Sometimes, when you try to install a new software on your Windows computer, you might fail in the process because of the error “The requested operation requires elevation.” It is an error of permission that means the error occurs when you as the user don’t have the appropriate permissions to perform the installation process. In this article, you will read more about this error and learn how you can repair it.

As it is a permission error, so the error can occur under a different scenario, and not just during the installation of software programs. You also hold the chances of getting this error while doing Windows configuration alteration, setting modifications, software deployment, commands execution in CMD prompt, software removal, etc.

The repairing method of the error will appear very simple once you will understand its causes. As mentioned above, it is a permission error. So, to get rid of the error, you simply need to have the right permissions. Once you have the right permissions, the error will automatically get repaired.

Cause of the Error

As you can read the error, “the requested operation requires elevation” talks about elevation. Here, elevation means ‘elevated rights.’ Elevated rights also mean admin rights. In Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8, certain operations are executable only if you have the admin rights. A few such operations are software installation, software removal, commands execution, settings modification, etc. From a normal user account, you can’t perform these operations as these operations are likely to make major modification on your Windows. That is why such modifications are permissible only on an Administrator account.

Troubleshooting the Error

Login from the Administrator Account

If you are attempting to perform these operations from a normal user account, then you need to log into your computer as Administrator and then try performing the operations once again. This time you shouldn’t get the error.

Run the Program as Administrator

However, sometimes just logging into the computer from the administrator account is not enough. In addition to that, you also need to run the program as Administrator. Running a program as Administrator and logging into the computer as Administrator is two different things. Sometimes, to acquire the elevated permissions, you need to perform both the steps.

Disable the UAC (User Account Control)

Sometimes, especially in case of a shared computer, there exists an ‘Admin Group.’ The group includes many users as ‘Admin members.’ These Admin members have some of the admin rights but not all. Till Windows XP, it was possible to repair the error “the requested operation requires elevation” even from an Admin member account.

But the UAC of Windows Vista and above versions doesn’t consider the admin rights of Admin member as the elevated rights. Thus, if you attempt to perform certain operations from an Admin member account, then also you will get this permission error. In case you are using Windows Vista and above versions, then you strictly need to use the Administrator account.

But, if you want a group of users to have the admin rights, then you have to get the UAC disabled. UAC is the Windows feature that identifies your user type and its respective permissions. A disabled UAC won’t be able to distinguish between an admin member and the ‘Administrator,’ and thus it will not restrict the user with this error.

To disable or turn off the User Access Control (UAC), you can avail online computer support help. Dial a reputed tech support firm and an experienced technical support engineer will be ready 24x 7 to repair the error. However, even to disable the UAC, the tech support engineer will require the admin rights.

Thus, you need to provide the technical support engineer your admin login credentials, and then he or she will execute the following steps to disable the UAC.

• Click the ‘Start’ menu.
• Open ‘Control Panel.’
• Navigate to ‘User Account.’
• Then, click the link for ‘User Account Control’ settings.
• In the ‘User Account Control Settings’ dialog box, you will see a control level.
• Now, drag the control level to ‘Never Notify.’
• Next, click ‘OK.’
• That will disable the UAC.

Conclusion

It is a minor error because it doesn’t refer any technical flaw on your computer. Various other errors often result because of hardware issue or software issue, so it is not very tricky to repair the error. All you need is the administrator login credentials. Normally, you should not need any professional computer support to resolve the error. However, if disabling the UAC is appearing difficult to you, then you can go for online tech support help and get the error repaired easily.

Getting the “The requested operation requires elevation” error on a Windows computer is not surprising. There are various scenarios in which you can come across this error. For instance, the error might occur while using the Windows Command Prompt or the Windows Update Center. In this blog post, you will get information about the intricacies of this error in detail. After that, you will also learn the troubleshooting tips that will help you in fixing the error.

Understanding the Error  

Technically, the error “The requested operation requires elevation” is not a very complex error, as it is a simple permission error. The error occurs when you attempt to perform certain Windows operations without appropriate permissions or rights.

You probably know that in Windows, you have one Administrator account and standard user accounts. The Administrator account has special privileges and rights. Certain operations are executable only if you have the Admin rights, also known as privileged rights. Running network commands or making Windows OS modifications are some such operations for which privileged/admin rights are mandatory.

Why Elevation is Necessary for Executing Certain Operations?

Security is the main reason for setting this mandatory bar. Otherwise, any standard user would have been able to change the critical settings and configuration of a computer. Thus from the security perspective, Windows have limited the rights to certain operations to the Administrator only. Before making any important changes in the Windows OS, the user needs to authenticate himself as the Administrator. For that he needs to enter the Administrator login credentials. Then, UAC (User Account Control) identifies your account type, and accordingly permits or restricts you from performing your requested operation.

Computer Support Troubleshooting Tip 1: Run as Administrator

If you login to your computer using the standard user account and then attempt to perform those operations that require privilege operations, then UAC will restrict you with this error. Thus, on receiving this error, there are two simple things you can do to fix the error:

• Log out from the standard user account and login to your computer with the Administrator account.

If you don’t want to log out from the standard user account, and still want to acquire the admin rights, then perform the following steps:

• Go to your system’s desktop, and select the program you want to run.
• Right-click on it, and select ‘Run as Administrator.’
• Now, type your Administrator login credential and you will get the admin rights for running only that particular program.

