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How do I make a new MSN Hotmail account?

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Summary: Making a new MSN Hotmail account isn't as obvious as many think. First you need to make the option to make a new MSN Hotmail account visible - by signing out.

Please note that this article has been replaced with:
How do I make a new Windows Live Hotmail account?

How do I make another Hotmail account, something more appropriate for when I enter college like just my first and last name, something like that, how do I make another account, besides the one I have now.

A lot of people will think I'm nuts for taking on this question. To them, the answer seems so blindingly obvious they'll wonder why I'm wasting my time.

I'm not.

They don't see what I see - and what I see is this question, or very similar versions of it, being asked almost daily.

If hundreds of people miss "the obvious" - is it really that obvious?"

And besides, there are issues people should be aware of.

Here's the part that's so "obvious" to some, and not so obvious at all to many:

Step 1: Sign Out

The thing that confuses people is that they have some form of "remember me" turned on. That means you may never (or rarely) see the Hotmail login screen after your first login. That, in turn, means you'll never see the options to create a new account.

So sign out. Near the top of your browser window you'll see something like this:

Hotmail Signout button

Notice the signout button that I've highlighted. Click that, and you'll be signed out of Hotmail and returned to the MSN home page.

Now, go to http://hotmail.com, and you'll see a page that contains this:

Hotmail Login Screen

Instead of logging in, click on the Sign Up button, and you'll start the process of creating a new account.

Now, about those "issues" I mentioned. Here are some things to realize:

  • There's no way to transfer your existing information from your old HotMail account to your new one.

  • There's no way to 'rename' your existing account either.

  • HotMail is a free service, and you get what you pay for. Customer service is almost non-existent should you run into a problem.

Because I see so many people run into problems using, and in particular relying on, free email services such as HotMail I strongly recommend you never use this type of service for anything important. If your email is important to you, if keeping your contacts is important to you, and if having customer service to help you when (not if) you run into a problem is important to you, then I strongly suggest using an email account from your ISP or other paid provider.

If you're planning on changing your email address anyway, now is the perfect time to do so.

Related:

More articles about: MSN Hotmail

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Article 10756 | Posted September 27, 2006

Recent Comments

thanx!!!! i was messin wen i typed this in!!! but den this came up! =) tanx!

Posted by: louise at October 13, 2007 11:43 AM

Thanks you so much, you will help me communicating

Posted by: Kasukoo at October 16, 2007 10:17 AM

Really useful - I had made a mess setting up my paypal account and needed to start again with a new email account. you made this possible - thanks. As you say - obvious but not!

Posted by: magrat at October 20, 2007 03:09 AM

You know what, you're awesome...you're actually 100% kick ass because this had me confused for hours :S

Posted by: Surfa at October 21, 2007 07:49 AM

i got this hotmail address very easily.

Posted by: taniya at October 23, 2007 06:44 AM

how do u make a new account with the new windows live messenger

Posted by: mary at November 28, 2007 04:30 PM

how do i start with my email account and how do i use my email address that i put on above and do not know which name to put as my password

Posted by: virginia tierney at November 29, 2007 02:59 AM

I can't log onto hotmail.com my computer automatically takes me to the sign in page. I sign out, tell it to forget me, but i just can't get there no matter which way i try

Posted by: karen at December 1, 2007 08:43 AM

any way 2 email address can go into one inbox?? thanks, Dave

Posted by: dave at December 3, 2007 06:45 PM

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I'm closing comments on this article as it's out of date, and most of the
comments are, for lack of a better term, "content free".

This article has been replaced by:
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_make_a_new_windows_live_hotmail_account.html

Leo


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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at December 6, 2007 01:38 PM

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