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How to Open an Elevated Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt as an administrator in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and Vista

By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on September 18, 2022 Reviewed by Chris Selph Reviewed by Chris Selph Chris Selph is a CompTIA-certified technology and vocational IT teacher. He also serves as network & server administrator and performs computer maintenance and repair for numerous clients. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Windows The Ultimate Laptop Buying Guide

What to Know

Windows 11, 10 or 8: Open Task Manager. Go to File > Run new task.In the Create new task window, type cmd in the Open text field and check the Create this task with administrative privileges box.Choose OK and follow any User Account Control requirements. This article explains how to open an elevated Command Prompt in Windows 11, 10, or 8. It also includes instructions for Windows 7 and Vista, along with additional information on why you need an elevated Command Prompt and how to tell whether you have administrator privileges.

How to Open an Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 11 10 or 8

If you're using a keyboard with Windows 11, Windows 10, or Windows 8, you can open an elevated Command Prompt quickly from the Power User Menu. Just use the WIN+X keyboard shortcut and then select Windows Terminal (Admin) (in Windows 11) or Command Prompt (Admin) (in Windows 10/8). Choose Yes on any User Account Control messages that might appear. Depending on your settings and Windows configuration, Command Prompt may be replaced by Windows Powershell. If you're using Windows 11, the option in the Power User Menu is for Windows Terminal; you can get to Command Prompt after opening that program. Open Task Manager. The quickest way, assuming you're using a keyboard, is via CTRL+SHIFT+ESC but there are several other methods outlined in that link. One easy way is to type the app name into Cortana's search field. Select Run new task at the top (Windows 11), or go to File > Run new task. Don't see the File menu? You may first have to select More details at the bottom of the Task Manager window to show a more advanced view of the program, including the File menu. In the Create new task window you see now, type the following in the Open text field:
cmd ...but don't do anything else just yet! Check the Create this task with administrative privileges. box. Don't see this box? That means that your Windows account is a standard account, not an administrator account. Your account must have administrator privileges to be able to open an elevated Command Prompt this way. Follow the Windows 7/Vista method below, or try the tip just below these instructions. Choose OK and then follow any User Account Control requirements that might appear next. An elevated Command Prompt window will now appear, allowing unrestricted access to executing commands. Feel free to close Task Manager. It does not need to remain open to use Command Prompt.

How to Open an Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 7 or Vista

Locate the Command Prompt shortcut, usually in the Accessories folder in the Start Menu. If you're having trouble finding it, see How to Open Command Prompt (the non-elevated kind). But first, there's an intermediate step you need to take. Right-click it and choose Run as administrator. Accept any User Account Control messages or warnings. An elevated Command Prompt window should appear, allowing access to commands that require administrative level privileges.

When Do You Need an Elevated Command Prompt

Some commands available in Windows require that you run them from an elevated Command Prompt. Basically, this means running the Command Prompt program (cmd.exe) with administrator-level privileges. You'll know if you need to run a particular command from within an elevated Command Prompt because it'll clearly tell you that in an error message after running the command. For example, when you try to execute the sfc command from a normal Command Prompt window, you'll get the "You must be an administrator running a console session in order to use the sfc utility" message. Try the chkdsk command and you'll get an "Access Denied as you do not have sufficient privileges or the disk may be locked by another process. You have to invoke this utility running in elevated mode and make sure the disk is unlocked" error. Other commands give other messages, but regardless of how the message is phrased, or what Command Prompt command we're talking about, the solution is simple: open an elevated Command Prompt and execute the command again.

More About Elevated Command Prompts

Don't let all the discussion above convince you that you should, or need to, run Command Prompt as an administrator for most commands. For almost all Command Prompt commands, no matter what version of Windows, it's perfectly okay to execute them from a standard Command Prompt window. To be able to open an elevated Command Prompt window, either a) your Windows user account must already have administrator privileges, or b) you must know the password to another account on the computer that has administrator privileges. Most home computer user's accounts are set up as administrator accounts, so this isn't usually a concern.

How to Tell if You Have Administrator Privileges

There's a very easy way to tell if the Command Prompt window you've opened is elevated or not: it's elevated if the window title says Administrator; it's not elevated if the window title just says Command Prompt. An elevated Command Prompt window opens to the system32 folder. A non-elevated Command Prompt window instead opens to the user's folder: C:\Users\[username]. If you plan on frequently using an elevated Command Prompt then you should consider creating a new shortcut to Command Prompt that automatically starts the program with administrator-level access. See How to Create an Elevated Command Prompt Shortcut if you need help. In Windows XP, users have Administrator privileges by default. When you open a Command Prompt in XP it will be elevated unless you have another type of profile. FAQ How do I open a command prompt? To open a command prompt, select Start icon and search for command prompt. Select the command prompt from the search results. You can also go to Start > Windows System and choose Command Prompt from the folder group. How do I open the command prompt on a Mac? Mac users don’t have a command prompt. Instead, they use the Terminal program. To open Terminal, go to Finder, open the /Applications/Utilities folder, and select Terminal. Or, enter Terminal into Spotlight Search. How do I change directory in command prompt? To change directories via the command prompt, type cd followed by a space and the folder name. For example, type cd Documents to change from your current folder to the Documents folder. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Open Command Prompt (Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, etc.) How to Open Registry Editor in Windows How to Access Device Manager From the Command Prompt How to Change Another User's Password in Windows How to Open Disk Management From Command Prompt How to Enable or Disable the Administrator Account in Windows How to Change Directories in CMD (Command Prompt) Switch Command Prompt and PowerShell on the Win+X Menu Task Manager (What It Is & How to Use It) How to Fix a Frozen Windows 10 Taskbar Scan and Fix Your Hard Drive: Windows System Files What Is a Service? (Definition of a Windows Service) What Is the Windows Terminal & How Does It Work? How to Fix the 'There Was a Problem Resetting Your PC' Error How to Start System Restore From the Command Prompt How to Fix Corrupted Files in Windows 11 Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies