This is a translation of the information I found on reddit and tried to find a way to use my US and Japanese Amazon accounts together when installing and using the Windows app (Kindle for PC).
In the article I wrote on NAVER Blog (South Korea), I have revised and updated it to make it as simple as possible to explain the changes in Windows 11 and the complexity of adding accounts.
Contents
1️⃣ Get the information you need to set up
2️⃣ Installing Kindle
3️⃣ How to add another user on Windows 11
4️⃣ Install additional apps using the “runas” command in Windows
5️⃣ Check one app running at the same time
6️⃣ Source
1️⃣ Get the information you need to set up
In Windows System Information, you will need the computer name and the new username information.
In the following, I write the computer name as “DOYOON” and the new username as “Amazon-JP”. The username you’re adding is for your Japanese Amazon account.
🔍 How to verify your computer name
Right-click on the Windows Start (looks like the Windows logo) button, and in the pop-up menu that appears, click System menu.
※ The images below were captured in November 2022 when I was using English Windows, so they may look a little different than today’s Windows versions.
🔍 Please check “computer name” under System Information
In Settings > System > About, the red square in the screenshot below is the computer name.
2️⃣ Installing Kindle
📥 Download
You can download the Kindle app by clicking on the link below, or by clicking on “Download for PC & Mac” as shown in the screenshot above.
※ Whenever possible, download any app from the official website, even if it’s a little hassle.
Sometimes, but not often, there are apps that are hacked or make you install additional unnecessary apps when downloaded from other sources.
These things are always a problem, so even if you think it’s safe, you should check it out before installing it.
https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=ruby_redirect?ie=UTF8&node=16571048011
🪛 Install Kindle
Run the downloaded file to install it.
Once installed, it should look like the screenshot below.
You don’t need to do “Type the characters you see in this image”.
Once you’re logged in, you’ll see the eBooks you’ve purchased from Amazon in your account.
The second installation and setup is located at 5️⃣.
✏️ Rename the file
As downloaded as of November 16, 2022, the file is named “KindleForPC-installer-1.39.65323.exe.” The number after it usually indicates the version.
You can rename the above file to “Kindle.exe” or “k.exe”.
You’ll need to enter this filename manually as you proceed. If you make a mistake and don’t get it right, you’ll have to do it again, so rename it to something simple to make it easier to type.
Another reason to rename the file is that if you’re running a file that you’ve already installed, you may run into problems with files left over from the installation that are still in Windows.
Renaming is done by selecting the file and clicking the keyboard shortcut F2 (Rename), which creates a block in the file name so that you can rename it.
📂 Moving file
To make things easier, if you have a single hard drive, move or copy this file to the top of your C drive.
I moved it to the Root Directory of my D drive, the top-level directory, as shown in the screenshot above.
3️⃣ How to add another user on Windows 11
😊 Add other users
Since the account you are adding is for use in Windows without signing in and after entering a password, you will not be adding a user from the account’s family group management, but as other users.
The screenshot below is what you see when you scroll to the Accounts screen within Windows Settings.
Click on the red square, Other users.
In your account settings, click the “Add Account” button, which is the pink (highlighted) button below.
A pop-up window will then appear, as shown below.
📝 Microsoft sign-in window and account terms confirmation window
You’re not creating a separate account to sign in to Microsoft here, you’re creating a local account that’s only used on your PC, so in the window below, click the red square that says “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information”.
You’ll then be taken to a screen that confirms the terms of your account.
Then, click on the “Add a user without a Microsoft account” part of the screen below.
On the next screen, enter the username and password you’d like to use, fill out the three security questions, and press the Next button.
The account is added as shown below.
4️⃣ Install additional apps using the “runas” command in Windows
⌨️ Running cmd (Command Prompt)
Click the Run window shortcut (Windows key + R), type cmd in the window that pops up, and press Enter.
⌨️ Command Prompt
Then, a window like below will appear.
Here, you can enter “cd /” and press Enter to move to the parent folder of C as shown in the window below, and enter “cls” and press Enter to clear the information on the screen. cls (clear screen, a command that clears what you have entered)
runas Command
Simple instructions
runas /user:{computer_name}\{user_name} {file path and file name to install}.
Example:
runas /user:DOYOON\Amazon-JP d:\k
.exe
Type as shown in the screenshot above, and press Enter,
a window will pop up asking you to enter the password “Amazon-JP”.
This is the password you entered when you created your account.
This password entry window may look unfamiliar. You’ll see a dot as you type. When you’re done typing your password, just hit enter at the end.
This will start the second Kindle installation.
This time, it will install the Kindle under C:\users\Amazon-JP.
Once the installation is complete and the Kindle is running, select the address of your second Amazon account from the options below.
Select it and sign in, and you’re done installing your second Amazon account. But you’re not done yet — you’ll need to create a shortcut to the app.
5️⃣ Check one app running at the same time
⚙️ Create, copy, and paste the shortcut
Now, when you launch the app, you’ll need to set up shortcuts to run the two apps separately. You can just use your old Kindle shortcut.
If you already have a Kindle shortcut on your desktop, just press Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V and change the settings.
If you don’t have a shortcut, create one and press Ctrl + C,
then press Ctrl + V.
I created it like the screenshot below.
I made it by changing the icon in the properties screen of the US Kindle icon.
⚙️Modify the properties of the shortcut
Right-click on the JP Kindle shortcut, click Properties, and change only the contents in the red square below next to the target, click “Apply”, and then click “OK”.
If you write the command directly to the target, it can be confusing.
Write the command in Notepad as shown below,
Make sure the computer name and ID are correct, then paste it into the target and click “Apply”.
If you just click OK, sometimes it doesn’t work.
Therefore, please click “Apply” and then click “OK”.
C:\Windows\System32\runas.exe /user:DOYOON\Amazon-JP C:\Users\Amazon-JP\AppData\Local\Amazon\Kindle\application\Kindle.exe
The DOYOON part is your computer name, and Amazon-JP is the username you added. You’ll need to edit the computer name in one place and the username in two places.
I deleted the startup location and shortcuts.
✅ Final check
If you happen to have both Kindles running, try closing and running them again.
The US Kindle will launch, but the additional Kindle you installed will ask for your password.
Just enter your password every time you launch the app, and it should work just fine! 😍
