Power BI Refresh Error:
Failed to add user to group. (-2147463168 PBIEgwService Performance Log Users)

What does this error mean?

Gateway installer failed to add the service account to the Performance Log Users group. The gateway works normally; only performance counters are affected.

Common causes

• 1The installer is not running with local administrator privileges
• 2Group Policy prevents modification of local security groups on the machine
• 3The gateway machine is a domain controller where local groups are managed differently
• 4The 'Performance Log Users' group does not exist (non-standard Windows configuration)

How to fix it

1. 1Run the gateway installer as a local Administrator (right-click → Run as administrator)
2. 2If on a domain, ensure your account has local admin rights on the specific gateway machine (not just domain admin)
3. 3Manually add the gateway service account to the 'Performance Log Users' group via Computer Management → Local Users and Groups
4. 4If blocked by Group Policy, contact your AD administrator to grant the exception or add the account via GPO
5. 5This error does not prevent the gateway from functioning — the gateway will work, only performance counter collection is affected

Other gateway errors