Solved Something might be going on with Windows 7 UAC. (consent.exe)

[Doomguy98]

My problem started about 2-3 months ago on my Gaming PC when i noticed that certain programs won't open. When i try running them nothing happens. After looking through my PC, i noticed in the task manager there was this process called "consent.exe" just sitting there. This would stop if i restarted my PC then i would be able to run those programs again. I did some research and i had found out that sometimes this can be caused by a Malware related issue, but when i scanned my computer with both AVG and Malwarebytes they all came up clean. I always think that something in my computers registry could be messed up, & i have no knowledge when it comes down to that, minus the fact that the registry is vital for the OS to function correctly (i wouldn't mess with my registry regardless). It doesn't effect my gaming in anyway, but when I'm trying to do something else like open Malwarebytes, Ms Disk Defrag, anything that always asks me for my consent this problem occurs. I'm at a loss now since i don't really know what to do now, and this problem is kind of annoying. Is there anyway to fix this issue?

Note: If i try running any program that asks for my consent along with others, another process of consent.exe will start up in the task manager just like the other one, except it still can't do anything. This problem occurs at random, like on startup everything is fine, then after i start it up again the next day or after a restart, i have to restart it AGAIN to fix it)

 

[UsernameIssues]

Welcome to the Seven Forums.

Can you please provide a screenshot of your UAC setting/level?
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

 

[Doomguy98]

Welcome to the Seven Forums.

Can you please provide a screenshot of your UAC setting/level?
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

I have my settings set to this:

 

[UsernameIssues]

Thanks for that screenshot.

Just as a test, please drag that slider all the way to the top.

When you click on OK (in the lower right part of the screen shown in your screenshot) you should get a UAC prompt with a Yes/No choice. Does what I describe happen for you?

 

[Doomguy98]

Thanks for that screenshot.

Just as a test, please drag that slider all the way to the top.

When you click on OK (in the lower right part of the screen shown in your screenshot) you should get a UAC prompt with a Yes/No choice. Does what I describe happen for you?

Ok, I am trying that option out. I shall let you know whatever happens next.

 

[ScottEK]

Just experienced similar problem when setting up new Dell optiplex with win 7 pro 64 bit. Everything was fine until the last set of win 7 updates applied. Then, consent.exe kept hanging with any process that needed admin permissions. Did a safe boot with msconfig, turning off all programs and services that were not Microsoft. Turned each process and service back on one by one with a restart in between, until I found the culprit. AVG Free 2014 was corrupted by ms updates somehow. Just uninstalled AVG and reinstalled, and now everything's OK. Hope this helps! I wish I was able to find this solution online, instead of spending days installing and uninstalling.

 

[Doomguy98]

Just experienced similar problem when setting up new Dell optiplex with win 7 pro 64 bit. Everything was fine until the last set of win 7 updates applied. Then, consent.exe kept hanging with any process that needed admin permissions. Did a safe boot with msconfig, turning off all programs and services that were not Microsoft. Turned each process and service back on one by one with a restart in between, until I found the culprit. AVG Free 2014 was corrupted by ms updates somehow. Just uninstalled AVG and reinstalled, and now everything's OK. Hope this helps! I wish I was able to find this solution online, instead of spending days installing and uninstalling.

Are you SUPER sure about that? Because that would be GREAT!

 

[ScottEK]

My system is up and running...... And is applying another 36 updates..... I hope it does not corrupt again. BTW..... The last corruption prevented any further updates.... They just hung. It is late here... I will let you know if anything else goes wrong. In the meanwhile, it's no big deal to reinstall AVG, so I suggest try it.

BTW.... Just found the same type of problem on the AVG Forum!

 

[Jacee]

You may also have aware on your system to cause a problem!


Please download AdwCleaner by Xplode and save to your Desktop.

• Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool.
  Vista/Windows 7/8 users right-click and select Run As Administrator.
• Click on the Scan button.
• AdwCleaner will begin...be patient as the scan may take some time to complete.
• After the scan has finished, click on the Report button...a logfile (AdwCleaner[R#].txt) will open in Notepad for review (where the largest value of # represents the most recent report).
• The contents of the log file may be confusing. Unless you see a program name that you know should not be removed, don't worry about it. If you see an entry you want to keep, let me know about it.
• Copy and paste the contents of that logfile in your next reply.
• A copy of all logfiles are saved in the C:\AdwCleaner folder which was created when running the tool.

Step 2) Using AdwCleaner v3: Scan & Clean:
Double click on AdwCleaner.exe to run the tool again.
Click on the Scan button.
AdwCleaner will begin to scan your computer like it did before.
After the scan has finished...

This time click on the Clean button.
Press OK when asked to close all programs and follow the onscreen prompts.
Press OK again to allow AdwCleaner to restart the computer and complete the removal process.
After rebooting, a logfile report (AdwCleaner[S#].txt) will open automatically (where the largest value of # represents the most recent report).
Copy and paste the contents of that logfile in your next reply.
A copy of that logfile will also be saved in the C:\AdwCleaner folder

 

[Doomguy98]

My system is up and running...... And is applying another 36 updates..... I hope it does not corrupt again. BTW..... The last corruption prevented any further updates.... They just hung. It is late here... I will let you know if anything else goes wrong. In the meanwhile, it's no big deal to reinstall AVG, so I suggest try it.

BTW.... Just found the same type of problem on the AVG Forum!

I think it may have actually worked! Because when i was messing around with my PC when the problem wasn't occurring, after rebooting for the AVG uninstall to finish up i was prompted again with the consent message. If i boot next time and anything happens i'll be sure to let you know, but in the meantime thank you "ScottEK" and thank you "UsernameIssues" for all you're help !

 

[UsernameIssues]

You are welcome.

That is scary that an antivirus app could/would prevent consent from working correctly.

 

[ScottEK]

No problem.... Glad I could help. My updates are done and I'm still up and running!