Windows Vista Administrative Rights

[AustinRoepke]

Well, I've finally got Windows Vista to work for me. Except, when I try to load some programs, they report similar error messages that say that I don't have administrative rights or that I need to contact my administrator. But, I'm the only user on this computer. Is this like Windows XP, where a .reg file is at fault, or is it something else? And if it is a bad .reg file, where can I get a new one?

Thanks,
Austin Roepke

 

[RebateMonger]

You should read about "Marking an application to always run elevated" in the MIcrosoft TechNet: User Account Control Step by Step Guide

This kind of behavior is expected in Vista when older or badly-written applications don't follow the recommended Security model.

 

[AustinRoepke]

That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

You should also mention that in doing so you disable the security of UAC as well. They put it in there for a reason.

Edit: Bah, MrChad beat me to it!

 

[RebateMonger]

For sure, there will be some new common questions on AnandTech Forums (and elsewhere):

1) On my new Vista PC, I can't run my #29d9f0@#@% program. It says I don't have Administrative Rights. How do I fix it?

2) I want to buy a new PC. What's the difference between Vista Home, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, and Vista Ultimate? Which one should I get?

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

its only an advantage for noobs. it was the most annoying thing to me.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

its only an advantage for noobs. it was the most annoying thing to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_privilege

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

I think the jury is way out on this one. There are lots of advantages to Vista over XP. Whether UAC is one of them is yet to be judged imo. My feeling is that it will just teach inexperienced users to click 'Accept' on a whole new family of dialog boxes. This isn't a critique of MS, just my take on the effectiveness of it. I don't click stuff I don't mean to click, so I disabled it too.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: Markbnj

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

I think the jury is way out on this one. There are lots of advantages to Vista over XP. Whether UAC is one of them is yet to be judged imo. My feeling is that it will just teach inexperienced users to click 'Accept' on a whole new family of dialog boxes. This isn't a critique of MS, just my take on the effectiveness of it. I don't click stuff I don't mean to click, so I disabled it too.

The fact that Microsoft has made the default user a limited account by default is a huge step in the right direction. There is no reason that most users need to run as administrators for day-to-day tasks, and there is no reason why an average application needs administrative privileges in order to run.

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: Markbnj

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

I think the jury is way out on this one. There are lots of advantages to Vista over XP. Whether UAC is one of them is yet to be judged imo. My feeling is that it will just teach inexperienced users to click 'Accept' on a whole new family of dialog boxes. This isn't a critique of MS, just my take on the effectiveness of it. I don't click stuff I don't mean to click, so I disabled it too.

The fact that Microsoft has made the default user a limited account by default is a huge step in the right direction. There is no reason that most users need to run as administrators for day-to-day tasks, and there is no reason why an average application needs administrative privileges in order to run.

I'm not debating any of that, but it has nothing to do with UAC, which is the specific notification mechanism, not the underlying permissions architecture.

And is the default account limited? When I installed Vista it asked me to create an account, and placed it in the admin group. If I understand correctly, you have to use that account co create further "standard" accounts if you want to run with limited protections.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: Markbnj
And is the default account limited? When I installed Vista it asked me to create an account, and placed it in the admin group. If I understand correctly, you have to use that account co create further "standard" accounts if you want to run with limited protections.

Really? Is that true of the final version? If so it's very disappointing.

 

[stash]

Really? Is that true of the final version? If so it's very disappointing.

Yes. And yes, it is disappointing.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

its only an advantage for noobs. it was the most annoying thing to me.

Only a noob would say that

 

[jazzboy]

I'd say it's best to disable UAC before installing apps and then reenabling it afterwards.

Yea it's a shame that MS decided to still make the main account on a Vista install have have administrator rightx. They should've implemented a system where during setup, you must enter a password for the built in administrator account and then for your own account, made it a restricted type - and not allowed you to select administrator rights for it until you first log out and log in to the built in administrator account.

Anyway at least UAC is a step in the right direction.

 

[Motorheader]

...and the first Vista virus will be "click here to allow".

