I'm trying to get MSI Afterburner to launch automatically without any user input when I log into my standard user account, but it's proving to be quite a challenge. I understand that since Afterburner requires admin rights, it's not straightforward. I've already spent a significant amount of time on this, and I'm starting to think that what I'm trying to do might not be possible with Windows.
Here's what I've tried so far:
- I attempted to use the startup option in Afterburner's settings, but that didn't work because of the account privileges.
- I tried using Task Scheduler on both my admin and non-admin accounts to trigger the app on logon, but ran into permission issues with the standard user. Even on the admin side, I encountered limitations – one option requires the admin to be logged in, while the other doesn't allow the app to run with a GUI.
- Another method I explored was creating a shortcut of the scheduler task to run with elevated privileges, but that failed too.
- Lastly, I tried converting Afterburner into a service, but it wouldn't run with a GUI either.
I really want to avoid turning off UAC, using RunAs with stored admin credentials, or giving my user account admin rights. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
4 Answers
Unfortunately, running applications that require admin rights from a non-admin account is pretty much impossible without the necessary privileges. You've hit the nail on the head there!
Have you heard of RunAsTool? It could let you run programs with admin rights using preconfigured credentials. It's definitely a security risk, but if you really need it, it might solve your problem temporarily.
Yeah, I looked into that one from a tutorial. But like you said, it feels sketchy. Gonna stick with my standard account!
I don't know the exact method, but I believe there’s a way within Windows to solve this. One approach might be to temporarily grant admin access to your standard user, install Afterburner, and then set the account back to its original state.
I can install the program fine, the real struggle is getting it to launch on startup without asking for a password.
You might want to check out Windows Kiosk Mode. It’s used in some setups to auto-launch specific applications at startup while limiting user access. It could help with your use case.
Not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for confirming it's a dead end. I was hoping for a workaround that wouldn't fall apart!