While running Embedded Studio tools such as Target Designer, Component Designer, or Component Database Manager on Vista, likely you would have seen error messages indicating failure in logging on to the component database – see Figure 1 below. This is because of a new feature in Vista called User Account Control (UAC).
Figure 1: Failure in logging on to the component database
There are many ways to work around UAC. The simplest workaround is running the tools as the administrator from the Start orb:
Another workaround is creating a shortcut to each tool and checking the “Run this program as an administrator” check box on the Compatibility tab of the shortcut’s properties – see Figure 2 below.
Figure 2: Shortcut’s properties
See Sarah’s blog on Installing and Running the Windows XP Embedded Tool Suite on Windows Vista for details on creating shortcuts and running as administrator.
Yet another workaround is executing a couple of stored procedures to grant full access to the component database to a particular user such as yourself:
Run sqlcmd as Administrator on your system where the component database resides
Execute
EXEC sp_grantlogin '<domain>\<user>'
EXEC sp_addsrvrolemember '<domain>\<user>', 'sysadmin'
where <domain> is your domain and <user> your username
Exit sqlcmd
Run the Embedded Studio tools as usual
Additional workarounds include logging on and running as Administrator, turning off UAC, etc. See Sarah’s blog for details on these workarounds.
- Cuong
I am not the most pro-Microsoft guy around, though I have always said that SP2 was a great improvement, and recommend that OS for most people over lots of other choices.
I was excited to hear about the access control stuff in Vista, and thought that could help to stop lots of support calls that I currently handle for my friends and family. (Though I did wonder how long it would take a spammer/virus maker to make a dialog that looks the same, and then steals their administrator password...)
I haven't used Vista, so I am not speaking from experience. All of the people that I have heard speak about the access control dialog have turned it off within a day of installing Vista. And then there are multiple Microsoft(!) programs that don't work with it. I don't understand why the applications were not designed correctly -- if Microsoft can't do it, how can anyone expect anyone else to do it -- and how can we expect the users to not simply turn off the dialog or run every application as administrator, and get so used to typing in their administrator every time they want to do anything.
Was this access control thing tested, and then decided to include it anyway, even though it is totally broken??