Why the app needs administrator

Every time you start BRUTAL Optimizer, Windows shows a User Account Control (UAC) prompt asking for administrator permission. This isn't optional or cosmetic: the app's core job — tuning the registry, stopping and starting Windows services, changing power plans, and installing drivers — are all operations Windows simply refuses to perform from a normal, non-elevated program. Here's exactly what needs admin, why we don't ask for less, and how to skip the prompt at sign-in if you want.

What actually needs administrator rights

BRUTAL Optimizer's real work happens in places Windows locks down for safety. Without elevation, these would all silently fail or be blocked outright:

• Registry tuning in machine-wide hives (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) — the bulk of the optimization modules.
• Services — pausing and restarting Windows services, like the diagnostics services Guardian pauses during a gaming session.
• Power plans — applying the Ultimate Performance plan and changing power-throttling behavior via powercfg.
• Boot-level settings — timer/HPET and virtualization tweaks via bcdedit.
• Driver installs — running Windows Update or vendor installers, and creating a system restore point first.
• Self-update — replacing the app's own exe in Program Files.

Why we don't run "reduced" without admin

Some tools offer a crippled non-admin mode. BRUTAL Optimizer deliberately doesn't, because almost nothing it does would actually function — you'd get a UI full of buttons that quietly do nothing. The app is marked requireAdministrator in its manifest, so Windows always prompts up front rather than letting it start in a broken half-state. If you click No on the UAC prompt, the app won't launch at all — that's by design.

How to avoid the UAC prompt every time

If the per-launch prompt is annoying, you can have the app start automatically and elevated at sign-in — with no prompt — using its built-in startup option:

1. Open Settings.
2. Enable Start with Windows.
3. The app registers a scheduled task that launches it with the highest privileges at logon, which Windows allows without a UAC prompt.

This is the only reliable way to skip the prompt. The old approach of a Run-key shortcut doesn't work for an admin-required app — Windows silently skips elevation-requiring programs placed there — which is why the app uses a scheduled task instead.

What if there's no UAC prompt at all?

If you double-click the app and nothing happens — no prompt, no window — something is suppressing elevation:

• Your account may not be an administrator. Sign in with (or get) an admin account, or have an admin approve the prompt.
• UAC may be turned off entirely (set to "Never notify"), which can cause silent launch failures for some apps. Set UAC back to its default level.
• An antivirus or device-management policy may be blocking the elevation. Add an exception for BRUTAL Optimizer, or check with whoever manages the machine.

Common issues / troubleshooting

• Update fails with "requires elevation": the installer needs admin to replace the exe; approve the prompt. See Update and install problems.
• A module reports it couldn't apply: confirm the app's title bar/UAC shield indicates it's elevated — if you somehow launched a non-elevated copy, restart via "Run as administrator."
• Work or school PC blocks elevation: machine-management policy may forbid admin apps; you'll need IT to allow it. Many tweaks genuinely can't run otherwise.