“The requested operation requires elevation” (error 740): how to fix it

Applies to: Windows 11 and Windows 10, for apps, games, installers, batch files and PowerShell scripts that fail with error 740 or show the message in a dialog box. If you only need an elevated command line, our guide on opening Command Prompt as administrator covers every way in. If Windows says An administrator has blocked you from running this app, that’s a policy or signature block rather than a missing prompt, and the blocked app guide deals with it.

What error 740 means

Microsoft’s system error code list defines code 740 (0x2E4) as ERROR_ELEVATION_REQUIRED: “The requested operation requires elevation.” The reason it appears lies in how UAC handles administrator accounts. According to Microsoft’s page on how User Account Control works, when an administrator signs in, Windows creates two access tokens: a standard one and a full administrator one. Apps run with the standard token unless you approve elevation, and child processes inherit the token of the program that started them.

Some programs declare in their manifest that they must run as administrator. When such a program is started the usual way, by double-clicking it or through Run as administrator, Windows shows the UAC prompt first. Microsoft’s UAC architecture page explains that the lower-level CreateProcess function doesn’t do this: if the target needs elevation, it rejects the call with ERROR_ELEVATION_REQUIRED. The shell’s ShellExecute function watches for that error and hands the request to the Application Information service, which shows the prompt. So error 740 usually means one non-elevated program tried to launch another that needs admin rights, using a method that can’t raise a UAC prompt.

That’s why the same app can open fine from the Start menu but fail when a game launcher, an updater, a batch file or a remote tool starts it. It’s also why fixing permissions on files rarely helps: the problem is the token the process gets, not the file itself.

Match your symptom

When it happens	Likely cause	Start with
Double-clicking an app or shortcut	The app needs admin rights and the shortcut can’t prompt	Fix 1, Fix 2
An app, launcher or updater starts another program	The parent runs without elevation	Fix 3
Running a .bat, .cmd or PowerShell script	The script starts an admin-only tool from a normal window	Fix 3
A Task Scheduler task fails with 740 (0x2E4)	The task doesn’t run with the highest privileges	Fix 3
Opening a setup or update file	The installer needs elevation	Fix 4
Opening a folder, drive or share, or writing into Program Files	Missing rights to the location, or an elevated app can’t see a mapped drive	Fix 5
No Yes button, only a password box	You’re signed in with a standard account	Fix 6
Prompts never appear at all	UAC settings have been changed	Fix 7

Fix 1: Run the app as administrator

This is the direct fix when you start the program yourself. Only do it for software you trust, because an elevated app can change anything on the PC.

1. Right-click the app, its shortcut or its entry in the Start menu. In Windows 11 you may need to select Show more options on a file’s menu first.
2. Choose Run as administrator.
3. On the UAC prompt, check the program name and publisher, then select Yes.

Look at the prompt before you approve it. Microsoft says a gray background means a Windows administrative app or a program signed by a verified publisher, while a yellow background means the program is unsigned or signed but not trusted. A yellow prompt for software you didn’t knowingly start is a reason to select No.

From the keyboard, typing the app’s name in Start search and pressing Ctrl + Shift + Enter usually starts it elevated in current versions of Windows. For command-line tools, open an elevated terminal first and run the tool from there; our guide shows how to tell that a window really is elevated, which saves time when the error keeps coming back.

Fix 2: Make a trusted app always run elevated

If a program you rely on needs admin rights every time, for example an older utility or hardware tool, you can tell Windows to elevate it automatically. You’ll still see the UAC prompt; this only saves the right-click.

Before you do this: set it only for programs from a source you trust. Every launch will run with full rights, so a compromised or outdated program gets the same access. If the maker offers an update that no longer needs admin rights, that’s the better fix.

• For the program file: right-click the .exe, choose Properties, open the Compatibility tab and tick Run this program as an administrator. If the box is grayed out, select Change settings for all users to set it for every account.
• For one shortcut: right-click the shortcut, choose Properties, select Advanced on the Shortcut tab and tick Run as administrator.

Apps installed from the Microsoft Store normally don’t offer a Compatibility tab, and they rarely need elevation. If one shows error 740, update or reinstall it before changing anything else. Our Command Prompt guide shows the same shortcut setting with a shortcut that always opens elevated.

Fix 3: Elevate the launcher, script or scheduled task

When another program starts the one that fails, elevating the failing app on its own may not help, because the parent can’t raise the prompt. Work from the top down.

Launchers and updaters

Close the launcher, game client or management tool completely, including any icon in the notification area, then start it with Run as administrator. Programs it starts inherit its full token and no longer hit the error. If that works, check whether the maker offers an update, since a launcher that needs to run elevated all the time is usually a sign of an outdated install. Keep elevated launchers to the minimum, because everything they start runs with full rights.

Batch files and Command Prompt

A batch file runs with the rights of the window it runs in. Right-click the .bat or .cmd file and choose Run as administrator, or open an elevated Command Prompt and run it from there. Note that an elevated window starts in C:\Windows\System32, so scripts that use relative paths may need to change to their own folder first. Adding this line at the top of the script switches to the script’s folder:

cd /d "%~dp0"

PowerShell

Running a tool directly from a normal PowerShell window can fail with error 740 if the tool needs elevation. Microsoft’s Start-Process documentation shows how to ask for the UAC prompt with the RunAs verb. For example, this opens an elevated PowerShell window:

Start-Process -FilePath "powershell" -Verb RunAs

Replace powershell with the full path of the program you need. In the documentation, -Verb belongs to a different parameter set from -NoNewWindow and the output redirection options, so a command that combines them won’t work.

