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Flair Must Run as Administrator — License and System Code Issues

CONFIRMED BOTH

Summary

Flair must run in Windows Administrator mode to apply and retain its license. Without Administrator privileges, Flair cannot write to the Windows registry. This causes the system code to change between sessions, making the license appear invalid each time Flair starts. The fix is to permanently enable "Run as administrator" for the Flair executable(s).

Symptoms

  • Flair license appears invalid or keeps asking for re-activation
  • System code changes between sessions
  • License was accepted once but is rejected on next startup
  • Flair appears to start but shows licensing errors

Systems Affected

BOTH
  • Flair 7 (Flair.exe)
  • Flair Classic (FlairClassic.exe)
  • Both on the same machine if both are installed

Cause

Flair stores its license and system code in the Windows registry. Standard (non-Administrator) Windows accounts do not have write permission to the protected areas of the registry that Flair needs. Without this write access:

  • The system code cannot be saved
  • The system code is recalculated fresh each session
  • The stored license no longer matches the new system code
  • Flair reports the license as invalid

"If not running in Admin mode you also may find that the system code changes as Flair cannot write it to the Windows registry." — Gordon (MRMC)

Fix — Set "Run as administrator" Permanently

Apply this to both Flair.exe and FlairClassic.exe if both are installed.

  1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the Flair installation directory (typically C:\Flair\Flair7\ or C:\Flair\FlairClassic\).
  2. Right-click on Flair.exe (and/or FlairClassic.exe).
  3. Select Properties.
  4. Click the Advanced button (on the Shortcut tab or General tab).
  5. Check Run as administrator.
  6. Click OK, then Apply, then OK.
  7. Repeat for any desktop shortcuts — right-click the shortcut → Properties → Advanced → Run as administrator.

After this change, Flair will always launch with Administrator privileges, and the license will be retained correctly between sessions.

Apply to the executable, not just the shortcut

Setting "Run as administrator" on only the shortcut may not be sufficient. Set it on the actual .exe file in the installation directory as well. Repeat for both Flair.exe and FlairClassic.exe if applicable.

Source: talk.mrmoco.com — Running Flair in Admin mode — Post by Gordon (MRMC), 2023-09-27

"Flair must be run in Administrator mode within Windows in order to apply licenses. So you may need to 'elevate' Flair into admin mode. Right-click on Flair.exe and/or FlairClassic.exe, select 'Properties' and then 'Advanced' and then check 'Run as administrator'." — Gordon (MRMC)

Revision History

Date Change Editor
2026-05-29 Initial extraction from forum topic 1401 Tom D / Claude Code