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New Member
posted Mar 27, 2025 1:47:17 PM

Windows 10 installation fails to authenticate

Windows 10

Patch status = current

Number of downloads = 4

Firewall = off

Network connection = WIRED

Although I can login via Firefox, the desktop app fails to complete login

Window above ""Phone number, email or userid" shows "Access Denied"

0 4 767
4 Replies
Expert Alumni
Mar 28, 2025 8:54:48 AM

I am going to suggest these steps below. I think you might be having an issue other users have experienced with installing when using Windows 10.

  1. Type "environment" in the windows search bar. 
  2. This will bring up "Edit the System Environment Variables" as a match. 
  3. Clicking on it takes you to the "Advanced" tab of a dialog box titled "System Properties." 
  4. Near the bottom of the dialog box, click on the pushbutton labeled "Environment Variables...". 
  5. This brings up a separate dialog box that shows the current values for user environment variables at the top and system variables at the bottom. In the list of user environment variables, you should see both TEMP and TMP, and their current values. 
  6. Click on each, then click on the "Edit..." pushbutton. 
  7. This brings up another dialog box in which you can change the "Variable value" to "C:\Temp" (be sure to change the variable value, not the variable name). 
  8. This folder must, of course, exist for this step to work properly. 
  9. OK out of all the dialog boxes and retry the install.     
  10. Environment variable changes take effect immediately, so if this is the only change you make, it's not necessary to reboot.     

New Member
Mar 28, 2025 4:59:27 PM

Suggestion fails. Both the USER and ADMIN were pointed to their respective TEMP/TMP directory. Redirected USER and ADMIN to C:\WINDOWS\TEMP.

New Member
Mar 30, 2025 12:45:43 PM

Was on the phone with tech support yesterday. Issue I see is the network stack your desktop program is using. Login failures with CHROME match login failures with your laptop software. Technician online with this discovery.

New Member
Apr 1, 2025 11:52:57 AM

After two long-term phone calls (2hr, 4hr) with tech support, the last as case number [phone number removed], it was determined that there was zero resolution for my problem. It appears that the underlying issue may be with a "reCAPTCHA" fault which exists in CHROME (Version 134.0.6998.178 (Official Build) (64-bit))

Ironic update available starting today updates CHROME to Version 135.0.7049.42 (Official Build) (64-bit). No updates available yesterday. Attempted TT user sign-in FAIL.

 

This information provided by my login to TurboTax.com using FIREFOX.