Quote - I suspect this is all due to this UAC crap. How do I remove or disable that? That's the only thing it can be as far as I can tell. Unless someone else has other ideas. 

The UAC controls can be found under Control Panel: System and Security. Open up the "Change User Account Control Settings" and drag the slider all the way to the bottom to (essentially) disable it.

And fortunately it will have no adverse effects on the operation of Windows to do that.

________________________________________________________________

If you're joking that's just cruel, but if you're being sarcastic, that's even worse.