Disable UAC in Windows Server 2008

This article will cover the basics of User Account Control (UAC), which is a new feature in Windows Server 2008 to further control the security of your server.

If you are new to Windows Server 2008, then you are probably wondering why you are getting "Permission Denied " errors when attempting to even open your C drive folder.

To help prevent malicious software from silently installing and causing computer-wide infection, Microsoft developed a feature called User Account Control .

To get around these errors, you can simply disable the "User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode " security option.

To disable this feature, follow these steps, or simply let us know and we will take care of it for you:

Turning off UAC

Use the following procedure to disable UAC entirely.

To perform the following procedure, you must be able to log on with or provide the credentials of a member of the local Administrators group.

	Important:
	Turning off UAC reduces the security of your computer and may expose you to increased risk from malicious software. Microsoft does not recommend leaving UAC disabled.

 

To turn off UAC

Click Start , and then click Control Panel .   In Control Panel , click User Accounts .   In the User Accounts window, click User Accounts .   In the User Accounts tasks window, click Turn User Account Control on or off .   If UAC is currently configured in Admin Approval Mode, the User Account Control message appears. Click Continue .   Clear the Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer check box, and then click OK .   Click Restart Now to apply the change right away, or click Restart Later and close the User Accounts tasks window.

Disable Admin Approval Mode

Use the following procedure to disable Admin Approval Mode.

To disable Admin Approval Mode

Click Start , click All Programs , click Accessories , click Run , type secpol.msc in the Open box, and then click OK .   If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click Continue ..   From the Local Security Settings console tree, double-click Local Policies , and then double-click Security Options .   Scroll down and double-click User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode .   Select the Disabled option, and then click OK .   Close the Local Security Settings window.