Causes of the ‘System 5 Error Has Occurred’ Message

Most people are surprised when they see the “System error 5 has occurred” error when using the Windows command prompt, because most commands don’t require administrator access. However, if you ever do try to use one of those administrator commands, this problem will arise. It’s the equivalent of an “Access is denied” error. If you try typing a command like “net user,” which requires elevated (administrator) access, you’re going to see the system error 5 message. This message can occur even when you believe you have administrator rights on the computer.

How to Fix System Error 5 on Windows

The simplest solution for a System 5 error is to run the command prompt as an administrator. Here’s how to do that.

Disabling User Access Control

If you don’t want to deal with the annoying UAC message box, you can disable User Access Control.