Asus Armoury Crate dislikes Standard Account Users

[SignedAdam]

Specifications : 

Motherboard : ROG Crosshair VIII Hero (WI-FI)

OS Name Microsoft Windows 11 Pro

BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 4501, 19/04/2023

Processor AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12-Core Processor called with a h115i pro

GV-N4090GAMING OC-24GD

ax1600i power supply

32 Gb of ram

symptom : when opening Armoury Crate with a Standard User account (non administrator) Armoury Crate will display a checking message, then ask for administrator privileges, I grant permission and enter my password, im then displayed a few messages about installing things, to name one "peripheral" after its finished im asked if i want to reopen the app or close it, i reopen and im displayed the same message as before, checking and then on to asking for administrator privileges again, displaying the same messages and after reopening, it just goes on in a loop, never opens, never ends

resolution : the only resolution is to open Armoury Crate as administrator, that means all accounts on the system will need to be administrator to open Armoury Crate

conclusion : end users of Microsoft Windows are advised by Microsoft, regardless of windows version, not to use an administrator account, as its a security risk for end users, hence why standard accounts exist as an option, does ASUS and the Armoury Crate developers intent to put end users at risk so they can carry on using Armoury Crate? an included and essential, only official program/app that allows adjustment of all lighting on the motherboard? no where can I find in the documentation that this program / app will only work for administrators, if it is intended, the Asus and it's the Armoury Crate developers need to make this clear to end users.

thank you for you're time, feel free to see the symptoms in real time and my reaction ‌‌😡

[Nate152]

Yes, please try logging in with your ROG forum account.

If you're having issues with Armoury Crate, I'll suggest to use the Armoury Crate uninstall tool and reinstall.

In the link below select your operating system, click "Show all" in blue, the uninstall tool is the third download.

Armoury Crate - Support (asus.com)

Once uninstalled, install Armoury Crate version 3.2.7.2 (first download), then go to the update center in Armoury Crate and check for updates.

[cindernat]

I did it, and selected to allow other users to use that ROG account. But when I then log in with the standard user, Armoury is still unavailable to launch (there is no installation for the standard user).

[SignedAdam]

No amount of uninstalling armoury crate will solve this issue, as for signing in with a forum account, you're forum account is not part of the windows operating system, so that's not going to work either, the only way this issue is going to get resolved is by Asus adding its start up processes to a system level account, one which runs at a system level and is only available at install, and adding its services to a similar thing, right now they aren't doing that, I can't locate what executable requires such high permissions, otherwise I would of added it to task scheduler with admin permission which would solve the problem, basically the whole problem is because of the way the program / app has been built and people are to lazy to fix it

You may get in to armoury crate with a user account for a few times, if you're lucky, but it will stop working after multiple uses... 

[cindernat]

Did you see this guide SignedAdam?

https://www.pirongames.com/armourysocketserver-and-armouryswagent-asking-for-password-a-solution/

Ridiculous really that this has to be considered.

[SignedAdam]

No I haven't seen this but I will look in to it now that you've shared it, I find it freaky that Asus need to run all of this stuff, from what the name reads, "ArmourySocketServer" you would think they are running servers of some sort on our machines, why aren't they detailing what all of this stuff is and what it does? Why it needs the high permissions they request? So on? Really is no information on any of this

[SignedAdam]

The lack of communication just makes things... Worse 

[cindernat]

So many issues. We have a Zero Trust program we are allowed to use on personal devices and it can handle the elevation for a standard user. I have done this with the 2 AC pop-ups that come up on boot, but it still hasn't resolved. When creating the rule for these files, I can see they use an unsigned certificate, which is really a big no-no for a well known software company.

I wouldn't care except I need AC to a) control the RGB and the screen on my ROG Ryujin II and b) update the firmware on any Asus devices 😕

[Nate152]

After talking with the ASUS tech team.....

Armoury Crate does require administrative privileges to access hardware devices, they don't want just any user to be able to access your hardware.

Thank you for understanding.

What I'll say is...

If enough people make enough noise, then you might see a change, but it will take a lot more than this thread to get it done.

As for your ram, it may detect it as a different ram kit, but all should be working ok, I wouldn't worry too much about it. My Kingston ram used to show as patriot viper, it's been fixed long ago and now shows Kingston.

[SignedAdam]

"they don't want just any user to be able to access your hardware." 

What are they going to do, change my RGB and fan speed ? Hardly a reason to keep it under administrator control? 

"Armoury Crate does require administrative privileges to access hardware devices"

This still doesn't answer why this can't be run as administrator under a standard account using the "run as administrator" option or having a prompt with an administrator password box explaining this program needs to be run as administrator

You're team haven't answered the questions @Nate152 response isn't detailed enough 

[SignedAdam]

Like I've said previously, this is a pretty poor thing to mess up, you're a motherboard manufacturer that has you're boards certificated to work with Windows / Microsoft, maybe you should get this pulled as you aren't supporting standard accounts in windows with this mess of a software, how on earth Asus thinks this is acceptable is beyond me. You all should be aware that you're software needs to be compatible with the operating system you are advertising to support, by not supporting standard accounts you are in breach of this claimed support