How to always run command prompt as Administrator in Windows 10

User Account Control (UAC)

If you often need to launch the command prompt as Administrator, you can save your time and create a special shortcut. In Windows 10, it is possible with two different methods. Let's see how it can be done.

The first method is quite old. It is known since Windows Vista. The idea is to modify the regular shortcut and enable "Run as administrator" in the shortcut's properties.

Method 1. Modify a regular shortcut

  1. Right click Desktop and select New - Shortcut from the context menu.
  2. Type cmd.exe in the Target box.
  3. Finish the New shortcut wizard. Right click the shortcut you created and select "Properties" in the context menu.
  4. On the Shortcut tab of the Properties window, click the Advanced button.
  5. Tick the checkbox "Run as Administrator" as shown below:

The only problem is that every time you click this shortcut, it asks for a UAC confirmation:

This can be annoying. The second method does not have this issue.

Method 2. Use Task Scheduler
To skip the UAC prompt and start cmd.exe elevated, you need to create a special task in the Windows Task Scheduler which allows executing apps with admin privileges. The Task Scheduler has a graphical MMC version (taskschd.msc) which we will use.

The step-by-step instructions are pretty long. Thankfully, I have covered it already here:

Create elevated shortcut to skip UAC prompt in Windows 10

Follow these instructions to create the following task and run it using the console tool schtasks:

To save your time, you can use Winaero Tweaker. The feature called "Elevated Shortcut" does everything mentioned above and helps you to create elevated shortcuts quickly.

  1. Download and unpack the Winaero Tweaker app.
  2. Go to Tools \ Elevated Shortcut:
  3. Create a shortcut using its friendly user interface and you are done!

Also, there is another good thing about Winaero Tweaker. By default Task Scheduler run all tasks at Below Normal process priority. But Winaero's Elevated Shortcut fixes this by running the shortcut at Normal priority.

That's it.

Support us

Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options:

If you like this article, please share it using the buttons below. It won't take a lot from you, but it will help us grow. Thanks for your support!

Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

One thought on “How to always run command prompt as Administrator in Windows 10”

  1. An easier way to do this is just to press Win Key + X and launch Command Prompt (Admin). Now right click on the icon in the task bar and click Pin to Taskbar.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Exit mobile version
Using Telegram? Subscribe to the blog channel!
Hello. Add your message here.