exit status 1: Access is denied

[CASPERg267]

Issue:
i get access is denied when i try to use specific version of node

How To Reproduce:
i installed 2 version node 14 and node 16
when trying to use node version 14 by typing nvm use 14.18.2 i get this error
same error happens when using v16

Expected Behavior:
It should use node version i choose to use

[CASPERg267]

[danilopolani]

@CASPERg267 try to open the CMD as administrator

[coreybutler]

@danilopolani is correct - see https://github.com/coreybutler/nvm-windows/wiki/Common-Issues#permissions-exit-1-exit-5-access-denied-exit-145

[patricknelson]

Ideally this would be addressed with a UAC dialog for those of who have local admin privileges but are not able to enable a Developer mode (likely due to running on an older version of Win10 or due to being locked out because of group policy restrictions).

Would you be willing to add the option to configure nvm to enable this alternative approach?

[squidjam]

Even then, not everyone has administrative rights to the computer (some of us work with impossed restrictive policies) and as of testing it today with developer mode activated, this no longer works as intended (i.e. I have developer mode active, yet I get access denied when issuing an nvm use command).

[Sharparam]

Can confirm that even with developer mode enabled, the access denied error still happens. Windows 10, 20H2, build 19042.1645.

Can also confirm that I can create symbolic links manually from a non-administrator powershell session:

[zifengliang079]

The second most common permission issue is trying to use a protected directory for storing Node installations. Windows requires administrative privileges to write to C:\Program Files. Many users want to install different versions of Node to this directory, but this forces NVM4W to create download (write) Node/npm to a protected directory. It's typically simpler to store Node installations in an alternative directory, such as C:\nvm4w.

Several people have complained about protected directories, and I'm sorry... but I'm not the person to talk to about that. Your best bet is to reach out to Microsoft, because it's an operating system requirement. Every program has to deal with this. Remember that NVM4W is basically an installer, so it needs installer-like permissions.

@coreybutler I found a solution for that as people can install both node and nvm in another disk (e.g. d:/) in order to avoid this. Perhaps consider adding this as a suggestion in your doc.

[coreybutler]

@terryjiang2020 has correctly cited that Windows protects some directories, even if you have developer mode enabled.

Per the suggestion, I've added the following change to the wiki:

[goleary]

curious that this has only become an issue lately...what has changed?

[devniel]

same issue here :(

[s100]

@coreybutler To reduce the number of people having this confusing problem, it might be a good idea to modify NVM4W to check whether it has administrative permissions proactively at launch, and display a meaningful warning. Or even link to the relevant README. I've found that it's possible to get into some quite odd states because some NVM4W commands work without admin permissions but some do not.