Task Scheduler: User account does not have permission to disable the task

When you open Task Scheduler and try to disable a task, the following error message may occur even though you’re logged in to an administrator account:

The user account you are operating under does not have permission to disable the task.

Cause

The above error occurs if that particular scheduled task is protected by NTFS permissions. The scheduled task files are located under “c:\windows\system32\tasks” and some of the task files in that folder have tightened NTFS permissions. Even the Administrators group has no “Full control” permissions for some built-in tasks.

For instance, some built-in tasks such as \Microsoft\Windows\UpdateOrchestrator can only be disabled or modified using the LocalSystem account.

Resolution

To prevent the error “The user account you are operating under does not have permission to disable the task” when enabling or disabling a task, start Task Scheduler under the LocalSystem or TrustedInstaller accounts.

Please check out the following articles for more information:

• How to Run a Program as SYSTEM (LocalSystem)
• How to Run a Program as TrustedInstaller

Use the “AdvancedRun” utility mentioned in the above articles from Nirsoft to run Task Scheduler under the LocalSystem (or TrustedInstaller) account.

The command to launch Task Scheduler is “mmc.exe taskschd.msc“. See screenshot below:

You should be able to enable, disable, or modify the protected scheduled tasks in the Task Scheduler window that launches.