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How to open Elevated Command Prompt

Learn how to open elevated command prompt on your Windows system.

Why do we need elevated command prompt?

Starting from Vista, Windows has two modes for running command prompt – Elevated and normal. Normal command prompt does not allow to run commands that require admin privileges, so elevated command prompt is required. For example, you want to add a new user account to your system, this requires admin previliges, so even if you are admin, you would not be able to add a user from a command window opened in the normal way.

Below are different methods for opening an elevated command prompt.

How to open elevated command prompt?

There are two ways to open elevated command window.  These are explained below.

Click on the Start button in the taskbar. Type ‘cmd’ in the search box. In the results, you will see cmd application. Right click on it, and select the option Run as administrator.

Open Elevated command window

User Account Control will prompt Do you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer?  Click on Yes and elevated administrator command prompt window will be opened.

The alternative way is to search for cmd in the start menu search button as mentioned above.  Press CtrlShift and click on the cmd application.

29 comments… add one
  • Dick Hughes

    this process did not work for vista

    • Srini

      This works on all Windows editions – Windows 7, 10 and Vista too.

  • Poong Jin Yeong

    Thanks for your help. I could open elevated command prompt and apply some secure options

  • Srini

    so how would you create an administrative account though prompt command if your doing it though a user that isnt under administrative privileges is there any way around putting or be asked for administrators password on windows vista ofcourse

  • Srini

    I accidentally deleted my admin account and I’m trying to follow the instructions above, as well as the runas command (to which I get the error 1327: Logon failure: user account restriction. Possible reasons are blank passwords not allowed, logon hour restrictions, or a policy restriction has been enforced.)
    When I try to “run as administrator,” I am not given the option to select “continue,” thus I cannot open a command prompt with elevated privileges. The window that opens looks like it has a Norton Anti-Virus shield and says “User Account Control.” It says to enter the Admin password- but there is no area to put it in, and the only available option is “cancel.”
    Help?

    • chris h

      Srini
      best thing for you to do is get windows 7 disk set your bios to boot from CD run the process like you was going to do a install the disk should detect you have os installed and offer to repair it click yet then go to command prompt from there you can add a new admin user to the domain e.g net localgroup administrators sini add /
      another option you can upgrade another account to admin type net user he push enter pick to see what accounts are on the PC you mite even find your old account just deactivated in cmd

  • suliman

    Hi dear ..
    Is there any method that I can see all computers conected in local network ?
    I writed ” net view ” but this show me little computers conected , I want to see all computers in the company ..
    Please help …

  • timothy

    Administrator Command prompt is still denied access to stopping wuauserv

    • Artem

      You need to run it as NT AUTHORITIES/SYSTEM. Google it

  • timothy

    Access still denied.

  • Fred Witte

    Got a Command line version?

  • raj kumar

    windows update stop

  • Sunil

    How to add admin Grp to User profile. I cannot open in CMD in Admin mode.

  • fredi71

    Thank so much for this advise!!!

  • Vasilis

    How about windows XP.
    Cant find any videos or so

    • Srini

      Elevated command prompt was introduced from Windows Vista. This did not exist in XP and previous editions.

  • Me

    This does not work for windows 10. Sorry. I did exactly as described and “System Error 5 Access Denied” still appears.

    Why does microsoft do everything in its power to screw its customers over?

  • Laquita Goodman

    It doesn’t work it still ask me for my password which is what I’m trying to change

  • Zanti

    Hi, it seems the original microsoft account I used when setting up my new laptop late last year no longer has administrator permissions. I have been trying to find a solution and it all comes back to this:
    _________________________________________________________
    ** User Account Control will prompt “Do you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer?” Click on Yes and elevated administrator command prompt window will be opened.
    _________________________________________________________
    The above instruction will not work for me because when the box opens up asking “Do you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer” there is not option for ‘yes’, only ‘no’. So all I can do is select no and I’m back to the same problem.

    I can’t make changes to my antivirus or any other programs, even though my account should be an administrator account.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you

  • Danh

    I am NOT able to reset my forgotten Administrator password using my regular user account. It keeps asking me Administrator password otherwise it says “System error 5 has occurred – Access is denied”.
    I am NOT able to open “Elevated Command Prompt” because it will have a “Password” space to be enter” and I CANNOT continue after this message pop-up “Do you want to allow the program to make changes to your computer? I CANNOT Click on “Yes” since there is a “PASSWORD space” I have to enter before clicking “Yes”.
    Thanks,
    Danh

  • V Von

    Tried the elevated command window. Still says System Error 5 Access Denied.

  • Tobias Munk

    And how do I do this in IOT Core? :)

  • Anon

    @Srini,

    You could always go the sticky key route.
    Just need to rename your cmd.exe file to sethc.exe
    Go to the login screen and press shift 5 times and then you have access to an elevated command prompt without being logged in

    If you forgot your password completely. An easy thing to do is look up how to create a bootable ophcrack USB. (Of course you might need to use another pc to go this route)

  • someone

    you should check this Write powershell -Command “Start-Process cmd -Verb RunAs” and press Enter
    https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19098101/how-to-open-an-elevated-cmd-using-command-line-for-windows

  • Suma

    I am unable open elevated command prompt ,plz help me

  • Kathleen Johnson

    I did entered “cmd” and as I’m typing this, I should be in it but as you can read…. It didn’t work for me either {:( and as admin too.

  • Kathleen Johnson

    ok it did work but mine was already started so i had to stop it to restart it again{:/

  • Eric Meyerhuber

    Great help, Thanks!

  • Jim

    I can’t open the elevated command prompt because it asks for admin privileges in order to do so…the whole point of me using command prompt is because I need admin privileges in order to use an app I downloaded…Please advise

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