Disable User Account Control (UAC) in Windows 7

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

1. Go to the Start Menu -> Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Accounts -> Change User Account Control Settings

 

Disable UAC via Registry Editor

1. Type “regedit” in the Start -> Search bar.
2. Go to the following Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem
3. Locate REG_DWORD: EnableLUA
4. Set the value of EnableLUA to 0.
5. Locate REG_DWORD: ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin
6. Set the value of ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin to 0.
7. Restart

Disable UAC via Group Policy

1. Type “gpedit.msc” in the Start -> Search bar.
2. Double-Click: Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options.
3. Scrolling to the bottom of the screen shows the following User Account Control Settings.
   
4. Locate: “User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode” and modify to “Elevate without prompt”
5. Locate: “User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation” and modify it to “Disabled”
6. Locate: “User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode” and modify it to “Disabled”
7. Locate: “User Account Control: Only elevate UIAccess applications that are installed in secure locations” and modify it to “Disabled”
8. Restart.

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3. Windows Server 2003 Password Policy Changes
4. Windows XP Automatically Restarts after Shutdown
5. Disabling Windows Search in Vista: Stop hard drive running constantly

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