Unexplained UAC challenge when starting spreadsheet

[Scoot]

Trying again, no replies 10 days after first post. More details this time.

Vista Home Premium SP 2 current all updates, MS Works pre-installed.
I have one administrative account used for software installs, updates, etc.
and one non-admin account used for normal activity. When starting Works
spreadsheet using the non-admin account Vista throws up the UAC challenge and
requires the administrative account password to start the program. No other
part of Works (word processor, database, task launcher, etc.) requires this.
Somehow spreadsheet has acquired some special status that catches Vista's
attention.

No other application program on the computer acts this way.

In addition, when I do provide the Admin's password I cannot access a csv
file on my
desktop: it says I do not have permission to open the file. Presumably the
administrator account is blocked from viewing the files of the non-admin
account. Almost like in running the program I have changed identities.
Weird.

What is going on; what caused this? How do I get back to having the program
start normally?

 

[Mark H]

Depending on which version of Works you are running, the spreadsheet
function is dependant upon Vista's DEP.
So, the error may lie in DEP and not in works.

You can temporarily attempt to turn DEP off to see if your version of Works
needs DEP:
How to Access DEP Settings:
click Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System.
Click Advanced System Settings. If you are prompted for an administrator
password or confirmation,type the password or provide confirmation.
Under Performance, click Settings.
Click the Data Execution Prevention tab,then click Turn on DEP for all
programs and services except those I select.

To turn off DEP for an individual program :
Select the check box next to the program that you want to turn off DEP for,
and then click OK.

If the program is not in the list, you either do not need it, or this is the
error. To add to the list, click Add. Browse to the Program Files folder,
find the executable file for the program (it will have an .exe file
extension), and then click Open.

To turn on DEP for an individual program :
Clear the check box next to the program that you want to turn on DEP for,
and then click OK.

If needed, then DEP may be the problem. (It will tell you if it is needed.)
If not needed, you will get the same UAC prompt as before (meaning the
problem is likely in Works.)
At this point a re-install of Works may be warranted.

Overall, this doesn't solve the problem, but it might give you some more
information to pursue.

 

[Scoot]

Thank you Mark. The version of Works is 9.0.
In the DEP tab there are no entries where the program list would be. I
clicked Add and when trying to add wksss.exe received the following message:
"This program must run with data execution protection (DEP) enabled. You
cannot turn off DEP for this program."
I suppose I should reinstall Works and see what happens.
My real concern is that this situation happened and I have no explanation.
If it happened here, what other programs could suffer the same limitation?
Vista's security system is pretty difficult to use--I hope the next
implementation can address some of the difficulties.