Stop program from asking for elevated privileges: Run As Administrator

Question

I have a file that, whenever I run it, asks for administrator permissions. How can I disable this so I can use it on other computers?

You would have to modify either the source of the program itself so it doesn't require Administrator permissions to run or modify the manfest file of the program. If you use the manfest file approach its very likely the program WILL NOT function as intended. — Ramhound, Apr 10 '17 at 17:16
Related: Run applications as administrator by default in Windows 10 — Ramhound, Apr 10 '17 at 17:17
As commented by @Ramhound the application is made internally to require admin rights and there may be a reason for it work around would be to add a task in task scheduler to bypass the UAC . Try these solutions https://www.raymond.cc/blog/task-scheduler-bypass-uac-prompt/ — arthur kay, Apr 10 '17 at 17:37
Possible duplicate of Selectively disabling UAC for specific programs on Windows 7 — Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007, Apr 10 '17 at 17:37
Why is the program asking for administrator permissions? Does it *need* administrator permissions? Are you asking for a way to make it unobtrusively run without administrator permissions, or are you asking for a way to make it run with administrator permissions without needing to ask? Please do not respond in comments; [edit] your question to make it clearer and more complete. — Scott - Слава Україні, Apr 10 '17 at 17:42

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 10 '17 at 17:36

Try to start the program from a batch file that first sets an environment variable

set __COMPAT_LAYER=RunAsInvoker

and check if it runs as the original user then (without needing elevation). Note that even when running without needing elevation, that does not mean it will work that way.

If yes, there are three possible reasons this program requires elevation

Magic filename hardcoded in Windows (like setup.exe, install.exe)
File has a manifest lying nearby (somefile.exe has somefile.exe.manifest) that requires elevated privileges
File has an embedded manifest that requies elevated privileges

First one is easy to solve (rename it), second as well (delete the manifest), for the third you'd have to extract the manifest with a resource extraction tool (which will invalidate the digital signature if any).

If no, the program checks for privileges and launches the dialog manually (by code). In that case if you don't have the source code to recompile the application, you are out of luck.

Related Question with similar solutions - readers may find useful. [Force a program to run without* administrator privileges or UAC?](https://superuser.com/questions/171917/force-a-program-to-run-without-administrator-privileges-or-uac)* — Mister_Tom, Aug 31 '17 at 21:38
Would like to point out there is a 4th option: Windows compatiblity database. This is why for example MassEffect.exe (the first game's exe) must run as administrator without being patched - if name is MassEffect.exe and name of a certain property in manifest is "Mass Effect", Windows forces it to run as admin. — Mgamerz, Nov 16 '19 at 20:39

Stop program from asking for elevated privileges: Run As Administrator

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