I found a BUNCH of bugs in the Microsoft Account account creation processes found in many of the numerous links they have floating around out there.
So, part of the issue for the computers I am configuring is that the original corporate email the business owner set up for me to use for the initial user account for each laptop is NOT valid to be designated as a Microsoft Account - because it is associated with a company domain that it doesn't like.
What I mean is that you can designate some non-Outlook or Hotmail accounts to be a Microsoft Account, BUT not all of them. Microsoft allows a Gmail or a Yahoo email account to be a Microsoft Account, but NOT an email such as
joe_user@billybobspizza.com (not a real email, by the way).
So, OK - that is fairly arbitrary on Microsoft's part, but OK, so I decided to create a new Microsoft Account connected to Outlook.com, however that TOO ran into problems.
Besides some REALLY aggravating logic the Microsoft Account creation scripting uses to determine if a given account typed in is available or not to become a unique new account, there is a 20-character LIMIT to how long the account name + the Outlook.com extension can be.
So, I ended up spending HOURS trying various shortened names still trying to resemble the company for which I was trying to create some accounts to be used to do the Admin functions (install software, run system maintenance, defrag hard drives, create users for the non-admin folks who will be using the laptops day to day, etc....
I am finally past it all, and am as I type this, in the middle of configuring the laptops now.
So. a PAIN, but finally a workable pain.
Bob Bone