As you've probably heard, Windows 7 support ends January 14, as described here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4057281/windows-7-support-will-end-on-january-14-2020
Do to the sensitive nature of the data notaries deal with, you may be reluctant to use Microsoft OneDrive, thus putting client personal information in the cloud.* But the Windows 10 installation process tries really hard to get you to establish a OneDrive account, or use one you already have, during setup. If you install the Home edition like most of us, the option to avoid OneDrive is hidden.
The trick to revealing the option to use a local account (which is what we've had ever since Windows XP) is to turn off the internet during the installation. If the PC has an Ethernet cord, unplug it. If it has WiFi, unplug your WiFi router from the power outlet during install. The details on what to do are given here:
https://www.howtogeek.com/442792/how-to-create-a-local-account-while-setting-up-windows-10/
If you already created a Microsoft account, it's possible to convert it to a local account. Use a search engine to look for something like "convert Windows 10 to local account".
That said, I personally do use OneDrive, just because it's so convenient to have access to my data from several devices.
* The terms and conditions from signing services often say something about not storing the documents they give us on our computer. But it's physically impossible to print a document without storing it on my computer in some form. So I always interpret these requirements to mean I shouldn't keep the documents around after I've completed the assignment. |
