6 Ways To Run Programs As Administrator In Windows 11/10

Run program as AdminRun program as Admin

Windows runs programs in user mode by default. If you want to run programs in administrative mode, you will need to specify that explicitly in a Windows OS. Running programs in Windows 11 and Windows 10 as an administrator is easy.

Running an app or a program enables you to perform tasks and functions that were previously inaccessible due to privilege restrictions.

In this article, we discuss a few ways to run programs in the administrative mode in Windows. You may use the method which is convenient for you.

Each method mentioned below will have its own advantages and disadvantages depending upon the situation you are in. For example, for a quick workaround, you may want to use a keyboard shortcut while at other times you may need a more permanent method of opening an app in admin mode.

We will also discuss a method especially useful for power users and system administrators in which we can specify admin credentials one time and use applications without asking for passwords again and again.

Benefits of Running App/Program as Administrator

The Windows operating system keeps certain files and actions restricted which are only granted access to a certain group, i.e. the administrators. This is so that not everyone has access to critical system files, thus they cannot be manipulated.

Moreover, if any viruses or trojan horses were given administrator control, they could access directories and perform actions beyond your imagination.

Running an application or a program with elevated privileges allows you to perform all actions and (almost) nothing is locked anymore. This gives you full control of the program, and then you may configure or use it as you please.

How to Run Programs in Administrative Mode in Windows

The simplest way to run a program in administrative mode is to right-click the program and select “Run as administrator” from the context menu.

If the current user is not an administrator, Windows will ask for the administrator username and password.

You can go about it in two ways: You can set an app to always run in administrative mode, or you can run an app in administrator mode temporarily, which means that it will only have elevated privileges for the current session.

Let’s check out what other options we have to run programs in administrative mode.

Always Run Program As Administrator

Always Run a Specific Program as Administrator

To always run a specific program as administrator, we will create its shortcut on the desktop and make changes to the shortcut. Please follow the instructions below:

  1. Search for the desired program using the Start menu, right-click it, and click “Open file location.”

    Open file location
    Open file location

    The file will now open in File Explorer.

  2. Right-click the program and click Properties.

    Open program properties
    Open program properties
  3. In the Shortcut tab, click Advanced.

    Open advanced properties
    Open advanced properties
  4. Check the box next to “Run as administrator” and click Ok.

    Always run program as administrator
    Always run program as administrator

Now when you run the program from the Start Menu, it will run in administrative mode.

Always Run All Programs as Administrator

By not running programs as an administrator, Windows keeps the system secure by not allowing viruses and malware to take admin access without user acknowledgment. But if you want to turn off this feature and always run all programs as administrator, please follow the steps below.

This security feature is called “User Access Control (UAC).” Disabling UAC will also disable asking for administrative privileges.

  1. Type in “msconfig” in the Run Command box to open the System Configuration window.

    msconfig
    Open System Configuration
  2. Switch to the Tools tab.

    Swich to the Tools tab
    Swich to the Tools tab
  3. Select “Change UAC settings” and click Launch.

    Change UAC settings
    Change UAC settings
  4. Move the slider to the bottom to turn off User Account Control and click Ok.

    Disable UAC
    Disable UAC

After applying this, you will not be asked anything and all programs will run in administrative mode.

Run Programs as Administrator using RunAs Tool

Windows built-in “RunAs” command allows a user to launch programs with different user credentials than the user you are logged in as now. To use the “RunAs” command, press the Shift key and right-click on the program shortcut to show the “Run As Different Useroption in the context menu .

Run as different user context menu
Run as different user option in context menu

But you have to repeat this step every time you launch that specific program. If you want to always run a program as a specific user then the RunAsTool is for you.

RunAsTool is a portable app in which you can save admin user credentials and then the app can automatically run programs listed in the app as the specific user all the time.

This is especially useful for system administrators who want to give administrative rights to standard users only for specific programs and applications.

  1. Download RunAsTool.

  2. Extract its contents.

    Extract RunAsTool
    Extract RunAsTool
  3. Run “RunAsTool.exe” or “RunAsToolx64.exe” (depending on your system architecture).

  4. Enter the administrator account’s credentials and click Apply.

    Enter credentials 1
    Enter credentials
  5. Now drag and drop the applications you want to run as administrator into the tool.

    Drag and drop apps and programs
    Drag and drop apps and programs
  6. Now you can double-click any application from within RunAsTool to run directly in administrative mode without asking for administrator password.

RunAsTool is a portable app so you can easily keep it in a pen drive and run it on any computer within a Windows Active Directory Domain. It’s a lifesaver if you want to give network users administrator access to specific programs instead of giving them local admin privileges.

Temporarily Run Program As Administrator

Keyboard Shortcut to Run a Program in Administrative Mode

You can also run a program in administrator mode directly from the Start menu. Just find the program in the Start Menu, and press Ctrl + Shift keyboard keys and double-click on the program.

This will open the program as an administrator. But you will always need to press Ctrl + Shift keys while opening the programs in admin mode.

You can also use the CTRL + Shift + Enter keys to run a program in administrative mode.

Use the Run Dialog Box to Run Applications with Administrative Privileges

There are some system programs that we start directly from the Run dialog. For example, I always open Command Prompt or PowerShell using Run –> cmd.

If you are using Windows 10 Version 1803 or above, the good news is that you will be able to open the programs in administrative mode directly from the Run dialog.

Just enter the command and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. This will trigger the Run dialog box to run applications with admin privileges.

Run Program in Administrative Mode using Task Manager

The Task Manager is used to manage system processes, amongst many other functionalities. You can run a process, which in this case, will be an app executable file, using the Task Manager. Here is how:

  1. Open the Task Manager by pressing the CTRL + Shift Esc shortcut keys.

  2. Click “Run new task.”

    Run a new task
    Run a new task
  3. Enter the file name or the complete path to the program, check the box next to “Create this task with administrative privileges” and then click Ok.

    Run program with elevated privileges from Task Manager
    Run program with elevated privileges from Task Manager

Conclusion

All the methods given above can be used for different purposes.

As a power user or a system administrator, you must be aware of all these methods and can use them according to your situation. For a quick application, I use the keyboard shortcut + mouse click method. For domain users, I keep a copy of RunAsTool on a network drive and distribute it to users who want administrative access to specific programs.

If you liked this post, Share it on:

Get Updates in Your Inbox

Sign up for the regular updates and be the first to know about the latest tech information

Usman Khurshid
Usman Khurshid is a seasoned IT Pro with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. He has experience in everything from IT support, helpdesk, sysadmin, network admin, and cloud computing. He is also certified in Microsoft Technologies (MCTS and MCSA) and also Cisco Certified Professional in Routing and Switching.

2 comments

  • Karthik
    Karthik

    Thank you. That worked like a charm. :)

  • irfan

    sir my pc is not wored properly i am change the properties on the softwares in corel draw sir my softwares in not open run as admintrative sir i am convert to run as administrative

Leave your comment