Fix: UAC Prompts for Credentials When Windows Installer Repairs Apps

If you are trying to repair a software program using Windows Installer (MSI) in Windows 10 or Windows 11 device and the UAC (User Account Control) screen is asking to enter your account credentials, this article will help you in fixing the issue and disabling this new credentials prompt behavior of UAC for Windows Installer.

Windows Installer or MSI Installer is used by many application developers to distribute their apps. Windows Installer creates a setup package containing all required program files of the program. When the user runs the installer, it automatically extracts and stores the required program files on user’s device.

Windows Installer also comes with a built-in “Repair” feature which helps users in repairing an installed program if the user is facing difficulties while using the program. The repair function automatically repairs and restores fresh files of the program if it finds some files corrupted.

Users can use the repair function by right-clicking on the Windows Installer setup file or using classic Control Panel -> Programs and Features page.

In past, when the user used the repair option of Windows Installer, it didn’t ask the user to enter credentials but now many users might have noticed that Windows Installer has started asking them to enter their account credentials to perform the repair operation.

The prompt to enter credentials is displayed by UAC (User Account Control) tool which is a built-in security program in Windows operating system.

When the user selects repair option for Windows Installer, the UAC asks the user to enter his Windows user account credentials to start the repair feature.

It’s happening due to a new security feature added by a recently released security update for Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems. Recently Microsoft released new Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 which add this new UAC feature to users devices.

According to the official description provided by Microsoft:

The same elevation prompt feature has also been added to Windows Server 2012 R2 editions.

If you are annoyed by this new feature and want to turn off it, Microsoft has provided an official Registry tweak to disable new UAC security feature.

Following steps will help you in disabling new account credentials prompt by UAC for Windows Installer repair process in Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server 2012 R2:

STEP 1: Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

STEP 2: Now go to following key:

STEP 3: Under Windows key, create a new key and set its name to Installer

STEP 4: Now select Installer key and in right-side pane, right-click and select “New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value” option. Set the new DWORD name as DisableLUAInRepair and set the DWORD value to 1

STEP 5: You’ll need to restart your computer to take effects or you can restart Explorer using any method given in this article.

After restart, you’ll no longer get any credentials prompt by UAC while using Windows Installer repair option in your Windows computer.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default feature, delete the above mentioned DWORD from Registry.

NOTE: If you don’t want to modify registry yourself, we have created a ready-made Registry script file for you to apply the required Registry tweak automatically.

Download following ZIP file, extract it using 7-Zip or other file archive utilities and run the extracted REG file:

The script file will ask for confirmation, accept it. After applying the Registry script, restart your device or restart Explorer and the new UAC elevation prompt feature will be deactivated permanently in your Windows device.

The ZIP file also contains UNDO file to restore default settings in Windows 11.

Also Check:

Registry Tweaks to Customize User Account Control (UAC) Options in Windows Vista and Later

A Complete Guide for Tweaking User Account Control (UAC) in Windows Vista and Later

[Tip] Disable Modern UAC Prompt and Credential UI in Windows 10