Category: Windows 11

  • Windows 11 Installation

    Last Updated 26 August 2026

    The procedure for installing Windows is constantly changing and the current Windows 11 installation requires the PC to be connected to the Internet and a Microsoft Account. To install Windows 11 as standalone PC with a local account and also enable access to shared drives has become a quite complicated.

    Windows 11 Installation and Enabling Access to Shared Drives Overview

    The last version of Windows 11 that can be configured to access shared drives without having to enter usernames and passwords each time is version 22H2. Unfortunately version 22H2 has now reached end of life and cannot be updated to the latest version via Windows Update, so the procedure for getting Windows 11 up and running has become quite complicated.

    • If it’s a new PC with Windows 11 pre-intalled, set the PC up and connect it to the Internet
    • Power up the PC and follow the onscreen instructions to install Windows 11 ( Installation will require a Microsoft account )
    • Use Double Driver to create a backup of the PC’s device drivers and copy them to USB flashdrive
    • Use Rufus to create a Windows 11 22H2 local user installation flashdrive
    • Disconnect the PC from the Internet and do a clean install of Windows 11 22H2
    • Check for missing device drivers and if nessary install any missing drivers from the Double Driver backup
    • Use RegEdit to fix Shared Drive Access
    • Use Rufus to create a Windows 11 local user installation flashdrive using the latest version of Windows 11
    • Update the PC to the latest version of Windows 11
    • Check that Shared Drives is working

    Pre-Installed Windows 11 Installation


    This will will configure the hard drive and install Windows 11. Use Double Driver to create a backup of the device drivers.

    • Set the PC up and connect it to the Internet
    • Power the PC up and follow the onscreen instructions
    • Select – Set up for Personal Use
    • Select – Set up as new PC
    • Say ‘No’ to all of the offers and options which collect data
    • Windows installation will now complete
    • Run Windows Update
    • Run Dell Command Update to install Dell updates
    • Open Device Manager and check for missing drivers
    • Create a backup of the device drivers using Double Driver
    • Copy the device driver backup to a USB flash drive

    Windows 11 22H2 Local User Install

    • Use Rufus to create a local user Windows 11 22H2 installation USB flash drive
    • Disconnect the PC from the Internet (Disconnect the LAN cable)
    • Plug in the Windows 11 installation USB flash drive
    • Power up the PC and repeatedly press F12 to bring up the boot menu
    • Select the Windows 11 installation USB flash drive
    • Follow the onscreen instructions
    • Select Custom Install to keep nothing and overwrite the previous installation
    • Windows installation will now complete
    • Open Device Manager and check for missing drivers
    • If nessesay, install any missing drivers from the Double Driver backup

    Shared Drive Access – Registry Change

    • Open the Run command by Pressing windows + R
    • Enter regedit and press enter
    • Navigate to the following path:
      Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
    • Expand the Windows Registry Key and look for the LanmanWorkstation registry key. If it’s not already there, you will need to create it
    • Right click on the Windows registry key
    • Choose New > Key and name the key as LanmanWorkstation
    • Click on the LanmanWorkstation registry key
    • From the right-hand window right click and choose New > DWORD 32 bit Value and name it AllowInsecureGuestAuth
    • Double click on the AllowInsecureGuestAuth DWORD and set the value to 1
    • Close Regedit
    • Restart the PC
    • Connect the PC to the network
    • Check that Shared Drive access is working

    Set Password to Never Expire

    • Press Win + R, type lusrmgr.msc, and hit Enter
    • Click on Users in the left-hand menu
    • Under the General tab, check the box that says Password never expires
    • Click Apply and then OK

    Update Windows 11 to the Latest Version

    • Download the ISO for the latest version of Windows 11
    • Use Rufus to create a local user Windows 11 installation USB flash drive
    • Plug in the Windows 11 installation USB flash drive
    • Open Explorer and click on the USB flash
    • Click on Setup to start the installation
    • Follow the onscreen instructions
    • Windows installation will now complete
    • Open Device Manager and check for missing drivers
    • If nessesay, install any missing drivers from the Double Driver backup
    • Check that Shared Drive access is still working

    Final Tasks
    Before installing user application software, check that all of the Windows 11 and Dell updates installed.

    Windows Updates

    • Settings -> Windows Updates -> Check for Updates
    • Reboot the PC if required
    • Repeat until no more updates are found

    Disk Clean-Up
    Run Disk Clean-Up to tidy up the hard drive and delete the old Windows installations

    • Open Run command by Pressing windows + R
    • Enter disk cleanup and press enter
    • Click on Clean-up system files
    • Select everything
    • Click Ok to delete old versions of Windows

  • Windows 11 – Password Expiry

    Set password to never expire.

    • Press Win + R, type lusrmgr.msc, and hit Enter
    • Click on Users in the left-hand menu
    • Double-click on the user account to open Properties
    • Under the General tab, check the box that says Password never expires
    • Click Apply and then OK

  • How to fix “You can’t access this shared folder” on Windows 10/11

    Error message when trying to access a shared drive or folder:
    “You can’t access this shared folder because your organization’s security policies block unauthenticated guest access. These policies help protect your PC from unsafe or malicious devices on the network”

    Fixing this problem involves editing the Windows Registry. Be very careful when using the instructions below. Follow the instructions exactly and do not change anything else. If you don’t feel confident to continue, please seek assistance.

    Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs.

    Please refer to the following steps:

    • Open Run command by Pressing windows + R and type regedit and hit enter to open the registry editor.
    • Navigate to the following path:
      Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
    • Expand the Windows Registry Key and search for LanmanWorkstation registry key. If you are not able to find the registry key, then you will need to create it.
    • Right Click on the Windows Registry Key and Choose New > Key and name the Key as LanmanWorkstation.
    • Now Click on the LanmanWorkstation Registry key and from the right-hand window right click and choose New > DWORD 32 bit Value and name it as AllowInsecureGuestAuth. Double click on the AllowInsecureGuestAuth DWORD and set the value to 1 and click OK.
    • As the picture below:
    • Restart the system and check that the shared file is accessible.

  • How to Fix “The referenced account is currently locked out and may not be logged on to” Error on Windows 10/11

    This message indicates that the PC user has entered a wrong password a number of times and as a result of which, Windows has locked the account and prevented them from signing in for a particular period of time Windows does not display the specified lock out time, but it’s typically somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes. While

    Once you encounter “The referenced account is currently locked out and may not be logged on to” error, we would strongly recommend you leave the PC for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the log-in screen may be unlocked, and you may get a second chance to access your desktop.

    From experience, it’s worth trying to log into the PC from another computer via Remote Desktop. The account lock out may only be set to prevent access to the PC using the keyboard.

    Once you have managed to access your desktop successfully, you should disable the Account lockout threshold policy to prevent “The referenced account is currently locked out and may not be logged on to” error from showing up again.

    Fixing this problem involves editing the Windows Registry. Be very careful when using the instructions below. Follow the instructions exactly and do not change anything else. If you don’t feel confident to continue, please seek assistance.

    Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs.

    • Press Windows key + R, type secpol.msc, and hit Enter.
    • When the Local Security Policy window opens, select Security Settings.
    • Open Account Policy and select Account Lockout Policy.
    • Double-click on the Account lockout threshold policy (on the right) to open Settings configuration window.
    • To disable account lockout, replace the existing value with 0 and click Apply to save the changes.
    • Then press OK and close the Local Security Policy window.
    • Restart the PC

    The information here was taken from this website:
    https://ugetfix.com/ask/how-to-fix-the-referenced-account-is-currently-locked-out-and-may-not-be-logged-on-to-error-on-windows-10/