking, or warning, would creating a Microsoft Account, in order to acquire a program, cause Microsoft to overwrite the login on a user's computer? Microsoft changed Big Ed's login name from "Ed" to the Hotmail email address created the day before.

I tell you, I have never had a virus muck up a computer as badly as Microsoft has at  times.