13 ways to use “Run as administrator” in Windows 10

In Windows 10, knowing how to run programs as administrator is very important. By default, apps and games in Windows 10 run without administrator permissions, to prevent unauthorized changes to your system. However, there are times when some programs require administrator permissions to work properly or to run specific commands. Windows 10 offers you the ability to run programs as admin without having to disable anything. Here are all the methods to use “Run as administrator” on any desktop app in Windows 10:

First things first: About UAC and Run as administrator

In early versions of Windows, applications had system-wide privileges, which was a security risk. All of Microsoft’s operating systems from Windows Vista onward, including Windows 10, include UAC or User Account Control, a security feature that prevents unauthorized changes to the operating system. Trying to run an application as administrator is one of the changes that require administrative privileges. Before the selected program is launched, a UAC prompt is triggered, asking for permission. If you run the application from an account without administrator permissions, the UAC prompt asks you to enter an administrator password. Without the admin password, the program does not launch.

In Windows 10, you can only run a program with administrator permissions if it is a desktop app. Some of these applications, like security software, cannot run correctly without having administrative permissions. Windows apps that are installed from the Microsoft Store cannot be run with administrative privileges in Windows 10. Furthermore, they have the same level of permissions as a normal user account, so they are not allowed to make changes to advanced system settings or the Windows Registry.

You can learn more about the difference between desktop apps and UWP apps and figure out which ones you can “Run as administrator” by reading What is a Windows app? How is it different from a desktop app or a program?.

1. Run a program as admin from the contextual menu of its Start Menu shortcut or tile

In Windows 10, you can launch a program with administrative permissions by using the contextual menu of its Start Menu shortcut. First, open the Start Menu. Then, find the shortcut of the program you want to launch in the All apps list, and right-click or press-and-hold on it to open a contextual menu. Click, tap, or hover over the More option, and then click or tap on “Run as administrator.“

If you have a tile for your desktop app available in the Start Menu, right-click or press-and-hold on it to open a contextual menu. Access More and then click or tap on “Run as administrator.“

2. Run as administrator using “Ctrl + Shift + Click” on its Start Menu shortcut or tile

Open the Start Menu and locate the shortcut of the program you want to launch as administrator. Hold down both the Ctrl and the Shift keys on your keyboard and then click or tap on that program’s shortcut.

You can also use the “Ctrl + Shift + Click/Tap” shortcut on an app’s Start Menu tile to run it with administrator permissions in Windows 10.

During our tests, this method did not work every time, so if that is the case for you, either try again or consider running the app as administrator another way.

3. Run a program as administrator from its desktop shortcut

Find the desktop shortcut for the program you want to run as admin or create one yourself. Then, right-click or press-and-hold on it to open a contextual menu. Click or tap on the “Run as administrator” option.

4. Run a desktop app as administrator from its taskbar shortcut

In Windows 10, you can also run a desktop app with administrator permissions from its taskbar shortcut. Right-click or press-and-hold on the shortcut, and then right-click or press-and-hold again on the program’s name. Then, from the menu that opens, choose “Run as administrator.”

You can also use the “Ctrl + Shift + Click/Tap” shortcut on an app’s taskbar shortcut to run it with administrator permissions in Windows 10.

5. Run a program as administrator from its right-click menu

Although easier to find, shortcuts are not the only way to run a program as administrator in Windows 10. You can perform the same action from the main executable file’s contextual menu.

Open File Explorer and find the desktop app’s executable. Right-click or press-and-hold on it to open the contextual menu, and then click or tap on “Run as administrator.“

6. Use “Run as administrator” from File Explorer’s ribbon

Find the program’s main executable in File Explorer. Select it, and then click or tap on the Manage tab from the ribbon.

The option you need is displayed in the Run section of Application Tools. Click or tap on the upper half of the “Run as administrator” button to give the selected app admin permissions.

As an alternative, you can also press the lower half of the “Run as administrator” button and then click or tap on the “Run as administrator” option from the drop-down menu.

