Standard user: RunOnce and RunOnceEx are not being executed

This article provides help to fix an issue where standard users can't execute a command set via RunOnce or RunOnceEx.

Applies to:   Windows 10 - all editions
Original KB number:   2021405

Symptoms

A command set to execute via RunOnce or RunOnceEx may not execute as expected. The registry keys affected are:

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runonce
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunonceEx

Cause

This will occur if you log on with a Standard User Account. This is by design.

Resolution

To execute commands from those registry keys, you must log in with an Administrator account. This issue effects only users with a Standard User account. If the user has an Administrator or Split Token, the execution proceeds.