One PC, two users, 1 MS account?

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smidon

87 posts

Master Geek

#268185 4-Mar-2020 11:03

I've read a few Q&As here and none are quite what I have in mind.

I want to run my contractor business from my Windows 10 PC at home, as well as my personal life.

For ease of demarcation I'm thinking I will have 2 user accounts as Windows 10 seems to describe them. I would set them up as non-MS account users and label them "personal" and "work" or whatever.

I have multiple email accounts, some personal, some work, mix of xtra and gmail.

I want to run MS Office 365. It's only me so a personal (rather than home) subscription is all I need.

Can I create a generic MS Account ID (call it "sharedon" but could be anything), then two user accounts on the PC that both log into the same MS Account to access Office 365 (so all it's apps like Word, Outlook, etc) but then of course I can set up different email settings in the two instances of Outlook.

Or will MS freeze that out?

Core of the question ... 1 PC, two user accounts/logins, 1 MS account

I have a suspicion it won't work and I'll have to buy Office 365 Home

wellygary

4641 posts

Uber Geek

#2432304 4-Mar-2020 11:11

You really probably should get office 365 business, and as a plus it would be deductible...

https://products.office.com/en-nz/compare-all-microsoft-office-products?=&rtc=1&activetab=tab:primaryr2

1101

2122 posts

Uber Geek

#2432326 4-Mar-2020 11:29

365 personal is "for one person" . It should work Ok for what you want .

Save yourself a lot of future grief. Just buy 365 Home now. Its not much more expensive
Or better yet, 365 Business .

Or buy the full retail package if you dont need a 365 email a/c

SpartanVXL

568 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2432327 4-Mar-2020 11:35

You can sign in with microsoft credentials and have it sign-in only for ‘apps’. I believe 365 counts as an app, so you don’t have to have your MS account login as a computer account.

TwoSeven

1463 posts

Uber Geek

#2432378 4-Mar-2020 13:05

Just my thoughts...

From memory there are two types of account in the Microsoft world. A Microsoft account (Home account)- this is what you get when you sign up to hotmail/outlook.com. This is also the default option for signing in to a Windows 10 machine.

A Work Account, this is set up by your organisation. In my case, I use Azure and have my own domain, so I did this bit. I use Azure backup and web hosting and a bunch of other services.

I think one can add Exchange Online as an additional service (I think OneDrive for business can be purchased separately as well). It is roughly $12-18 per mailbox (you can have lots of aliases) depending on the features you want. If adding multiple services, it may be cheaper to get O365 for business.

From my perspective, I would suggest having two different logins, one for the work account, one for the microsoft (home) account. The benefit is that it is easier to set up and allows better task focus. Also, one can use OneDrive for Business on one account and normal OneDrive on the other (the two are not quite the same).

Software Engineer
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wazzageek

Go Hawks!
1014 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#2432752 4-Mar-2020 19:41

I would expect it to work - the Office 365 personal website says multiple PCs are support.

As you would be unlikely to be signed into both accounts (and using the office products) I’d be surprised if there was any issue.

I have a similar scenario with Office 365 Business and it seems to be working with no issues so far (going on 2+ years)

(General disclaimer, I’ve only read the glossy webpages and not the in depth t&cs of O365 Personal)

coffeebaron

5681 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2432756 4-Mar-2020 19:52

A single licenced install of MS Office will work across multiple Windows user logins.

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ANglEAUT

1190 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2432859 4-Mar-2020 23:24

coffeebaron: A single licenced install of MS Office will work across multiple Windows user logins.

Thank you. Finally some sanity.

If you buy Microsoft Office 365 & install it using your email address linked to your MS account, then MS Office is activated on that PC for every local Windows account on the machine.

User 1 with the email address displayed

User 2, no email address listed & no activation error

Here is a question for you though: Why have two separate Windows accounts?

Windows will complain during shutdown that there is another person logged in.
You can't change context at a glance between personal & work. (Yes, I know in this 24hr always on world that can actually be a good thing)
Outlook supports multiple email accounts & multiple signatures. It can cater for your different requirements. If you really don't want both email accounts in one Outlook, how about having two different Outlook profiles?

You will have to close Outlook & restart it to select a new profile. Easy way to keep work & personal email separate.
Google Chrome also supports multiple profiles so that you can keep your work browsing separate from your personal browsing: Share Chrome with others

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SpartanVXL

568 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2433090 5-Mar-2020 12:20

I think OP wants to have non-MS local accounts to use the computer. Up to them to manage the separation of concerns.

The install of 365 can be done without having the MS account left logged in as a computer account (just have to be careful not to select the wrong option when signing-in). Each local computer user is able to use 365, it will (and should) launch seperate process instances under the different users.

Theres just the part about being careful when logging in, the 365 license is likely on a MS account and when signing in with MS credentials on a win10 machine often ends up having it logged into practically everything if you dont click the right buttons.

Jogre

147 posts

Master Geek

#2436618 12-Mar-2020 08:47

Many ways to skin this cat and many ways suggested that will work and nothing wrong with any of them from a licensing perspective.

Options many seem to be around demarcation;

- 2 user profiles would allow you to also separate files (unless both accounts are local admins). Can make both accounts non-MS and just associate your MS account with whichever one makes most sense. Bear in mind Office may get signed in on the PC account you don't want which means OneDrive etc holding your work files would show the online versions (that aren't synced via the OneDrive client). This would only be likely if there was an activation prompt when Office checks in after 90 or 180 days (forget what it is) and you signed in to activate without thinking.

- 1 user profile and demarc within Outlook/browser. I like this but mainly because I'm lazy and wouldn't want to be switching between W10 sessions!

Finally, buy O365 Business and get a vanity domain for your contracting business. It's deductible and the amount of times I won't bother with a contractor because they are joebloggsplumbing@xtra.co.nz printed on the side of their van. Sounds snobby but its that little bit of effort and pride in your business, and I feel less like I'm dealing with a cowboy.

smidon

87 posts

Master Geek

#2436849 12-Mar-2020 14:25

Well, it failed horribly.

I got into some sort of contention re. Micro$oft Live and I don't know what else (OneDrive?). Jammed up the business ID I created - left it "thinking", only solution was to hold in the power button. And they were all farting around wanting to link to Google and ... oh Man. A "clusterfcuk" is the correct term.

So I reset my credentials and deleted the other ID (entirely - off the PC).

I had taken the precaution of purchasing Office 365 Personal on monthly ... i.e. $10

So I can cancel that and buy either Home or Business version. Home probably.

An interesting exercise. Although $10 is nothing, the time (hours) wasted and loss of hair (pulled out) was horrific!

cheers All, Don

smidon

87 posts

Master Geek

#2436852 12-Mar-2020 14:28

Jogre:

Finally, buy O365 Business and get a vanity domain for your contracting business. It's deductible and the amount of times I won't bother with a contractor because they are joebloggsplumbing@xtra.co.nz printed on the side of their van. Sounds snobby but its that little bit of effort and pride in your business, and I feel less like I'm dealing with a cowboy.

I think this is good idea and will look into it. Cheers and thanks.