Windows 8 was not a success, but it is the first version of Windows that can also be used on other PCs. In practice, you can turn on a friend's or company computer and find all the files and all the personalized settings of your computer, almost as if it were him.
A bit like in Chrome, where all the settings are synchronized from the Google account, in Windows 10 and Windows 8 everything is linked to the Microsoft account and you can access your PC from anywhere, only by connecting to this personal account.
Microsoft is encouraged to activate this option by asking during installation to log in with a registered online account that is very different from the local one to which it was accustomed in previous versions of Windows.
You can convert a local account into a Microsoft account by opening the PC Settings (press Windows + C or move the mouse from the right of the screen, click on Settings and under Change settings) and then going into the account settings.
It is therefore possible to connect to the local account an existing Microsoft account (which can be that of hotmail / outlook.com or that of Onedrive / Skydrive) or create a new one.
READ ALSO: How to make friends and guests use the PC separately and safely
When you want to access another PC with your account, you have to go to PC settings and, in the Account section, click on Other accounts .
From here, press on Add an account and log in.
Unfortunately it is still not possible to sit in front of a PC and log in with your account without asking permission from the owner of that computer who must give his access authorization.
When you set up a Microsoft account on your PC, many of the settings are synchronized online, via the "cloud".
The graphic settings, the network settings, the update settings, the language, the tiles on the start screen and their arrangement, the desktop settings for the resource explorer and then the hardware settings of the mouse, keyboards, printers, keyboard are synchronized .
These settings are synchronized between computers with Windows 10 and 8.1 so that when you make a change on one PC, it is also replicated on the others.
To change these synchronization settings, open Change PC settings, go to the OneDrive -> synchronization settings section and choose what you want to keep and what you don't.
OneDrive is integrated into the Windows system and provides a special folder that makes sure that all the files placed inside are kept in the cloud .
This means that when you log in with your Microsoft account on another Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 PC, you will also find the personal files saved in Onedrive.
These files can also be viewed and used by accessing the Onedrive website or the OneDrive app on a Nokia Lumia smartphone with Windows Phone.
As already written some time ago, Onedrive, the former Skydrive, is Microsoft's cloud, similar to other similar services such as Google Drive and Dropbox.
Unlike the latter, Onedrive does not download all the files saved online on the PC automatically, but makes them available when needed.
This means that it is possible to store a huge amount of files in OneDrive (the free plan is however limited to 7 GB for new members) without worrying that they are synchronized for each PC used.
You can check the available space of OneDrive in the PC settings, in the Onedrive section.
In Onedrive all photos and videos are automatically synchronized although this works a little differently.
In Onedrive settings from Windows, you will find a section called Camera roll where you can activate synchronization.
However, there are two options, one for uploading good quality photos, the other for optimal quality.
The difference is that if you choose the Good quality option, the large images are resized to take up less space on the cloud.
The photos and synchronized videos are located in the Pictures -> Camera roll folder.
Finally, thanks to the Microsoft account it is also possible to synchronize the installed applications (not the desktop programs).
Since the update of the anniversary of Windows 10, then, the Microsoft account is linked to the Windows license.
This means that it will be possible to reinstall the system on the PC as many times as you want, using the same Microsoft account, without ever encountering activation problems.
Another advantage of the Microsoft account in Windows 10 is the ability to recover the password or PIN for accessing Windows directly from the lock screen.
Obviously it is always possible to use the normal account in Windows 10 and Windows 8, disable access to OneDrive and use only the PC programs giving up this possibility, which perhaps you do not feel the need today, but that in the future may become invaluable for bringing applications and files to every new PC.
READ ALSO: Log out of Microsoft account in Windows 10 and switch to a local account