Computer Support Troubleshooting Tip 2: Disable UAC

An operation or program that requires elevated rights always has to be run as Administrator, and for that you will always require typing your Administrator login credentials. However, if you are the only user of the computer or share it with only trusted peers, then you can try out a tricky troubleshooting tip. The tip is to disable the UAC. As mentioned above, UAC is responsible for identifying your account type. Thus, if you disable UAC on your computer, then there will be no one to distinguish between if you are an Administrator or a standard user. However, you should disable the UAC, only if you know that your computer is safe and will not get illegitimately accessed. If security is not a concern for you, then you can avoid keeping separate accounts for the Administrator and standard user.

How to Disable UAC?

Disabling the UAC is a bit complicated task. If you are just an average computer user, then it’s better not to self-perform it, rather go for online technical support services. The tech support expert will help you in getting the UAC disabled. However, the process of disabling UAC requires the Admin login credential for once.

The computer support expert will perform the following steps to disable the UAC:

• Go to ‘Start’ button and click it.
• Click on ‘Control Panel.’
• In the search box, type ‘UAC.’
• Then, click ‘Change User Account Control settings.’
• Move the slider to the ‘Never notify position,’ to turn off the UAC.
• Then click ‘OK.’
• When prompted, type your Administrator password.
• Now, restart your computer, and UAC will get turned off.

Conclusion

With these steps, the tech support engineer will disable the UAC, and then technically you shouldn’t get the “The requested operation requires elevation” error while executing any operation on Windows. However, disabling the UAC is not a right move from the security perspective. Thus, it is advisable to use the ‘Run as Administrator’ option. In the bottom line, you can’t fix this error without using the Administrator login credential. And if you have the Admin login credential, then fixing this error is not an issue.

Windows is certainly one of the best computing platforms. But it is also true that over Windows platform, you can easily come across an error. Corrupted Windows Registry, overcrowded registry entries, malware, viruses, permission issues and many other causes lead to different types of errors. ‘The requested operation requires elevation’ is a common Windows error that crops up when you use the command prompt.

If you are struggling with this error, then this blog will help you in learning some useful computer support tips that will help you in getting rid of the error.

Understanding the Error

Before you learn the tips, it is imperative for you to understand the cause of the error. The error is a permission error. It occurs while you use the Windows command prompt. Over the Windows environment, there are certain commands that are executable only from the elevated command prompt. If you try executing these commands from the standard command prompt, then will get restricted with the error ‘the requested operation requires elevation.’

The error clearly signifies that you need to elevate your account type of command prompt to run the request on command or operation. Thus, if you are log in from a standard user account, then your command prompt will not have the administrative privileges. To get the admin rights, you need to log in with your Administrator’s account.

Thus, to use the elevated command prompt, it is essential that you should have Administrator’s login credentials. It is not essential that you have to log out from your standard user account, and then log into your Administrator account. Even if you are using the standard user account, you can launch the elevated command prompt. However, even to do that you need to have the Administrator’s password.

Following are some of the useful computer support tips that will help you in launching the elevated command prompt:

Technical Support Tip 1: Run as Administrator from Shortcut

• Click the ‘Start’ menu
• Select ‘All Programs.’
• Then type ‘Accessories.’
• You should be able to see shortcut labeled ‘Command Prompt.’
• Right-click on it.
• Next, select ‘Run as Administrator.’
• Next, a ‘User Account Control’ prompt will appear.
• Here, you need to click ‘Yes’ so that the Command Prompt can make changes on your computer.
• That will open the ‘Elevated Command Prompt’ as shown below:

Technical Support Tip 2: Use ‘Ctrl+Shift+Enter’ to launch Cmd.exe

• Click on the ‘Start’ menu
• In the search field, type cmd
• Then press the ‘Ctrl+Shift+Enter’ keys on your keyboard
• It will open a prompt of ‘User Account Control’ asking your consent
• Then, click the ‘Yes’ button to launch the Elevated Command Prompt

Technical Support Tip 3: Create a Shortcut for Elevated Command Prompt

If you require using the elevated command prompt often, then you can try this easier way of launching it. The quickest way to access the elevated command prompt is to create a shortcut on your desktop. To create the shortcut, perform the following steps:

• Click on the ‘Start’ menu.
• Then, select ‘All Programs.’
• Next, select ‘Accessories.’
• Here, you will see a shortcut labeled ‘Command Prompt.’
• Right-click on it, copy it and paste it
• Then, select ‘Pin to Taskbar.’
• That will create the shortcut for Command Prompt.
• Right-click on it.
• Then, select ‘Properties.’
• In the properties screen, click the ‘Shortcut’ tab.
• Then, click the ‘Advanced’ button.
• That will open the following screen.
• Here, tick the box labeled ‘Run as administrator.’
• Then, click the ‘OK’ button.
• Click ‘OK’ button one more time to exit from the shortcut’s properties.
• Now, whenever you need to use the shortcut, just double-click on it
• It will automatically run the elevated Command Prompt.

Conclusion

With these computer support tips, you have learned how to run the elevated command prompt so that you can run your commands without facing the error ‘the Requested operation requires elevation.’ You can get rid of the error, even by disabling the UAC (User Account Control.) But, keeping it disabled is not a good idea from security’s perspective. Thus, whenever you receive the referred error, it is better to use the elevated command prompt by using the tech support tips mentioned above.