I had my Microsoft account stolen through a phishing scam about a year ago, which led to the email and password being changed. I'm unable to access anything associated with that account, but it still shows as the owner of my computer. Because I'm not logged in, my computer hasn't been able to install any updates. Microsoft has even taken remote control to try and fix this without success. I created a new Microsoft account, but I don't know how to transfer ownership to it. I'm really stressed out about this. Does anyone have advice on what I can do?
2 Answers
Actually, you don't need a Microsoft account to install Windows updates, so there might be another issue with your system. The best approach now would be to back up your files and perform a clean reinstall of Windows using Microsoft's official tool. During the setup, just log in with your new account, and it’ll bypass the old one completely.
You can create a new local admin account and then remove the old Microsoft account from your computer. After that, log in with your new Microsoft account. If you're not comfortable with that, you could also do a fresh install of Windows and sign in with your new account during the setup. Either method should work!
What if I do that? Will I lose my personal files? What's the safest way to switch accounts?