7. Run a desktop app as admin from the Search window

In the taskbar search field, type in the name of the program that needs to run with administrator permissions. Then, click or tap on the “Run as administrator” option displayed on the right side of the Search window.

Obviously, when you see the UAC prompt asking for permission to run the app as admin, click or tap Yes.

8. Run a program as administrator using “Ctrl + Shift + Enter” on its taskbar search result

Type the name of the program in your taskbar’s search field. If there are multiple results, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to highlight the program you want to run as administrator. Then, simultaneously press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard.

9. Run a program as administrator from the Run window

Open the Run window and type in the name of the executable for the program you want to run as administrator. Then hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys on your keyboard and click or tap on OK.

Alternatively, after typing in the name of the program’s main executable, press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard at the same time.

10. Run as admin from the Task Manager

Another way to launch a program as administrator in Windows 10 is to start it using the Task Manager. To begin, open the Task Manager. Then, if it opens up in its compact view, click or tap on the More details button.

In the expanded Task Manager, open the File menu and click or tap on “Run new task.“

This opens the “Create new task” window. You can use its Open field to enter the path to the program you want to launch as administrator, or you can click or tap on Browse to navigate to it. Then, make sure to check the “Create this task with administrative privileges.” option and click or tap on OK.

TIP: An advantage of using this method to launch programs as administrator is that you skip the UAC part of the process. That is because the app automatically inherits the permissions of the Task Manager – in our case, administrator permissions – so all you have to do is check the box to enable the option, as seen above. The option is missing if you only have standard user permissions on the device.

11. Run a desktop app as admin using the RunAs command in Command Prompt (CMD) or PowerShell

If the command line is your favorite way of asking your computer to do what you want, you can also access Command Prompt or PowerShell to run a program as administrator. Enter the following command in the CMD or PowerShell window, adjusting it to fit your needs:

runas /user:”your_computer_name\administrator_name” “C:\path\program.exe”

Replace your_computer_name with your computer’s name, administrator_name with the name of a user account that is an administrator on your system, and C:\path\program.exe with the complete path to the program that you want to run as administrator.

As seen in the image below, if you enter the command correctly, you are also asked to enter the administrator’s password. Then, press Enter on your keyboard once again.

TIP: Using this method to launch programs as administrators, you skip the UAC part of the process.

12. Always run a program with administrator permissions

To avoid constantly having to use the methods illustrated above on desktop apps accessed on a regular basis, you can set a program to always run with administrator permissions.

First, open File Explorer and find the main executable of the program you want to run. Right-click or press and hold on it to open the contextual menu. Then, click or tap on Properties.

In the Properties window, go to the Compatibility tab. At the bottom of the window, check the box next to the “Run this program as an administrator” option, and then click or tap on Apply or OK.

This setting is applied, and, from now on, the program always runs with administrator permissions. Follow the same steps if you want to disable the option. You can also edit the Properties of a program’s shortcut to avoid tampering with its main executable. To begin, right-click or press-and-hold on a program’s shortcut to access its contextual menu, and click or tap on Properties.

Then, in the shortcut’s Properties window, select the Shortcut tab. Click or tap on the Advanced button to open Advanced Properties.

In the Advanced Properties window, check the box next to “Run as administrator” and then click or tap OK.

Finally, you are returned to the Properties window, where you have to click or tap on OK or Apply, and you are done.

The settings are applied, and your program works with administrative permissions as long as you open it using the same shortcut. When you use the methods in this section, the UAC prompts you as soon as you try to launch the app.

13. Run a program with administrator permissions and without a UAC prompt

Using the Task Scheduler, you can run a program as administrator without being prompted by the UAC (User Account Control) every time. It is simple, and you don’t have to disable UAC, thus compromising Windows 10’s security. We put together a detailed step by step guide to help you: Use the Windows Task Scheduler to run apps without UAC prompts and admin rights.

Which method(s) do you plan to use?

