User Account Control pop-up - "YES" button grayed out, can't click it

pfields · 03 Oct 2015

Whenever I try to open most non-Microsoft programs and many Windows 10 features -- like System Restore, for example -- I get the 'User Account Control' pop-up with the "YES" button grayed out, dead, so it can't be clicked. Only the "NO" button in the pop-up is live and clickable so in the end I just can't do anything in the computer anymore.

That happened out of the blue a few days ago and it's the very worst consequence of my making the stupid mistake of linking my Microsoft account to my Windows sign in.

Now I also can neither find nor access my Administrator account, or make any changes to accounts for that matter.

Tried System Restore through 'Settings/Recovery/Advanced Startup' and it didn't work. Then I tried Windows 10 'refreshing' (re-installing). That not only didn't solve the UAC popup problem but added a huge new one to the whole mess: I lost all my non-Microsoft programs (Advanced System Care, Lightshot, etc), and now can't install them back anymore.

Yesterday I spent around an hour and a half online with a US-based Tech person from Microsoft's Help Desk. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't find a solution, and in the end I was told the only way out for me was to wipe my hard disk out and reinstall the original OS that came with my laptop -- in that case, it was Windows 7. However, this computer didn't come with a Reinstall disk; it only has a copy of Windows 7 in the 'D' drive so if I wipe everything out I won't have a way to reinstall the original OS. She said that in that case the only solution would be to buy a brand new Windows copy, but I simply can't afford that.

So as you can see it's like one of those 'Twilight Zone' episodes.

Does anyone know a solution for my case, please? I'll deeply appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks.

Paul

hawkman · 03 Oct 2015

Try Option 2 in Brinks tutorial User account control, select which level of control you want.

Roy

pfields · 03 Oct 2015

hawkman said:

Try Option 2 in Brinks tutorial User account control, select which level of control you want.

Roy

Roy, thanks for your reply.

I found that 'Brinks tutorial' online, but it says, among other things: "3. If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes.

Now that's exactly the thing: when the User Account Control popup comes up, I would have to click the "YES" option, but the "YES" button is dead, grayed out; it doesn't work. And since I lost access to my Administrator account, I'm trapped in a loop.