"Device is not ready" error when i try to start something checked by UAC

Hello Quentin,

Welcome to Microsoft Community. I will certainly help you with the issue that you are facing. This issue might occur due to certain corruptions caused by any software changes on the system. I would like to ask you:

• Have you made any software or hardware changes to the computer after which this issue might have occurred?

This issue might also occur due to a virus on the computer. Hence, I recommend you to try the following methods to diagnose and resolve the issue.

Method 1:

Step 1: Try Safe Mode

Safe mode is the configuration of Windows, when it is running on only basic set of drivers and all the startups are disabled. To know more about safe mode, follow the article below:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-8/windows-startup-settings-safe-mode

If the issue is resolved in safe mode, follow step 2 after restarting the computer in regular mode.

Step 2: Clean Boot

A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you install a program or an update or when you run a program in Windows. To know more, follow the article below:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Note: After troubleshooting, refer to this section ‘How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting’.

Method 2: Run a Virus Scan

I would recommend you to run a complete virus scan using the Microsoft Safety Scanner. It will scan the computer for viruses and malicious programs. To download it and know more about it, click on the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

Disclaimer: Any data files that are infected may only be cleaned by deleting the file entirely, which means there is a potential for data loss.

Method 3: Run the System File Checker tool (SFC.exe)

System File Checker is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files. It will scan your system files and to repair missing or corrupted system files in Windows. To run the SFC scan, refer to the Microsoft article below.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

Let us know the results once you have tried these steps. Hope this information was helpful.

Thank You

I also have this problem.

I tried all the above steps and nothing worked. I went to PC shop and they told me refresh PC - this didn't work due to UAC issue. I called Microsoft Support and they couldn't establish a remote connection because the program uses User Account Control - they told me to call Australian Microsoft Support Centre. I called Australian Microsoft Support Centre and they told me to try to restore previous version, to before I compressed C drive. Doing this has affected my PC at start-up - it will now be a black screen for 5 minutes at start-up, with only mouse cursor visible, before loading to usual desktop. I still can't use any programs that require UAC.

Please help!

Hi Katie,

Thank you for visiting Microsoft Community.

I would suggest you to perform Automatic repair using installation media and see if it helps you to fix the issue. If you don't have an installation media you may have to create a bootable Windows 8 installation media (if not) and then perform an Automatic Repair with the help of installation media. To create a Windows 8 bootable disk/media, please refer to the article given below and follow the instructions given in it:

Create installation media for Windows 8

Once after creating the installation disc, you may boot the computer from the disc that you have just created and then follow the instructions given below to perform an Automatic Repair of Windows 8.

Method 1: Perform an Automatic Repair of Windows 8 using the installation media.

a)       Contact the computer manufacturer to change the boot order of the computer. You will have to change the boot device to CD/DVD drive and then boot from the Windows 8 installation disc.

b)       In the “Windows Setup” dialog box that appears, set the Time and currency format, Keyboard or input method and the language to install and then click “Next”.

c)       Click on “Repair your computer” from the lower left corner.

d)       From the “Choose an option screen”, click on “Troubleshoot”.

e)       Click “Advanced Options” in the “Troubleshoot” screen.

f)        In the “Advanced Options” screen, click “Automatic Repair”.

g)       Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the Automatic Repair.

If that doesn’t work, then try the next method to perform a System Restore using the Windows 8 bootable disk and check if you are able to boot the computer to the Start Screen successfully.

Method 2: Perform a System restore and check.

To perform a System Restore, follow these instructions and check:

a)       Contact the computer manufacturer to change the boot order of the computer. You will have to change the boot device to CD/DVD drive and then boot from the Windows 8 installation disc.

b)       In the “Windows Setup” dialog box that appears, set the Time and currency format, Keyboard or input method and the language to install and then click “Next”.

c)       Click on “Repair your computer” from the lower left corner.

d)       From the “Choose an option screen”, click on “Troubleshoot”.

e)       Click “Advanced Options” in the “Troubleshoot” screen.

f)        In the “Advanced Options” screen, select “System Restore”.

g)       Follow the on screen instructions to restore the computer to an earlier state when the computer was working fine.

Note: When you use System Restore to restore the computer to a previous state, programs and updates that you installed are removed.

Hope this would help. If issue still persists post back with current status of your computer and result of proposed suggestion, we will be happy to assist you.

Regards,

Hi Ramesh

Thanks for your reply!

I tried the first option but Automatic Repair wasn't a listed option (I am using Windows 8.1). I googled it and apparently Start up Repair is another name, so I tried that. I followed the prompts to repair Windows. It restarted and took me back to the restart screen. Apparently this is know as Automatic Repair Loop. I googled it and tried all four steps listed in this article: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-update/how-to-fix-the-automatic-repair-loop-in-windows-81/bfc92bc7-031f-45d4-b623-bcb4847d32fd

Then I tried the second option. When I go to System Restore it says there is no restore point. I click to make a restore point and it says I can't make one, that it's only available online or something.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Katie