In Windows 10, there are fewer apps that need to run with administrator permissions than in older versions of Windows. However, a few legitimate programs still require elevated privileges. The main thing to remember is that even if you are logged in with an administrator account, you regularly run apps as a standard user. This means that if you need to run a program that requires administrator permissions, you can just use one of the methods described above and then approve it in the UAC prompt. Which of the method(s) illustrated do you plan to use? Did you already use some of them? Let us know in a comment.

How to Run Command Prompt as an Administrator in Windows 10

A small tip on how to run your command prompt as an administrator or in other words, open an elevated command prompt, in Windows 10/8/7. We have seen how to launch Command Prompt, and carry out many tasks. But some tasks required elevated privileges to be run. In such cases, you have to open an elevated command prompt window. So let us see how to launch, run or open Command Prompt as an administrator or an elevated CMD with administrative privileges & rights in Windows 10/8/7.

Run Command Prompt as Administrator

In Windows 10 and Windows 8, follow these steps:

Take the cursor to the bottom left corner and right-click to open the WinX menu. Select Command Prompt (Admin) to open an elevated command prompt.

So you see, things have been made easier in Windows 10/8.1.

In Windows 7, follow these steps:

Type cmd in Start search.

In the results, you will see ‘ cmd ‘.

Right-click on it and from the context menu select Run as Administrator.

TIP: This post will help you if you can’t run Command Prompt as administrator.

There are other ways to open an elevated command prompt:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager. Click on File menu > Run new task. To open a command prompt window, type cmd. Remember to check the Create this task with administrative privileges check-box. Then hit Enter.
2. You can also open an elevated Command Prompt from the Task Manager using CTRL key.
3. Or then simply open the Start Menu or Start Screen and start typing the command line. Next, hold the Shift and Ctrl keys, and then hit Enter to open the command line in an elevated command prompt.
4. Open an elevated command prompt using CMD
5. Run Commands from Windows Start Search Box as an Administrator
6. Run commands from Explorer address bar.

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[email protected]

Anand Khanse is the Admin of TheWindowsClub.com, a 10-year Microsoft MVP (2006-16) & a Windows Insider MVP. Please read the entire post & the comments first, create a System Restore Point before making any changes to your system & be careful about any 3rd-party offers while installing freeware.

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8 Ways To Open Command Prompt As Administrator In Windows 10

Last Updated on February 21, 2021 by admin 23 Comments

The majority of Windows users will never need to open Command Prompt as an administrator or elevated Command Prompt as most of the commands can be executed without the elevated Command Prompt.

That said, some tasks can only be performed from Command Prompt running with administrator rights, and you get “You may not have permission to perform this operation” or “Access is denied” error when you try to execute certain commands without admin rights.

In Windows 10, there are multiple ways to open Command Prompt as an administrator or run elevated Command Prompt. You can follow one of the below-mentioned methods to launch Command Prompt as an administrator in Windows 10.

NOTE: If you’re wondering how to know that the Command Prompt has been launched as an administrator, it’s easy. When the Command Prompt is launched with admin rights, the “Administrator” text will appear on the title bar (see the picture above) of the Command Prompt window.

Anyways, below are the methods to open Command Prompt as an administrator in Windows 10.

Method 1 of 8

Use shortcut keys to open elevated Command Prompt quickly

This is probably the easiest and fastest method out there to open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 1: Press the Windows logo key on the keyboard or click/tap the Windows logo button on the bottom-left corner of the screen to open the Start.

Step 2: Type CMD in the Start/taskbar search box (search box is automatically selected when you open Start) or in the Run command box, and then simultaneously press Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys.

Step 3: Click the Yes button when you get the User Account Control dialog box. That’s it!

Note: If you are using a non-admin account, you’ll be asked to enter the admin account password to open the Command Prompt as an administrator.

Method 2 of 8

Another easy way to open Command Prompt as admin in Windows 10

Step 1: Right-click on the Start menu (or use Windows logo + X keys) and then click the Command Prompt (Admin) option.

