Plesk utilities do not work on a Windows Server: Access is denied

Symptoms

• Windows built-in Administrator was renamed to a different name and does not exist at Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users.

• When restarting any service via Plesk Services Monitor, the operation fails with the following error message in a popup window:

  Access is denied. (Error code 5) at Unable to connect to pipe .pipeP_047a9f38-4df5-807f-33791b74c301
      at (Con::ClientOverlappedPipe::create line 503)
      at get shared instance of PleskSrcClient(PleskSrvClient::getInstance line 334)
      at Execute --start-plesk-website(execPleskUtil line 111)

• When running any Plesk utility in a command prompt, the following error message appears:

  C:> plesk version
  Access is denied

Cause

Plesk requires Windows built-in Administrator to work properly.

Resolution

Recreate the Administrator user by renaming it back or creating a new one with all required privileges and groups.