I trashed Arc immediately after install when I found out having an account was mandatory. That seemed so silly, like toothbrushes-requiring-wifi absurd. How much moreso now.
>"Why does Arc require an account to use?"
The answer is:
>"Here's a link to our forum that explains the rationale behind requiring an account to use Arc: Why do I need an account?"
That link goes to here: https://resources.arc.net/hc/en-us/articles/19401542261911-B...
Which... Doesn't explain why you need an account!
[0] witness the magic incantations needed https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/install-windows-11-witho...
Her laptop has a mediatek wifi card that doesn't have built in Windows drivers. Re-installing Windows requires you play the above game, so you can get into Windows, install the driver, and then immediately log into Microsoft.com.