NOTE: If you cannot see Command Prompt entry, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and then turn off Replace Command Prompt with Windows PowerShell in the menu when I right-click the Start button or press Windows key + X option.

Step 2: Click the Yes button when you get the User Account Control screen to open Command Prompt as admin.

Method 3 of 8

Use search to open elevated Prompt from Start

Step 1: Open the Start by either clicking the Windows logo key on the bottom left corner of the screen or by pressing the Windows logo key on the keyboard.

Step 2: Type Command Prompt or CMD in the search box to see Command Prompt entry in the result, right-click on the Command Prompt and then click Run as administrator.

Method 4 of 8

Open admin Command Prompt from Start menu

Step 1: Open the Start by clicking the Windows logo button on the extreme left on the taskbar (bottom left corner of the screen) or by pressing the Windows logo key on the keyboard.

Step 2: In the Start menu, scroll the apps list to see the Windows System folder, expand the Windows System folder to reveal the Command Prompt entry, right-click on Command Prompt entry, click More and then click or tap Run as administrator.

Click or tap the Yes button when you see the User Account Control box or enter the password of the admin account if you’re using the Admin account.

Method 5 of 8

CMD as administrator from File Explorer

Step 1: Open the Run command dialog box by simultaneously pressing the Windows logo and R keys.

Step 2: In the Run command box, type %windir%\System32\ and then press Enter key to open the System32 folder.

Step 3: Locate the file named cmd.exe, right-click on the same, and then click the Run as administrator option.

Click the Yes button or enter the admin account password when asked to do so.

Method 6 0f 8

Use Run to open Command Prompt as an administrator in Windows 10

Step 1: Open the Run command box by simultaneously pressing the Windows logo and R keys (Windows + R).

Step 2: In the Run command box, type CMD and then simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to open Command Prompt as administrator. Click on the Yes button when you get the UAC prompt.

Method 7 of 8

Open Command Prompt from Task Manager

This method is useful and works only if you signed in to an admin account.

Step 1: Open Task Manager. To do so, you either right-click on the Start button or taskbar and then click Task Manager. Task Manager can also be launched using Ctrl+ Shift+Esc hotkey.

If the Task Manager is launched with fewer details is launched, click More details to open the full version.

Step 2: Once the Task Manager is launched, click the File menu.

Step 3: Now, hold down the Ctrl key and then click Run new task open Command Prompt as administrator. In this method, you’ll not see the User Account Control dialog box.

Method 8 of 8

Open Command Prompt window here as administrator

UPDATE: This method no longer works.

As you likely know, when we hold down the Shift key and right-click on a folder, Open Command Prompt window here option appears in the context menu. If you want to open the Command Prompt as an administrator from a folder, you can use this method.

Step 1: Click the File menu, hover the mouse cursor over Open Command Prompt to see Open Command Prompt as administrator option. Click on the same option to run Command Prompt as administrator.

That’s all we know. If there is an easier way to open Command Prompt as an administrator, do let us know by leaving comments. You can also let us know if any of the methods mentioned above are not working for you.

Tip: You can configure Windows 10 always to open Command Prompt as administrator. Please go through our how to always run Command Prompt as an administrator guide for detailed instructions.

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Comments

Carrie Price says

I can’t download my messages on messenger on Facebook

Your instructions for Windows 10 worked perfectly on my first try. Thanks for providing the steps…

walter n moore says

whatever happen to a simple why to create a shortcut why is it so complicated for something so basic

I have tried all six methods. I can get to the window about command prompt admin but there is no YES button, just a NO which takes me back to the original.

Method 3 of 6
Admin Command Prompt from Start menu
Worked for me. Thanks

Method 2 worked a treat first time when I was trying to run chkdsk and had to get elevated admin rights. Thank you very much.

gloria boyd says

I resently tried ALL your ways to get Admin Prompt and more than HALF DID NOT WORK or brought up a page totally UNRELATED to command prompt , it might be because of a resent update number 1803 , but YOU need to go back and rewrite your instructions ! A CHILD ? Can do better than this , you should be ashamed being a SELF PROCLAIMED EXPERT . Get your act together !

