Modifying the User Account Options in Windows 7 is slightly different than in Windows Vista. The default UAC prompts in Windows 7 are, in my opinion, sufficient for the average user. There are instances when a user would want to disable UAC or a Network Admin would want to disable UAC on all computers via Group Policy. Below are 3 methods to turn up, turn down, or disable UAC completely.
Disable UAC via Control Panel
- Go to the Start Menu -> Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Accounts -> Change User Account Control Settings
Disable UAC via Registry Editor
- Type “regedit” in the Start -> Search bar.
- Go to the following Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem
- Locate REG_DWORD: EnableLUA
- Set the value of EnableLUA to 0.
- Locate REG_DWORD: ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin
- Set the value of ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin to 0.
- Restart
Disable UAC via Group Policy
- Type “gpedit.msc” in the Start -> Search bar.
- Double-Click: Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies ->Security Options.
- Scrolling to the bottom of the screen shows the following User Account Control Settings.
- Locate: “User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode” and modify to “Elevate without prompt”
- Locate: “User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation” and modify it to “Disabled”
- Locate: “User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode” and modify it to “Disabled”
- Locate: “User Account Control: Only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations” and modify it to “Disabled”
- Restart.
