Is it possible to get a C++ application running in Windows to request administrator privileges from the operating system at run time?

I know it can be done at compile time, but can&#39;t seem to find anywhere whether it can be done at run time.

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: What if I want the current instance to have elevated privileges? For example, I might have data stored in memory which I want to keep.

Requesting administrator privileges at run time

I&#39;m having an issue with a COM based client-server setup. The COM server is written in C# (.NET 4.0) and runs as a (registered) local server.

Depending on which application connects to the server, other clients will receive a **Server execution failed (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80080005 (CO_E_SERVER_EXEC_FAILURE)**

The underlying issue is explained [here (in the section COM is integrity aware)][1]. The way I understand it, it is being caused by the fact that an elevated application creates the server with a higher integrity level. When another non-elevated application then connects, it is not allowed to connect to the same instance. The same happens when a non-elevated application creates the process, followed an elevated application connecting.

I&#39;ve tried to implement the solution described on the [page][2]: modifying the registry to set a security descriptor that should allow all clients to connect. There is a [code sample][3] in C++, but this does effectively the same thing in .NET:

    // Security Descriptor with NO_EXECUTE_UP
    var sd = new RawSecurityDescriptor(&quot;O:BAG:BAD:(A;;0xb;;;WD)S:(ML;;NX;;;LW)&quot;);
    byte[] securityDescriptor = new Byte[sd.BinaryLength];
    sd.GetBinaryForm(securityDescriptor, 0);

    RegistryKey key = Registry.ClassesRoot.OpenSubKey(&quot;AppID\\{APP-ID-GUID}&quot;, true);
    if (key == null)
    {
        key = Registry.ClassesRoot.CreateSubKey(&quot;AppID\\{APP-ID-GUID}&quot;);
    }

    using (key)
    {
        key.SetValue(&quot;LaunchPermission&quot;, securityDescriptor, RegistryValueKind.Binary);
    }

However, this does not have the desired effect. When the second client tries to create an instance of the object in question, Windows tries to launch a separate instance of my COM Server, but the server prevents two instances from running as the same user. Given the permissions I&#39;ve set, I would not expect a second instance to launch in the first place.

Since one of the client applications is running in Medium IL and the other in High IL, I also experimented with variants on the [mandatory label][4], like:

    O:BAG:BAD:(A;;0xb;;;WD)S:(ML;;NX;;;ME)
    O:BAG:BAD:(A;;0xb;;;WD)S:(ML;;NX;;;LW)(ML;;NX;;;ME)(ML;;NX;;;HI)

I&#39;ve also tried setting the `ROTFlags` registry key to 0x1 (ROTFLAGS_ALLOWANYCLIENT) as suggested on the page, still no change in behavior.

I&#39;ve established that the LaunchPermission registry value is being used in some way. I cannot discover where it&#39;s being read using Process Monitor, but when I use the `dcomcnfg.exe` tool to set the same key, I can force the server to fail loading by denying launch permissions.

I would like to point out that my server process does not need elevation. How do I make both elevated and non-elevated processes capable of connecting to a single server instance?


  [1]: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb625962.aspx
  [2]: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb625962.aspx
  [3]: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms679687.aspx
  [4]: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb625958.aspx
  [5]: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms679687.aspx

Allowing connection to .NET COM server with mismatching integrity level

I&#39;m writing a tweak utility that modifies some keys under `HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT`.

All works fine under Windows XP and so on. But I&#39;m getting error `Requested registry access is not allowed` under Windows 7. Vista and 2008 I guess too.

How should I modify my code to add UAC support?

Requested registry access is not allowed

I have a product setup executable that copies some files to the user&#39;s hard drive. It&#39;s not a typical installer in the normal sense (it doesn&#39;t add anything to the Start Menu or Program Files folders). 

Each time the setup program is run on Vista, after the exe terminates, Vista produces a task dialog:

   - **This program might not have installed correctly**
   - Reinstall using recommended settings
   - This program installed correctly

Is there a function I need to call from the exe or registry entry to set, to indicate to the operating system that the program installed correctly (or to at least supress this message)?

