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I have intentions of making it possible for a standard user on my computer to be able to install drivers without the constant need for UAC prompting for admin password. I'm 90% sure this is possible with the right solution, I just haven't been able to find one that solves the problem entirely. More specifically:
I want a standard user to be able to run apps such as AMD Ryzen Master and install drivers via Nvidia GeForce Experience. These tasks requires admin privileges but for me it's a neccesity that a standard user can work with them as in my personal circumstance it isn't feasible to constantly enter the admin password. I am in need of a solution.
**Things I have already tried:
I believe it's potentially possible via Windows Powershell / Registry Editor / Local Group Policy Editor but I have no idea where to start. I just need something that allows or grants a standard user admin privileges for certain apps that I pre-specify and absolutely trust.
Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.
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This isn't a PowerShell issue. Why include a Windows Server PowerShell tag?
If you don't have high security requirements, you can try my RunAsAdmin.ps1 script.
There's also Run As Rob. I believe that there are other forum users who have used that successfully.
I followed a few steps on the runasrob website. It seems I run into the same problem as with RunAsTool. I get it set up to the point where it asks me for my user password. I know I am entering it correctly, but it gives me the "Can't login, Wrong credentials? Error 1326" message. Unless I am somehow entering a password it isn't looking for. I'm assuming it's the same password I use to log into Windows. Any ideas?
Are you logging in with a Microsoft account, a local account, or a domain account? Open a command prompt and run whoami.exe.
Open Powershell_ISE and test with this script using your id+pswd.
$user = "admin"
$password = "admin"
$secpswd = ConvertTo-SecureString $Password -AsPlainText -Force
$Cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ($User, $secpswd)
Start-Process cmd.exe -ArgumentList "/k whoami.exe " -credential $Cred
I would assume it's a Microsoft account as both of the accounts on this PC use email addresses linked to Microsoft. It's just a standard user account that was made through going to Settings -> Accounts -> Add User. I wasn't even aware that you could sign in via any other way. I am entering the password that I use to actually log onto Windows and it's saying wrong credentials. The username is automatically there and it's the name of this user account. Not sure what other credentials it wants. I tried the script and it also says wrong credentials... so if it isn't the password that's wrong is it somehow the user?
I sign in to my laptop with a Microsoft account. When I run whoami.exe from a command prompt it shows ccccccc\eeeee, where ccccccc is my laptop's computer name, and eeeee is the first 5 letters of my email address.
If I run "whoami /all" I see "MicrosoftAccount\eeeeeeeeeeeee@live.com" in the output.
If I run "net user", I see local accounts like Administrator, DefaultAccount, Guest, WDAGUtilityAccount, and my eeeee account.
In the Powershell script that I posted, I put eeeee (the 5 letters from whoami) in the $user variable and the password that I use to log in with.
Give that a try.
I tried your suggestions. This is what I found:
Results from running "whoami.exe" via Command Prompt:
NameOfDesktop\MyUsername (it may be a local account I am referring to, because it doesn't display an email here, although the account name it is referring to, to my knowledge is tied to this Microsoft email that I use to log in every day. For clarification, when I am prompted to log onto Windows after starting my computer, it is an email account that is displayed, not a username.)
Results from running whoami /all
Under "User Name", it's "NameOfDesktop\MyUsername" again. If I scroll down a bit until I get to "NT AUTHORITY\This Organization", it says "MicrosoftAccount\MyEmailAddress@blahblah.com" and just underneath that it says
"NT AUTHORITY\Local account"
I tried the Powershell script again, I have tried:
in the $user variable and the password I use to sign into this account. I always get the following error:
Start-Process : This command cannot be run due to the error: The user name or password is incorrect.
At line:5 char:2
+ Start-Process cmd.exe -ArgumentList "/k whoami.exe " -credential $ ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (:) [Start-Process], InvalidOperationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvalidOperationException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.StartProcessCommand
Then just create another admin account that you use for installs. Open a command prompt with "Run as administrator" and run these commands with an Admin account name of your choice.
net user Admin YourSecretPassword /add
net localgroup Administrators Admin /add
Thanks. I did that, but it says I need to enter standard user credentials to run the shortcut on RunAsRob. I looked under the 4th option "Run application as another user" on RunAsRob website and followed the instructions. It didn't let me test the encrypted file, like it wouldn't open.
I have not personally used that tool.
Please remember that we can't see your screen, so we don't know what account you've logged in as, what folder you are saving files to, what NTFS permissions are on those files, etc, etc.
I need to enter standard user credentials to run the shortcut
The purpose of the shortcut is to allow the standard user who has logged on to the desktop to execute it. That user should not be prompted for credentials, because he's already himself. So to speak. Even logged in with a different admin account you should be able to run it. What are the permissions on the shortcut? What folder is it in?
It didn't let me test the encrypted file
I would expect that it should have produced some error message. Does the shortcut point to the program and file as the web site says?
runasrob.exe /cryptfile:”c:\yourpath\YourCryptFile.xus”
Try using a .bat file to call RAR and put a pause statement in it to see if RAR outputs an error to the console. Do you have spaces in the file name?
On the runasrob website, what I was talking about when I mentioned that I needed to enter "standard user credentials" was the 2nd "Run application as administrator" option. I followed those steps and that leads to a prompt where I enter my own credentials on the current account I am logged into, and that needs to be a standard user, not an admin, since the point is to make it so a standard user can run with admin permissions.
I followed the steps again under the 4th "Run application as another user" option. I don't believe there are any special permissions on the shortcut. When I press the test crypt file button it comes up with some messages on the console (but doesn't open the app that I want it to):
`
Build Cryptfile:``C:\Users\Username\Downloads\Nvidia.xus
application: NVIDIA GeForce Experience.exe
domain: localhost
user: Admin
Returned information number: -23823983291
decrypt and open process as user Admin
domain: DESKTOP-NAME
"C:\MyPathTo\NVIDIA GeForce Experience\NVIDIA GeForce Experience.exe"
`
I tried RunAsRob on a test VM and got it to launch cmd.exe as an admin account, but the process was not elevated. To run as an admin I had to install the service. But when I tried to test it, it prompted me for my testuser passsword as you discovered too. That did not make any sense to me. I don't know what it's doing.
I had better luck with the runastool.
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/runastool-run-program-as-administrator
Make sure that you click on the correct download link. There is a lot of click bait on that site.
I do not like the fact that the app is not signed and I got this prompt. In any event, it appears to run ok.
I defined cmd.exe to run as my admin account and created a shortcut on testuser's desktop.
When I double click the shortcut, I get the UAC prompt to elevate the process. I assume that the program that you need to run requires elevation, so give that a try.
I finally got it working and it was because of your suggestion to make a new Admin account for downloads. I had been stuck trying to fix this for so long and it took so much time trying to find solutions on the internet but it really had such a simple solution. I appreciate the help so much. Doing God's work, Moto