diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index e59e95aa8e..d2bce90204 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -969,12 +969,6 @@ version = "1.0.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "baf1de4339761588bc0619e3cbc0120ee582ebb74b53b4efbf79117bd2da40fd"
 
-[[package]]
-name = "cfg_aliases"
-version = "0.1.1"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "fd16c4719339c4530435d38e511904438d07cce7950afa3718a84ac36c10e89e"
-
 [[package]]
 name = "chacha20"
 version = "0.9.1"
@@ -4678,18 +4672,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
-[[package]]
-name = "nix"
-version = "0.28.0"
-source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "ab2156c4fce2f8df6c499cc1c763e4394b7482525bf2a9701c9d79d215f519e4"
-dependencies = [
- "bitflags 2.5.0",
- "cfg-if",
- "cfg_aliases",
- "libc",
-]
-
 [[package]]
 name = "node-launchpad"
 version = "0.3.7"
@@ -4712,7 +4694,6 @@ dependencies = [
  "lazy_static",
  "libc",
  "log",
- "nix 0.28.0",
  "pretty_assertions",
  "prometheus-parse",
  "rand 0.8.5",
diff --git a/node-launchpad/Cargo.toml b/node-launchpad/Cargo.toml
index 99f506b5b5..a02e46e61d 100644
--- a/node-launchpad/Cargo.toml
+++ b/node-launchpad/Cargo.toml
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ json5 = "0.4.1"
 lazy_static = "1.4.0"
 libc = "0.2.148"
 log = "0.4.20"
-nix = { version = "0.28.0", features = ["user"] }
 pretty_assertions = "1.4.0"
 prometheus-parse = "0.2.5"
 rand = "0.8.5"
diff --git a/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/main.rs b/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/main.rs
index 754848e644..b95b154297 100644
--- a/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/main.rs
+++ b/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/main.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
 
 mod terminal;
 
+#[macro_use]
+extern crate tracing;
+
 use clap::Parser;
 use color_eyre::eyre::Result;
 use node_launchpad::{
@@ -15,6 +18,8 @@ use node_launchpad::{
     config::configure_winsw,
     utils::{initialize_logging, initialize_panic_handler, version},
 };
+#[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
+use sn_node_manager::config::is_running_as_root;
 use sn_peers_acquisition::PeersArgs;
 use std::{env, path::PathBuf};
 use tokio::task::LocalSet;
@@ -51,12 +56,10 @@ pub struct Cli {
 }
 
 async fn tokio_main() -> Result<()> {
-    initialize_logging()?;
-
     initialize_panic_handler()?;
-
     let args = Cli::parse();
 
+    info!("Starting app with args: {args:?}");
     let mut app = App::new(
         args.tick_rate,
         args.frame_rate,
@@ -74,14 +77,28 @@ fn is_running_in_terminal() -> bool {
 
 #[tokio::main]
 async fn main() -> Result<()> {
+    initialize_logging()?;
     configure_winsw().await?;
 
     if !is_running_in_terminal() {
+        info!("Running in non-terminal mode. Launching terminal.");
         // If we weren't already running in a terminal, this process returns early, having spawned
         // a new process that launches a terminal.
         let terminal_type = terminal::detect_and_setup_terminal()?;
-        terminal::launch_terminal(&terminal_type)?;
+        terminal::launch_terminal(&terminal_type)
+            .inspect_err(|err| error!("Error while launching terminal: {err:?}"))?;
         return Ok(());
+    } else {
+        // Windows spawns the terminal directly, so the check for root has to happen here as well.
+        debug!("Running inside a terminal!");
+        #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
+        if !is_running_as_root() {
+            {
+                // todo: There is no terminal to show this error message when double clicking on the exe.
+                error!("Admin privileges required to run on Windows. Exiting.");
+                color_eyre::eyre::bail!("Admin privileges required to run on Windows. Exiting.");
+            }
+        }
     }
 
     // Construct a local task set that can run `!Send` futures.
diff --git a/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/terminal.rs b/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/terminal.rs
index 5d1c6b4ca0..e02040460d 100644
--- a/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/terminal.rs
+++ b/node-launchpad/src/bin/tui/terminal.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@
 
 use clap::Parser;
 use color_eyre::eyre::{eyre, Result};
+#[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
+use sn_node_manager::config::is_running_as_root;
 use std::{path::PathBuf, process::Command};
 use which::which;
 
