Right-Click on Exe and Run as Administrator Versus Installing as the Administrator

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When I logon to my Windows 7 Professional, I am automatically considered to be the Administrator according to my User Account found under the Control Panel. Consequently, I have been installing some complex software by simply double-clicking on the relevant executable (exe) files. However, I am now wondering whether I have made a mistake in installing this software in this fashion because I have discovered after the fact that the installation manual says that I must right-click on the exe file and choose the option to “Run as Administrator” in order to install the software. Given this discovery, I now have two questions:

1) If I am automatically logged onto my computer as the Administrator, do I still need to right-click the exe files and choose the “Run as Administrator” option in order to obtain successful installations or is the double-click on the executable file an identical procedure to insure a successful installation?

2) If the two procedures mentioned above are not identical even when I am logged onto the system as the Administrator, should I uninstall the software and re-install the software by using the right-click and “Run as Administrator” option?

I should note that I am the only person who uses this PC and that the newly installed software “seems” to be working. Nevertheless, I have learned through past painful experiences that failure to follow the exact instructions in a manual can be deadly over the long run. Thus, I welcome your feedback. Thank you in advance. David

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1) Modern software using modern installers ask Windows for the correct permission and if they are not running as admin Windows prompts you to supply appropriate credentials. This happens whether you are an admin or ordinary user. This may not be the case with older software.

2) There is no need to re-install anything if it is running correctly – it wouldn’t have installed without the correct permission, unless you had done some very strange things to your Windows installation.

cheers, Paul

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1) Modern software using modern installers ask Windows for the correct permission and if they are not running as admin Windows prompts you to supply appropriate credentials. This happens whether you are an admin or ordinary user. This may not be the case with older software.

2) There is no need to re-install anything if it is running correctly – it wouldn’t have installed without the correct permission, unless you had done some very strange things to your Windows installation.

cheers, Paul

Paul, Thank you for this reassuring feedback. David

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Were you prompted to accept a UAC during it’s install ?

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Were you prompted to accept a UAC during it’s install ?

Sudo15, I honestly do not recall whether I received a UAC popup. David

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Unless you changed the account name of The Administrator your account is a member of the administrative group. You are an administrator but that is not the same as the built-in Administrator account. As an admin you do not have unfettered access to the machine. You just have permissions to do things that a regular user does not.

Joe

--Joe

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Unless you changed the account name of The Administrator your account is a member of the administrative group. You are an administrator but that is not the same as the built-in Administrator account. As an admin you do not have unfettered access to the machine. You just have permissions to do things that a regular user does not.

Joe

Joe, I checked under my User Account and discovered that I am the Administrator who has “…complete access to the computer and can make any desired changes.” I guess that my only concern was whether my simply double-clicking the exe files was doing something different from doing a right-click and choosing the “Run as Administrator” option. David

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Joe, I checked under my User Account and discovered that I am the Administrator who has “…complete access to the computer and can make any desired changes.” I guess that my only concern was whether my simply double-clicking the exe files was doing something different from doing a right-click and choosing the “Run as Administrator” option. David

Under Control Panel > User Accounts you get a different listing than Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users. By default, the built-in Windows Administrator account is disabled, and doesn’t show up in Control Panel > User Accounts.

38719-Administrator 38718-Accounts

Note that in Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users there are four Users, and the built-in Administrator account is disabled. In Control Panel > User Accounts, only three Users are shown, and “Admin” is listed as “Administrator”. This is an account I created in the Administrators group so that I can leave the built-in Administrator account disabled (I enabled it long enough to create a password, then disabled it again). So even though your account shows as Administrator, it is unlikely that it is the built-in Administrator, unless you have enabled that account.

In the Windows OOBE (Out Of Box Experience) one is asked to give a name for an account. This is a created account in the Administrators group, not the built-in Administrator, which remains disabled, as I said, by default.

