how running a program elevated

Question

I have two computers, say A and B, both running Windows 10 , build 1709,and having :

• current User only in Local group "users"
• with Local Administrator Account : enabled
• UAC : Enabled
• Printer Sharing : Enabled

I have tried my best to kept both computers identical as much as I can. I want to run a program on both machines locally (no remote execution) with administrator rights and elevated.

On Computer A

Programs are running with elevated privileges, NO UAC message.

On Computer B

It shows some kinds of errors and UAC messages, for which I tried,

• Running program with psexec

  psexec.exe -i -u administrator -p "password" -accepteula path\program.exe
  

  That exits out showing error :

  ERROR : "this operation need an elevation"
  (original message : "L'opération demandée nécessite une élévation.")  
  

• Running program with Runas

  runas /noprofile /user:administrator path\program.exe
  

  That exits out showing error :

  ERROR : "740 : this operation need an elevation"
  (original message : "740 : L’opération demandée nécessite une élévation.")  
  

• Using cmd.exe to launch program

  psexec.exe -i -u administrator -p "password" -accepteula cmd.exe /C start "xxxx" path\program.exe
  

  In this case, program is running as Administrator but privileges are still not elevated.

• Now In the Running program,

  • I have to give it admin rights (elevated privileges) using compatibility tab.
  • After which program finally runs with elevated privileges but I got an UAC message.
  • So, I disabled UAC for Administrator account and Now, It runs with elevated privileges and no UAC message.

This problem is not specific to this program only, rather other applications ( such as Bitdefender, Anti-Ransomware, Fraps, Paint-Shop pro 6 ) are also showing it.

And None of this happens on Computer A.

Also, psexec options like -h or -s has never worked for me, neither on computer A. It shows an error on starting service. So on computer B, I have to :

1. Launch it with cmd.exe
2. Use compatibility,
3. Disable UAC for administrator

I don't want to use compatibility and want to maintain UAC enabled, What I need to do to make computer B act like computer A. Basically doesn't show these UAC errors ?

So what could be the exact root cause and the solution for it ?

Answer 1

Psexec and runas didn't work properly because of UAC settings.
I used secpol.msc to see what default settings have been altered and restore them.
UAC settings are in local strategies / security options.