**Related questions:** [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1069135/this-program-might-not-have-installed-correctly-message-in-windows-7-rc](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1069135/this-program-might-not-have-installed-correctly-message-in-windows-7-rc) (for Windows 7-specific issues)

How to prevent &quot;This program might not have installed correctly&quot; messages on Vista

In Windows 7, you could go into a programs compatibility settings and check off to always run as an Administrator. Is there a similar option in Windows 8? 

I&#39;ve always disabled UAC on my machines, and did the same after my Windows 8 upgrade, or so I thought. It turns out there is no `off` option, only turning off the notifications. 

This means nothing is run as an Administrator despite being in the Administrator group. I need to keep closing and reopening my consoles\Visual Studio when I try to debug (attach to process, not &lt;kbd&gt;F5&lt;/kbd&gt;), which is very frustrating. 

It&#39;s really annoying that I need to either remember to take extra steps to open it as an Administrator or tell it to close and re-open when I go to debug for the first time.

Can you force Visual Studio to always run as an Administrator in Windows 8?

I want my batch file to only run elevated. If not elevated, provide an option for the user to relaunch batch as elevated.

I&#39;m writing a batch file to set a system variable, copy two files to a *Program Files* location, and start a driver installer. If a Windows&amp;nbsp;7/Windows&amp;nbsp;Vista user ([UAC][1] enabled and even if they are a local admin) runs it without right-clicking and selecting &quot;Run as Administrator&quot;, they will get &#39;Access Denied&#39; copying the two files and writing the system variable.

I would like to use a command to automatically restart the batch as elevated if the user is in fact an administrator. Otherwise, if they are not an administrator, I want to tell them that they need administrator privileges to run the batch file. I&#39;m using **xcopy** to copy the files and **REG ADD** to write the system variable. I&#39;m using those commands to deal with possible Windows&amp;nbsp;XP machines. I&#39;ve found similar questions on this topic, but nothing that deals with relaunching a batch file as elevated.

  [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Account_Control


How can I auto-elevate my batch file, so that it requests from UAC administrator rights if required?

I am writing an HTTP server in C#.

When I try to execute the function `HttpListener.Start()` I get an `HttpListenerException` saying 

&gt; &quot;Access Denied&quot;.

When I run the app in admin mode in windows 7 it works fine.

Can I make it run without admin mode? if yes how?
If not how can I make the app change to admin mode after start running?


    using System;
    using System.Net;
    
    namespace ConsoleApplication1
    {
        class Program
        {
            private HttpListener httpListener = null;
    
            static void Main(string[] args)
            {
                Program p = new Program();
                p.Server();
            }
    
            public void Server()
            {
                this.httpListener = new HttpListener();
    
                if (httpListener.IsListening)
                    throw new InvalidOperationException(&quot;Server is currently running.&quot;);
    
                httpListener.Prefixes.Clear();
                httpListener.Prefixes.Add(&quot;http://*:4444/&quot;);
    
                try
                {
                    httpListener.Start(); //Throws Exception
                }
                catch (HttpListenerException ex)
                {
                    if (ex.Message.Contains(&quot;Access is denied&quot;))
                    {
                        return;
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        throw;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }



HttpListener Access Denied

I am trying to write a batch file for my users to run from their Vista machines with UAC.  The file is re-writing their hosts file, so it needs to be run with Administrator permissions.  I need to be able to send them an email with a link to the .bat file.  The desired behavior is that when they right-click on the file and say Open, they will get one of those UAC dialogs that makes the screen go dark and forces them to answer whether they want to give the application permission to run as administrator.  Instead, they are just seeing &quot;Access denied&quot; on the command line window.

Is this possible to do differently?

How to request Administrator access inside a batch file

I want my Python script to copy files on Vista. When I run it from a normal `cmd.exe` window, no errors are generated, yet the files are NOT copied. If I run `cmd.exe` &quot;as administator&quot; and then run my script, it works fine.

This makes sense since User Account Control (UAC) normally prevents many file system actions.

