Windows Vista - Can't start any program without choosing "Run as administrator"

Posted by Dave Forgac on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Dave Forgac
Published on 2010-04-04T17:57:05Z Indexed on 2010/04/04 18:03 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 273

Filed under:

windows-vista

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permissions

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windows-update

A friend called me saying that her computer recently said it was applying a Windows update when it was shutting down. Now when logged in as her normal user whenever she tries to run any program from the start menu or from a shortcut on the desktop she gets the following popup:

"Windows cannot access the specified device path or file

You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item"

If she right-clicks and chooses 'Run as administrator' the program will run.

We checked the Windows update history and it said the update was applied successfully and that there are no updates available.

Unfortunately I'm in a different city so I don't have physical access to the system to look at it any further. Has anyone had a similar problem or have any suggestions?

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