I want to be able to open and administrator mode (elevated) command prompt from any folder I select in the file explorer. The method offered everywhere for this only opens a normal level (non-admin) command prompt. Is there simply a command one can type at the un-elevated command prompt to switch to the administrator level? This should be easy to do. None of the methods suggested do this without having to enable show full path in title window option in explorer, copy the full path, open an elevated command prompt, type cd and a space, then paste the copied path, then enter to change the path to the location you want (from the file explorer). That’s a lot of work to do to be able to do this. It seems to me Windows could have a much simpler command to allow opening an elevated command prompt from a desired directory. Maybe I’m asking too much? I need the elevated command prompt because I’m going to do some installations that require it.

What do you mean by the “Yes button?”

Yet another article not telling you how to turn your command prompt to be run as administrator.

I have a problem and after trying various methods I failed so today I would like to ask for your professional help. Around five months back I Downloaded an Extension from Chrome App Store, by the name BROWSEC VPN after that my system was controlled by Remote Access and when I Found out it was too late all my Data was Hacked I had to change my Hard Drive. Well after that I again Downloaded that Extension in order to find out if it was the Extension or something else but my doubt has cleared as it is true now he is again in my system and I am unable to update Windows my mails are Hacked etc.. Now Please help me Disconnect the Remote Access It says Network Authenticated I even followed the TechNet solutions But no Luck I have noticed that if there are 100 solutions to a problem they have 101 Ways to Heck. There are so many Loop holes to Penetrate.I think he has Off Line access to my Laptop and he has some kind of shadow App system too I know it because when I reverse or undo PC settings or Change my Passwords he somehow Knows it right away and yesterday he Blocked me Out of my System by Disabling Send or Delete options from me I was Helpless not being able to contact Support or do what he had set check the Apps they are installed without my Knowledge and when I Delete them they come back Please help me out Please and if you suggest a solution explain it in Layman’s terms so I understand it Thank you.

Robert McMillan says

I am logged in as the admin when I try an IP reset it tells me access denied, now what?

Method 1, worked for me.
Thanks a lot.

Lorraine Traylor says

The majority of these methods are incorrect. found one that does work and dont see why anyone would go that far out of their way to do it. Laughable.

Chip Pearson says

This is the dumbest article I’ve ever read. Who cares how many ways there are to open the command window. You miss the point entirely. What is important about the command interface is NOT how to open it,but what you can DO with it once it is open. It is like describing 10 ways to get on a bicycle, without a word about pushing the pedals and making it go. The readers are all now uttering a collective “Now what?” In any case, forget the command line and use a grown-up’s tool: PowerShell.

I hv windows 10 on my pc and command prompt is not open..i m click on cmd then it’s open and suddenly it’s close..what was problem is that…can u plz ask me

As Administrator there are no drive mappings anymore

With all these ways to get into ADMINISTRATOR [trouble] mode, I guess the more general, useful help on this subject would be: How does one switch In and Out of ADMINISTRATOR mode?

Following advice from:
hxtp://windowsreport.com/start-menu-not-working-windows-10/

in attempt to ‘fix’ my Windows 10 Critical Error START Menu is not working problem, I executed COMMAND Prompt (Admin)/PowerShell and apparently, successfully ran:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach

Now, L-click on START Menu seems to do nothing; no more Critical Error. R-click on START Menu brings up Admin list-type of Start Menu.

Now, how do I get out of the ADMIN user mode and the ‘Normal’ START Menu?

@Andy
it’s Ctrl + Shift + Enter. Pressing Ctrl + Alt + Enter will open CMD without admin rights.

its control+alt+enter not control+shift+enter

When I try these, I get prompted for admin password. I enter that, but the cmd window never appears.