“A Required Privilege Is Not Held By The Client” – How Do You Fix Error 0x80070522?

0x80070522 is a well-known error code. Unfortunately, it’s also one you should fear of because it signals an important warning. Usually, when you’re getting this code followed by the message “A required privilege is not held by the client”, it means that your actions could affect the functionalities of the Windows system and you’d better stop doing it.

Of course, in the world of computers, getting an unjustified error is not that uncommon. So despite the serious meaning of this error code, it doesn’t always mean you’re doing a terrible thing that might jeopardize your OS.

To make it clear, this error code might be valid when you’re trying to adjust files in one of the following folders: Windows, System32 or Program Files. These are the most important folders for your operating system. By moving or deleting files from these folders, you could be doing more harm than good.

Nevertheless, if you know what you’re doing and you have a very good reason for doing it, you might want to skip the “Error 0x80070522: A required privilege is not held by the client.” part. That’s exactly what you’re going to learn from this article:

Solution #1 – Run as Administrator

This fix is for the “A required privilege is not held by the client” error message. Most likely, it’s because you want to save it in Window’s root folders. This isn’t impossible, but the system is just trying to prevent you from doing so, for its own protection.

You still want to bypass the error and continue to create the file in that particular folder? You should run the program that you’re planning to use for creating that file as an Administrator. Needless to say, running as Administrator is not the best or the safest way to work on your computer. But for isolated occasions, you just need to right-click on the desired program and select the option “Run as Administrator”.

Whether it’s a Notepad or a Word, a Photoshop or another program, the strategy will work. If it doesn’t, or if you don’t feel very comfortable doing so, there are a couple of other things you could try.

Solution #2 – Use the Command Prompt

This fix is for when you are trying to copy files and you are not allowed to. Copying them by using the Command Prompt is another way to go. But how you access the Command Prompt depends on the operating system you’re running.

For Windows 10/8 users:
- You do a right-click at the bottom-left-corner of the screen, on the Windows icon;
- You identify and select the option Command Prompt (Admin).
For Windows 7/XP users:
- You go to the Start menu;
- You select the Run as Administrator option.

From here, you should know what you have to do. But if this option doesn’t work either, the time has come for the big guns to fix the “A required privilege is not held by the client” problem.

Solution #3 – Disable the Admin Approval mode

As opposed to anything else we’ve previously discussed, this strategy is a bit more complicated. However, it’s also the strategy most often recommended on a wide range of security forums. So read on carefully, follow the instructions step-by-step, and everything should turn out ok for you:

Launch the Run dialogue box by simultaneously pressing the Windows key and the R key on your keyboard;
Type in msc;
Hit Enter;
Click OK in the newly opened confirmation window;
In the newly opened Local Security Policy window look for Local Policies – you should spot it in the left pane;
At Local Policies click on the Security Options;
Identify “User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode” – you might have to scroll down a little bit to find it;
Right-click on this option;
Select Properties;
Opt for Disable;
Click Apply;
Click OK;
Close the window;
Restart your computer.

After following all these steps, you should have disabled the Admin Approval mode. When the computer restarts, try to copy the files that you needed once again. Does the “Error 0x80070522: A required privilege is not held by the client.” still show? It shouldn’t, not anymore!