Is there a way I can, from within a Python script, invoke a UAC elevation request (those dialogs that say something like &quot;such and such app needs admin access, is this OK?&quot;)

If that&#39;s not possible, is there a way my script can at least detect that it is not elevated so it can fail gracefully?

Request UAC elevation from within a Python script?

I have a batch file which is in a directory and must be run from there as well because it updates files within this directory.&lt;br /&gt;
This works perfectly fine, except when the user runs the batch file as administrator (required on Vista). Then the starting directory is C:\Windows\System32.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Is there any way to still be able to know from which directory the batch file was run?&lt;br /&gt;
I dont want the user to enter the directory manually.

Windows batch file starting directory when &#39;run as admin&#39;

I have an application that needs to detect whether or not it is running with elevated privileges or not.  I currently have code set up like this:

    static bool IsAdministrator()
    {
        WindowsIdentity identity = WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent();
        WindowsPrincipal principal = new WindowsPrincipal(identity);
        return principal.IsInRole (WindowsBuiltInRole.Administrator);
    }

This works to detect if a user is an administrator or not, but doesn&#39;t work if running as an administrator without elevation.  (For example in vshost.exe).

How can I determine whether or not *elevation is [already in force or] possible*?

Detect if running as Administrator with or without elevated privileges?

This question applies to Windows Vista!

I have an application which normally works without administrative privileges. There is one activity which does need administrative privilege but I don&#39;t want to start the application itself with higher privileges when I know most of time user wont even be using that feature.

I am thinking about certain method by which I can elevate the privileges of application on some event (such as press of a button). Example:

![][1]

If user clicks this button then he is prompted with UAC dialog or consent. How can I do this?


  [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/7wMTs.jpg

How to elevate privileges only when required?

I created my own parental control app to monitor my kids activity. The app&#39;s only GUI is a task bar icon. The program is installed as admin. I&#39;d like this program to be started up automatically as admin user on Windows startup, so that standard users cannot kill it from task manager. 

I can create a registry key at:

    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

to make it run automatically when Windows starts up. The problem is that the program is started as the logged in (standard) user.

How can I make it run in an elevated mode? Is this possible at all in Win7? 



How to run a program automatically as admin on Windows 7 at startup?

I&#39;m running PowerShell in a Windows 7 x64 virtual machine. I have a shared folder on the host mapped as a network drive (Z:). When I run PS normally I can access that drive just fine, but if I run it &quot;as administrator&quot; it tells me:
    
    Set-Location : Cannot find drive. A drive with the name &#39;Z&#39; does not exist.
    At line:1 char:13
    + Set-Location &lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;  Z:
        + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (Z:String) [Set-Location], DriveNotFoundException
        + FullyQualifiedErrorId : DriveNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetLocationCommand

How do I access network drives as administrator?

Cannot access network drive in PowerShell running as administrator

I am trying to install Xampp win32-1.8.2 on Windows 8.1. I get a message saying&quot; Because an activated user account User Account on your system some functions of XAMPP are possibly restricted.&quot; I&#39;ve tried to change the user account control settings but still the warning is there. And the APACHE does not start. I&#39;ve also disabled my IIS but still, its not working. What should I do? Thanks.![enter image description here][1]


  [1]: http://i.stack.imgur.com/cNdNF.png

XAMPP installation on Win 8.1 with UAC Warning

I&#39;m trying to document a work flow with a series of screen shots.  At one point in the flow, a UAC prompt appears, and I&#39;d like to grab a bitmap of it to make my storyboard complete.  Because UAC prompts are on a virtual desktop (or something like that), the usual Alt+PrintScreen doesn&#39;t work.  Any suggestions?

How to screen shot a UAC prompt?

I&#39;m building an MSI installer for windows and sign the installer using signtool. When I run the .msi to test it, the UAC (User Account Control) prompt shows up to ask me if I want to allow the installation to proceed. That&#39;s fine, but the prompt shows a number of fields, and for the Program Name field it displays something like &quot;403b3.msi&quot;. This is not the name of the msi I&#39;m running.

How can I get the correct Program Name to be displayed?

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