This can be a problem since you won’t be able to perform advanced commands that require administrative privileges. Don’t worry, there are ways to fix Run as Administrator when it’s not working in Windows. Sometimes Command Prompt issues can appear on your PC and prevent you from running specific commands that require administrative privileges. Speaking of Command Prompt, here are some problems that users reported:
Command Prompt admin won’t open Windows 10 – Your antivirus can cause this, so be sure to check it and restore quarantined files to their original location. Can’t run CMD as administrator Windows 7 – This issue can also occur on Windows 7. If you encounter it, be sure to apply some of our solutions. Command Prompt not working in Windows 8 – Windows 8 users also reported this issue, and to fix it, create a new user profile and check if that helps. Can’t run CMD as administrator Windows 11
Why can’t I run CMD as administrator?
This is usually the case when your user account does not have administrative privileges, or in simple words, it’s a Standard user account. In this case, you will be asked to enter the administrator password each time you run CMD as an administrator. Third-party antivirus is also known to cause problems for some users, and disabling it did the trick. Besides, if your current user profile or the system files are corrupt, there’s a chance that Command Prompt won’t open as an administrator in Windows.
What should I do if CMD is not running as administrator?
Before we get to the slightly time-consuming solutions here, let’s first try a few quick fixes and see if this help resolve things:
Restart the computer Check the antivirus and verify that Command Prompt or any related process has not been disabled or added to the Quarantine list. You may even disable the antivirus for a short while to verify the same. Avast, for instance, has been found to cause this issue.
If these didn’t work, fret not! The ones listed next surely will help you deal with the Administrator Access Denied error messages.
1. Use Command Prompt
This way, you can run CMD as administrator from the command line in Windows 10 and 11.
2. Create a Command Prompt shortcut on your desktop
Since there are two shortcuts, you have non-administrative and administrative Command Prompt available. You can easily recognize the administrative Command Prompt as its window will be labeled Administrator: Command Prompt once you start it. Alternatively, you can create a new shortcut on your desktop without copying anything. To do that, follow these steps: Now you have to force the new shortcut to run with administrative privileges. Here’s how you can do that: You can double-click the new shortcut, and the Command Prompt will start with administrative privileges. Remember that this is a workaround, but this solution should be helpful until you fix the core problem.
3. Disable all non-Microsoft context menu items
According to users, sometimes your context menu can cause this problem to appear. For example, if you can’t run Command Prompt as an administrator, perhaps other applications are causing this error. Sometimes applications will add their entries to the context menu, which can lead to many other problems. And, ShellExView should come to your aid in this case. Almost any application can cause this problem, but a few users reported issues with Express Zip File Compression (NCH Software). So if you’re using it, disable its entries from the context menu. Keep in mind that this is an advanced solution, so you’ll need to get familiar with ShellExView a bit before you can fully apply this solution.
4. Create a new user account
Sometimes your user account can get corrupted, and that can cause an issue with Command Prompt. Repairing your user profile is difficult, but you can fix the problem simply by creating a new user account. SPONSORED After creating a new user account, switch to it and check if the problem is still there. If the issue with Command Prompt doesn’t appear on the new account, move your files there and start using it instead of your old one.
5. Install the latest updates
According to users, sometimes, you can’t run CMD as an administrator due to specific bugs in Windows. However, Microsoft is usually quick to fix any major bugs that affect the user experience. So, check for updates, and install them if any are available.
6. Run CMD as administrator from Task Manager
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
Go to the File menu and select Run new task.
Type cmd.exe in the text field.
Check the Create this task with administrative privileges box, and click OK.
Command Prompt will be launched on your PC.
The Task Manager can provide a solid alternative if you can’t run CMD as an administrator directly. Basically, you need to launch Task Manager and configure it to open Command Prompt.
Also, find out how to open a file or a folder in the Command Prompt.
7. Try using Safe Mode
Safe Mode is a particular segment of Windows that runs with default settings, and it’s usually a good place to start the troubleshooting process. For example, if you can’t run Command Prompt as an administrator, perhaps you should be able to solve the problem by accessing Safe Mode. Once you enter Safe Mode, try launching CMD as administrator, and if you see a black screen, run the following two commands while replacing the password in the second command with the one you want to set: net user Administrator /active:yes net user Administrator password This fix has been confirmed by users and would help get things running when you can’t run CMD as an administrator. Also, as an additional piece of advice, you may run CMD as an administrator in folder by right-clicking anywhere in the blank portion and selecting Open in Terminal. Alternatively, Windows 10 users can navigate to the desired folder and press Alt + F + S + A. Tell us which solutions worked for you in the comments section below. Also, if you managed to fix things with another method, do let us know.
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