These images are from Windows 8.1, not Windows 7, but the underlying principles still apply.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Even some “modern” software will require a “right click – run as administrator” install technique. This usually quickly becomes self evident in that the installed program will have some problems when the program gets run. If you have no problems with the program options and operations, then you can assume it is installed correctly. If you see problems, I think the consensus recommendation is to uninstall then re-install with the “right click” procedure, which will almost always fix any glitches…

Personally, I always use the “right click” installation method for installing new programs, then run the program with a double-click on the program exe shortcut. ( Like you, I am the only user and login as administrator).

Jim

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Even some “modern” software will require a “right click – run as administrator” install technique. This usually quickly becomes self evident in that the installed program will have some problems when the program gets run. If you have no problems with the program options and operations, then you can assume it is installed correctly. If you see problems, I think the consensus recommendation is to uninstall then re-install with the “right click” procedure, which will almost always fix any glitches…

Personally, I always use the “right click” installation method for installing new programs, then run the program with a double-click on the program exe shortcut. ( Like you, I am the only user and login as administrator).

Jim

Jim, Thank you for sharing your personal experience. Given my own uncertainty, I am increasingly motivated to uninstall and re-install the program because it is a huge, complex statistical package (IBM SPSS) with several add-on modules plus plug-ins yielding integration with languages such as Python and R and a host of their associated programs. Consequently, I suspect that discovering whether it is working correctly in all of its many facets (such as calculating multinomial logits) would be a nightmare. Thus, I am now inclined to bite the bullet and begin the painful process of uninstalling. I also have a “problem” ticket with IBM whose staff might have further insights on the directions which I should take. David

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Since you have a ticket with IBM support, you may want to see what they say before uninstalling and re-installing.

I can understand your concern regarding finding a problem down the line. Personally, I learned my lesson about “right click installation” the hard way. Installed a complex program to run my telescope/CCD camera/ filter wheel via computer. After installation, the program installed and seemed to run just fine. It was only during a complex multi-picture taking sequence, that I discovered the program did not rotate the filter wheel between capture runs. Apparently the program was unable to command the filter wheel program (via a USB connection) because it was not installed with “enough” administrative rights… Had to uninstall, then re-install via “right click” procedure to get the full administrative rights necessary for the program to run the related program (filter wheel).

Since then, I have always installed via the “right click” procedure. Good luck.

Jim

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DBNolle, you’re on the right track. Whatever IBM supports suggests, do ahead and do.
And, guess what? According to another source – the Trusted Installer is the absolute ADMIN. You and I are “next admins,” which means right-click and run as admin is aok!

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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Can God Mode turn on the normally disabled Admin acct? Ultimate Tweaker [Windows Club] can enable Admin acct. If I dork up my normal acct, I can use admin to recover.

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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To enable the normally disabled Administrator Account:

1. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
2. In the search results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
3. When you are prompted by User Account Control, click Continue.
4. At the command prompt, type net user administrator /active:yes, and then press ENTER.
5. Type net user administrator , and then press ENTER.
Note: Replace the tag with your password which you want to set to administrator account.
6. Close the Command Window

Jerry

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The built-in Administrator account can also be enabled by going into Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users. Right-click on the Administrator account, select properties. On the General tab, un-tick the checkbox by “Account is disabled”. To set or reset a password, click on OK, close the management console, and go into Control Panel > User Accounts, and do it from there (or log into that account, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and change the password). There is a utility in the right-click context menu to “Set Password”, but this is only for use when the existing password has been lost/forgotten and no password reset disk exists. Going through Control Panel > User Accounts keeps the account settings, etc. intact, and just sets/changes the password.

However, that being said, I advise against it. If one has an active account in the Administrators group, there is very little need for activating the built-in Administrator account. I know of only a couple of instances, and those involve going deep into the guts of Windows, which I also advise against. It most definitely is not needed to install programs/applications.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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bbearen’s right on — don’t meddle with built-in admin unless one must fix something drastic within Windows

"Take care of thy backups and thy restores shall take care of thee." Ben Franklin, revisted

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