How To: Run Windows Sidebar Gadgets With UAC Disabled In Windows 7
In Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 7, desktop sidebar and UAC(User Account Control) are closely related. This means if you turn of or disable UAC in windows 7 then sidebar will not work. The reason for this is that Microsoft made the assumption that the sidebar process would never be run in an elevated state. This has been done to prevent users from installing any malicious unsigned desktop gadget in windows 7. But in previous Microsoft’s operating system Windows Vista, sidebar was completely independent of User Account Control.
The generally used workaround for this issue is by replacing some system files related to sidebar with an older version from Windows Vista, as Windows sidebar is working properly on these system even when UAC is disabled.
Method 1: Replace With Windows Vista Sidebar Components
The trick is to make use of Windows Sidebar components from Windows Vista, which supports original style of Windows Sidebar that can be run even if UAC is disabled or turned off.For this do the following steps:
- Close all sidebar gadgets on Windows 7 desktop.
- Take ownership and grant full control permissions for Administrators user group of the following files located in C:/Program Files/Windows Sidebar folder:
settings.ini
sidebar.exe
And inside the en-US Folder:
sbdrop.dll.mui
Sidebar.exe.mui
Note: To take ownership of a file just right click the file and choose Properties.Go to the Security tab, click the Advanced button at the bottom, choose Owner tab next and then click the EDIT button. Highlight your account name and press Apply.Click the OK button 3 times leaving you at the file Properties box under Security tab where you started. Now, click Edit button, highlight your user name and check mark the Full Control, press OK, then press YES.
- Rename the 4 files listed above(By appending a _bak to the file name).
- Download Win7-Sidebar-Fix.zip.
- Extract and copy the contents of the ZIP file to their corresponding folders in C:/Program Files/Windows Sidebar folder, overwrite and replace existing files if applicable.
- Re-add gadgets to Windows 7 desktop.
When using Windows Sidebar from Windows Vista, the sidebar bar will be shown on the left or right side of desktop as in Windows Vista.
Method 2: By Editing Windows 7 Registry
By doing this simple registry tweak, users should be able to run desktop sidebar gadgets even when the UAC turned off in Windows 7.
- Open up the Windows 7 Start Menu.
- Type “regedit.exe” (without quotes) into the start menu search box and hit enter.
- Navigate to the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sidebar\Settings
- Create a new DWORD Value called AllowElevatedProcess.
- Set the value of the new DWORD to 1.
- Close the Windows 7 registry editor.
- Right click on desktop and add desktop gadgets to confirm Desktop gadget and sidebar working properly.
The Registry setting ensures that the gadgets and the sidebar are working in Windows 7 properly even if UAC is disabled.
Or
Download, extract, and double-click on Windows7SidebarFix.reg to merge the registry values into the Windows 7 registry and thus you can run desktop sidebar gadgets even when the UAC turned off in Windows 7.
Fix Windows 7 Sidebar(Download)
Warning: Modifying the Windows registry can cause serious damage to your Windows Operating System.It is better to backup your Windows registry data before making any changes. Tomstricks.com is not responsible for any changes you may make to your system.
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Written by Tony on April 27th, 2009 with
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