@@ -24,24 +26,12 @@ pub(crate) enum TerminalType {
     WindowsTerminal(PathBuf),
     Xterm(PathBuf),
 }
-
-#[cfg(not(windows))]
-pub(crate) fn is_running_root() -> bool {
-    use nix::unistd::geteuid;
-    geteuid().is_root()
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub(crate) fn is_running_root() -> bool {
-    // Example: Attempt to read from a typically restricted system directory
-    std::fs::read_dir("C:\\Windows\\System32\\config").is_ok()
-}
-
 pub(crate) fn detect_and_setup_terminal() -> Result<TerminalType> {
-    if !is_running_root() {
-        #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
+    #[cfg(target_os = "windows")]
+    if !is_running_as_root() {
         {
             // todo: There is no terminal to show this error message when double clicking on the exe.
+            error!("Admin privileges required to run on Windows. Exiting.");
             color_eyre::eyre::bail!("Admin privileges required to run");
         }
     }
@@ -86,6 +76,7 @@ fn get_available_linux_terminal() -> Result<TerminalType> {
 }
 
 pub(crate) fn launch_terminal(terminal_type: &TerminalType) -> Result<()> {
+    info!("Launching terminal: {terminal_type:?}");
     let launchpad_path = std::env::current_exe()?;
 
     match terminal_type {
diff --git a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/auditor.rs b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/auditor.rs
index 359d8cd6d9..b788d0edb6 100644
--- a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/auditor.rs
+++ b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/auditor.rs
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@
 // KIND, either express or implied. Please review the Licences for the specific language governing
 // permissions and limitations relating to use of the SAFE Network Software.
 
-use super::{download_and_get_upgrade_bin_path, is_running_as_root, print_upgrade_summary};
+use super::{download_and_get_upgrade_bin_path, print_upgrade_summary};
 use crate::{
     add_services::{add_auditor, config::AddAuditorServiceOptions},
-    config,
+    config::{self, is_running_as_root},
     helpers::{download_and_extract_release, get_bin_version},
     print_banner, ServiceManager, VerbosityLevel,
 };
diff --git a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/daemon.rs b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/daemon.rs
index ddfc75847e..44d9cec81f 100644
--- a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/daemon.rs
+++ b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/daemon.rs
@@ -6,10 +6,9 @@
 // KIND, either express or implied. Please review the Licences for the specific language governing
 // permissions and limitations relating to use of the SAFE Network Software.
 
-use super::is_running_as_root;
 use crate::{
     add_services::{add_daemon, config::AddDaemonServiceOptions},
-    config,
+    config::{self, is_running_as_root},
     helpers::{download_and_extract_release, get_bin_version},
     print_banner, ServiceManager, VerbosityLevel,
 };
diff --git a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/faucet.rs b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/faucet.rs
index add34c5d2f..a5acd8e0c7 100644
--- a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/faucet.rs
+++ b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/faucet.rs
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@
 // KIND, either express or implied. Please review the Licences for the specific language governing
 // permissions and limitations relating to use of the SAFE Network Software.
 
-use super::{download_and_get_upgrade_bin_path, is_running_as_root, print_upgrade_summary};
+use super::{download_and_get_upgrade_bin_path, print_upgrade_summary};
 use crate::{
     add_services::{add_faucet, config::AddFaucetServiceOptions},
-    config,
+    config::{self, is_running_as_root},
     helpers::{download_and_extract_release, get_bin_version},
     print_banner, ServiceManager, VerbosityLevel,
 };
diff --git a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/mod.rs b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/mod.rs
index b612536e7e..ec4055a7a3 100644
--- a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/mod.rs
+++ b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/mod.rs
@@ -27,16 +27,6 @@ use std::{
     process::{Command, Stdio},
 };
 
-#[cfg(unix)]
-pub fn is_running_as_root() -> bool {
-    users::get_effective_uid() == 0
-}
-
-#[cfg(windows)]
-pub fn is_running_as_root() -> bool {
-    true
-}
-
 pub async fn download_and_get_upgrade_bin_path(
     custom_bin_path: Option<PathBuf>,
     release_type: ReleaseType,
diff --git a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/node.rs b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/node.rs
index c90c7edaed..717a3f9125 100644
--- a/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/node.rs
+++ b/sn_node_manager/src/cmd/node.rs
@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@
 
 #![allow(clippy::too_many_arguments)]
 
-use super::{download_and_get_upgrade_bin_path, is_running_as_root, print_upgrade_summary};
+use super::{download_and_get_upgrade_bin_path, print_upgrade_summary};
 use crate::{
     add_services::{
         add_node,
         config::{AddNodeServiceOptions, PortRange},
     },
-    config,
+    config::{self, is_running_as_root},
     helpers::{download_and_extract_release, get_bin_version},
     print_banner, refresh_node_registry, status_report, ServiceManager, VerbosityLevel,
 };
diff --git a/sn_node_manager/src/config.rs b/sn_node_manager/src/config.rs
index 5648625d12..64cb732e0a 100644
--- a/sn_node_manager/src/config.rs
+++ b/sn_node_manager/src/config.rs
@@ -244,13 +244,14 @@ pub fn create_owned_dir(path: PathBuf, _owner: &str) -> Result<()> {
 
 #[cfg(unix)]
 pub fn is_running_as_root() -> bool {
-    users::get_effective_uid() == 0
+    use nix::unistd::geteuid;
+    geteuid().is_root()
 }
 
 #[cfg(windows)]
 pub fn is_running_as_root() -> bool {
-    // The Windows implementation for this will be much more complex.
-    true
+    // Example: Attempt to read from a typically restricted system directory
+    std::fs::read_dir("C:\\Windows\\System32\\config").is_ok()
 }
 
 pub fn get_user_safenode_data_dir() -> Result<PathBuf> {