Thank you for your help. I went to Power BI to check something, and it prompted me to create a new account. I'm not a developer, IT expert, or coding specialist—I'm just an average Joe who has been using PCs for 25 years. When I started my third business and launched my first website, I was about 35. My 14-year-old taught me how to use computers properly for my needs, and we had some fun playing basic games together.
As the business grew, I figured I didn't need to learn much about computers anymore; that's what I hire people for, right? However, I learned more than I expected over the years—things like running commands in CMD Admin and PowerShell Admin. With Copilot's help, I managed quite a bit. Still, I sometimes feel out of place in these tech communities. I’m fine with Microsoft Answers, but a lot of the discussions—especially around BI—really boggle my mind.
About a month ago, I had a mishap. Windows Security was blocking various apps and updates, including software from HP, Microsoft, and Windows itself. I tried shutting off Controlled Folder Access and various other settings, but nothing worked. I even turned off the firewall, but that didn’t help either. Eventually, I contacted Windows support. After the first of three remote sessions, the support agent, who called himself a Windows Security Specialist, gave up and told me to use the Media Creation Tool for a fresh install of Windows 10 (since I really dislike Windows 11).
I did that, but about two hours later, I found Windows 11 installed on my PC. I had to roll back to Windows 10, and I noticed that the Windows Security problems persisted, both during the rollback and while I briefly had Windows 11. Early the next morning, around 1 AM, I spoke with a chat agent who refused to connect me to a Windows specialist. I had to unlink my laptop from the Windows 11 Insider Preview and wait two days before Windows could troubleshoot my issues.
The next day, I finally got in touch with another Windows specialist. After another remote session, I was afraid I would be forced into another Windows 11 installation with the Media Creation Tool. The specialist assured me it would only install Windows 10 this time and that all my problems would be resolved. However, just two hours later, I returned to my PC and found myself completely locked out. I couldn't sign in or use my previous PIN. Safe Mode (F8, F1, Esc) didn’t work either.
I spent the night and the following morning chatting with a representative who also refused to connect me to a Windows specialist. From 12:30 AM until 6:30 AM, we tried different methods to regain access to my computer. I would wait 20 minutes for instructions, follow them, and respond, only for it not to work. For instance, if I reported back at 2:52 AM, I often wouldn’t hear back until 3:06 AM, leading to frustrating delays. Finally, around 6:30 AM, the agent promised I would receive a phone call within 24 hours.
I waited 48 hours, then purchased a USB flash drive with Windows 10 and reinstalled it myself. The remote sessions and chats had done more harm than good. It took me two exhausting days to clean up the mess using CMD Admin, PowerShell Admin, and the Registry Editor. Thankfully, Copilot was a huge help; without it, I would have incurred significant costs since HP wouldn’t honor my warranty. They claimed it was a Windows issue, and I couldn’t even get them to send me a USB drive.
During this ordeal, probably due to sleep deprivation, I accidentally signed into Fabric. I heard that I’d start getting billed after a while, and since I know very little about computers or technology, I felt I didn’t belong there. I tried to find out how to delete my account. Someone suggested going to my profile avatar or logo, but I didn’t see that option on community.fabric.microsoft.com.
After seeing a second reply, I clicked on Power BI, entered my email address, completed a few verification puzzles, but it prompted me to create an account. So, I’m guessing I never had a proper account, but I am recognized on Fabric. I turned off the email notifications to avoid wasting anyone's time with responses to my inquiries.
Thank you for your guidance; my nerves are still rattled from everything that happened. If you think I should take any additional steps to disconnect from Fabric, please let me know. Otherwise, thank you again, and God bless!
Barry
