User Account Control (UAC) prompt keeps appearing repeatedly or won't dismiss

Symptoms

• UAC prompt reappears immediately after clicking Yes or No
• Prompt is unresponsive to clicks
• May be tied to a specific program trying to launch repeatedly
• Screen may dim/gray out with the prompt stuck in front

Likely causes

• CommonA program is repeatedly trying to relaunch with admin rights, retriggering the promptCertain misconfigured programs or startup items can loop this way.
• CommonUAC prompt itself frozen due to a graphics or shell glitchSometimes the dialog itself hangs rather than the underlying request looping.
• PossibleMalware attempting repeated elevation, disguised as a legitimate requestSome malicious software tries repeatedly to gain admin rights, which can look like a stuck prompt.
• Less commonCorrupted user profile affecting how UAC dialogs renderProfile-level issues can occasionally affect how system dialogs like this display.

What to do

1. Wait about 30 seconds to make sure the prompt isn't just slow to respond due to a temporary system slowdown.
2. If it's genuinely frozen, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to bring up the security screen, which can sometimes force focus back to the stuck dialog so you can respond to it.
3. If the prompt keeps reappearing after being dismissed, identify which program is triggering it (it should name the program) and check Task Manager's Startup tab to see if it's set to launch automatically and disable it there.
4. Restart the computer, which clears the current prompt loop and lets you observe whether the same program re-triggers it after startup.
5. Run a full antivirus/anti-malware scan if you don't recognize the program named in the repeated prompt, since this can be a sign of malware trying to gain elevated access.
6. Check Windows Update for pending updates, since a shell-related bug affecting UAC dialogs might already have a fix.
7. If a legitimate specific program keeps unnecessarily triggering repeated prompts, check for an update to that program or reinstall it, since this can indicate a bug in its own elevation handling.

When to call a pro

If you don't recognize the program repeatedly requesting elevation, or a malware scan finds something you can't remove, a technician can help identify and safely remove the source.

Safety