On Windows 11 version 24H2 and later, Sudo for Windows can also run a single command elevated from a normal window. You turn it on under Settings in the developer options (Microsoft lists the path as System > Advanced and the Enable sudo switch). Microsoft recommends keeping its default In a new window mode, because the inline mode lets other unelevated processes in the same console interact with the elevated one.

Task Scheduler

A task that starts an admin-only program can fail with result code 740 or 0x2E4 in its history. Open Task Scheduler, double-click the task, and on the General tab tick Run with highest privileges. The account the task runs under must be a member of the Administrators group for this to work. Use this only for tasks you created or recognize; on a work PC, ask IT before changing a task they deployed.

If you write the software

Microsoft’s developer note on why error 740 appears explains that CreateProcess and its variants fail with this code when they meet a program whose manifest asks for administrator rights. The fix is to start such programs with ShellExecute or ShellExecuteEx, or in .NET to set UseShellExecute to true, so Windows can show the UAC prompt.

Fix 4: Installers and setup files

Most installers ask for elevation on their own. Microsoft’s architecture page says Windows also guesses that an older 32-bit program is an installer when its file name contains words such as “install”, “setup” or “update”, among other checks, and prompts for it. An installer that doesn’t trigger either may fail partway with error 740, often when a setup program starts a second helper program.

1. Right-click the setup file and choose Run as administrator, then approve the prompt.
2. If you opened it from a mapped network drive, copy it to a local folder such as Downloads first. An elevated process can run in a separate session that doesn’t see the drive letters you mapped, so the installer may fail to find its own files.
3. For an .msi package, open an elevated Command Prompt and run msiexec /i "C:\path\to\package.msi" with your own path.
4. Download a fresh copy from the maker’s site if it still fails. A damaged or partial download can stop partway with misleading errors.

If the error appears while an app updates itself, run the app once as administrator and start the update from inside it, or download the full installer for the new version.

Fix 5: Folder, drive and network share errors

If the message appears when you open a folder, a second drive or a share, check first what’s actually happening. Often a shortcut or a program is launching something on that location, which brings you back to Fixes 1 to 3. If File Explorer itself says you don’t have permission, the cause is the folder’s permissions rather than elevation.

Writing into Program Files or Windows

Older programs that save settings into Program Files or C:\Windows can fail without elevation. Microsoft’s settings page explains that UAC virtualization redirects some of these writes to a per-user location, but its architecture page notes this works only for 32-bit apps that don’t declare an execution level and that aren’t elevated. A 64-bit program gets an access denied error instead. Running the program elevated (Fix 1 or Fix 2) or installing it to a folder you own are cleaner fixes than changing permissions on system folders.

Mapped network drives in elevated apps

A related problem catches many people out: the drive letters you mapped aren’t visible inside an elevated window. Microsoft’s article on mapped drives and elevated prompts explains that UAC creates linked sign-in sessions, and mappings made in one aren’t always available in the other. Its suggested fixes are to map the drives again inside the elevated session, or, for IT-managed PCs where administrators get a password prompt, to set the elevation prompt policy back to consent. If you use Windows 11’s Administrator protection, elevated apps run in a separate profile, and the known problems with Administrator protection include the same drive issue. Using the full network path, such as \\server\share, avoids drive letters altogether.

Folders and drives you don’t own

For a data folder or an external drive from another PC, taking ownership can restore access. Warning: never take ownership of C:\Windows, Program Files, WindowsApps or the root of your system drive; changing ownership or permissions there can break updates and apps, and it’s hard to undo. Our folder permission guide covers taking ownership of a folder safely and lists the folders to leave alone.

Fix 6: If you use a standard account

On a standard account, Microsoft says the default is a credential prompt: Windows asks for an administrator’s user name and password instead of showing a Yes button. Enter the details of an administrator account on the PC and the operation continues with that account’s rights. If you don’t have them, ask whoever manages the PC.

• To check your account type, open Settings > Accounts. Your account appears with Administrator underneath if it’s an admin; otherwise it’s a standard user.
• To run one program under another account without signing out, see how to run an app as a different user.
• On a work or school PC, organizations can set standard users to have elevation requests denied automatically. In that case the prompt never appears and only IT can install or approve the software.

Avoid the built-in Administrator account as a workaround. Microsoft’s UAC settings page notes that by default it runs every app with full administrative rights and no prompt. Turning it on to get past one error leaves an account with no UAC protection on the PC. If you do enable it for a repair, disable it again afterwards.

Fix 7: Check UAC is set up normally (don’t turn it off)

Some guides suggest moving the UAC slider to Never notify. Don’t. It removes the prompts that protect you from malware, and Microsoft’s settings page notes that switching off Admin Approval Mode, the policy behind UAC, makes Windows Security warn that overall security is reduced. It also doesn’t address the cause: apps still run with a standard token, so a launcher that can’t raise a prompt can still fail.

Instead, check that UAC is on its normal setting. Search Start for Change User Account Control settings and open it. The slider is normally on the second level from the top, which notifies you when apps try to make changes. If it’s at the bottom, move it back up, select OK and restart. On a work PC these settings are often managed centrally; ask IT rather than changing them.

If the error started after you turned on Windows 11’s Administrator protection, which replaces the Yes button with a Windows Hello check, see how Administrator protection changes elevation for its known compatibility problems.

Related guides

• How to open Command Prompt as administrator in Windows 11 and 10
• An administrator has blocked you from running this app: what it means and safe fixes
• “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder”: how to fix it
• Administrator protection in Windows 11: what it is and how to turn it on
• Windows 11 run as different user: 4 ways (and fixes)

Official sources

• Microsoft: System error codes (500-999), ERROR_ELEVATION_REQUIRED
• Microsoft: How User Account Control works
• Microsoft: User Account Control architecture