Task Manager Shows All Processes as Elevated

Question

All processes are showing elevated in Task Manager under Details > Elevated.

Many of the processes are not set to run with administrative privileges, yet they are displayed as running with administrative privileges in Task Manager.

This issue is affecting compatibility with QB & ACT linking software, which won't function properly with QB & ACT listed as elevated.

This laptop has multiple issues stemming from Windows updates in 21H1. Most issues have been worked around, but this one remains unresolved.

Answer 1

Hello Robert. Can you confirm if UAC might have been turned off on this machine, either in Control Panel > User Accounts > Change User Account Control settings or in the registry?

A few steps worth trying:

1. Check UAC settings, make sure the slider isn’t set to Never notify. If it is, move it up and restart. This restores Windows’ ability to tell elevated from standard processes.
2. Open regedit and go to:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
   

   Look for EnableLUA. If it’s set to 0, change it to 1 and reboot. This re-enables UAC at the system level.

You can also try to create a new local user and log in. If Task Manager looks normal there, it means the issue is tied to your main profile rather than the whole system. Curious about this, to see how the system is treating other users in this context.