What a pile of horse doo-doo. A poorly written or older program - bah - poor excuse for this type of action to be necessary or encountered.

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Originally posted by: Smilin

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

its only an advantage for noobs. it was the most annoying thing to me.

Only a noob would say that

i dont have problems with security and iv never got a virus. i dont need to confirm that i want to do what i just told it to do.

 

[Kappo]

Originally posted by: Motorheader
...and the first Vista virus will be "click here to allow".

What a pile of horse doo-doo. A poorly written or older program - bah - poor excuse for this type of action to be necessary or encountered.

You would think that people would notice the whole screen dim except for the box you have to click. Maybe they wont pay attention and click no matter what, but I personally dont feel that it is Microsoft's place to take into account someone who is barely able to function in life due to massive retardation.

The security is that you know when something is being ran on your computer, if you click it, then that sounds like someone needs to take lessons from a 5 year old who can comprehend the words being printed on the screen.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze

Originally posted by: Smilin

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

its only an advantage for noobs. it was the most annoying thing to me.

Only a noob would say that

i dont have problems with security and iv never got a virus. i dont need to confirm that i want to do what i just told it to do.

It's not for you to confirm what you just told it to do. It's for you to deny what you didn't just tell it to do. You'll see. First time you see a UAC that you didn't ask for and you'll sh1t yourself....oh wait nevermind you disabled it. You'll sh1t yourself much later then...

UAC is more than just an annoying prompt. You're literally running with half your security token chopped off. It let's you get the best of both worlds: run as an admin without the risks.

I'm giving you a lil dose of devils advocate here though. I know what you are saying. I'm the same way...never had a virus or security issue that I know of. UAC is a bit painful when you are first getting moved in but once your system is all setup you really don't see it that often.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Smilin
It's not for you to confirm what you just told it to do. It's for you to deny what you didn't just tell it to do. You'll see.

I'm reminded of the .WMF exploit that hit a year ago. All you had to do was BROWSE an infected website and, if you were a Local Administrator on your PC, WHAM, you were infected. It wasn't a matter of clicking on anything. No doubt, we'll see an exploit like that again. Vista (as long as you didn't disable UAC) could have prevented the exploit.

I tried running as an XP "Local Restricted User" on my own office PC last year. XP makes it tough, especially when you're in the IT Consulting business and you need frequent access to low-level functions on your PC. Not to mention that even Microsoft still writes programs (Business Contact Manger Update, for one) that require Local Administrator rights by default.

I'm excited that Vista will make it easier to run with limited rights, but will allow quick access to those System settings if I need them.

 

[AustinRoepke]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

UAC is more of a handicap to me. It's like those plastic electrical plugs parents put on low outlets to keep children from electrocuting themselves. If you know how to use the power outlet, then there is no use for the plug.

 

[AustinRoepke]

Originally posted by: JonnyBlaze

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: AustinRoepke
That is probably the case, but I just decided to disable User Account Control (UAC). I found the steps at PETRI.co.il.

Here's what to do to disable UAC in windows:

Launch MSCONFIG [(winkey + r) then type in MSCONFIG]
Click Tools Tab
Scroll Down to 'Disable UAP', then click 'disable'.
Close MSCONFIG and reboot.

Congratulations on defeating Vista's arguably biggest advantage over XP.

its only an advantage for noobs. it was the most annoying thing to me.

I agree. If you dont know what you're doing, then you probably don't know how to disable it, either. So, either way, the problem is solved.

 

[Smilin]

I'm pretty sure I "know what I'm doing" more than most. I leave UAC enabled.

 

[AustinRoepke]

Originally posted by: Smilin
I'm pretty sure I "know what I'm doing" more than most. I leave UAC enabled.

I didn't disable it without a reason. I disabled UAC because it was interfering with other programs.

 

[Smilin]

What programs specifically??

Everything I've seen so far that had problems with UAC could be solved by one of:
1. Check admin box on the compatibility tab.
2. Start an admin command prompt and run it from there.
3. Right click it and run as administrator.
4. Do nothing. Just hit the continue box when prompted.