Command Prompt is one very powerful command-line interpreter that has been included in every version of Windows to date. Moreover, Command Prompt also offers you more control over your system using the commands relative to using the GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Since Command Prompt is deeply integrated with Windows, running it without an admin access level usually suffices the majority of the needs. However, if you wish to toggle system services or make some changes on the root level, you will need an admin access level to achieve that.

Windows offers more than one way to access Command Prompt, in this article we are going to cover all of them starting from the easiest approaches to the more complex ones.

Open Command Prompt as an Admin From the Start Menu

This is probably the simplest way you can summon Command Prompt as an admin. Furthermore, since the power user menu is accessed using the Start Menu, you will be able to use this from any screen of Windows.

To do so, right-click on the Start Menu and click on the ‘Windows Terminal (Admin)’ option from the menu. This will bring up a ‘User Account Control’ overlay window on your screen.

Now, if you are not logged in as the administrator of the machine you will need to provide credentials for it using your preferred way of authentication. Otherwise, if you are already logged in as an admin, click on the ‘Yes’ button to launch the Windows Terminal.

Next, from the Terminal window, click on the carat icon (downward arrow) and click on the ‘Command Prompt’ option to open a Command Prompt tab on Terminal. Alternatively, you can also press the Ctrl+Shift+2 keyboard shortcut to open it.

Open Command Prompt as an Admin From the Search Menu

One of the simplest ways to open the Command Prompt in Windows 11 is through the ‘Search’ menu. It is as straightforward as it gets, and the best part is it will be at your disposal from everywhere on Windows.

To open the Command Prompt as an admin, click on the ‘Search’ icon present on the taskbar of your Windows 11 computer.

Next, type the command prompt or cmd in the search box present on the top section of the menu. Then, right-click on the ‘Command Prompt’ tile from the search results and choose the ‘Run as Administrator’ option from the overlay menu.

Alternatively, you can also click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option from the right section of the search results as well.

Then, you will either need to enter the administrative password if you are not logged in as the admin, or you will receive a ‘User Account Control’ alert on your screen. Click on the ‘Yes’ button on the UAC alert to launch the Command Prompt.

And that’s it the Command Prompt will open as an administrator on your screen.

Open Command Prompt as an Admin From the Start Menu

Now, if you need to open the Command Prompt several times a day and searching for it every time you need it feels like too much of a task, you can also pin it on your Start Menu and summon it straightaway from there.

To do so, first, click on the ‘Search’ icon present on your Windows 11 taskbar as shown in the earlier section. Then, type command prompt or cmd in the search box and right-click on the ‘Command Prompt tile from the search results. Next, choose the ‘Pin to Start’ option to pin the Command Prompt to your Start Menu.

Now, click on the ‘Start Menu’ present on the taskbar and scroll to locate the ‘Command Prompt’ pinned on it. Then, right-click on the Command Prompt icon and choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option.

Now, every time you wish to open the Command Prompt, you can always find it pinned on the Start Menu.

Open Command Prompt as an Admin From the Task Manager

Opening Command Prompt from the Task Manager is really simple. Moreover, since you can summon the Task Manager from pretty much any screen on Windows, this is one of the really great options to open the Command Prompt.

To summon Task Manager from anywhere in Windows, press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc shortcut on your keyboard. Then, from the Task Manager window, click on the ‘File’ tab from the menu bar and choose the ‘Run new task’ option from the overlay menu.

Then, type cmd in the space provided and click to tick the checkbox preceding the ‘Create this task with administrative priviliges’ option. Next, click on the ‘Run’ button.

You should immediately see the Command Prompt window on your screen.

Open Command Prompt as an Admin From Windows Terminal

Windows Terminal is a new home for all the command line tools present on your system. Thus, knowing how to access Command Prompt as an admin might come in handy when you need to work on multiple command-line tools from the same space.

To do so, click on the Start Menu icon present on the Taskbar and locate the Windows Terminal icon on the Start Menu. Then, right-click on the ‘Windows Terminal’ icon and click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option.

Alternatively, if you do not find the Windows Terminal icon on your Start Menu, click on the ‘All apps’ button from the top right section of the menu.

Then, scroll down to the ‘W’ alphabetic section. Then locate and right-click on the ‘Windows Terminal’ tile. Next, hover over the ‘More’ option and click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option.

Next, either enter the password for the administrative account if prompted. Otherwise, click on the ‘Yes’ button from the ‘User Account Control’ alert present on your screen.

Now, from the Terminal window, click on the ‘carat’ icon from the top bar and then choose the ‘Command Prompt’ option to open it in a new tab. Alternatively, you can also press the Ctrl+Shift+2 shortcut on your keyboard to open it.

Open Command Prompt as an Admin From File Explorer

Though it is not the most convenient out of the lot but gets the job done pretty easily, especially if you are already navigating using the file explorer.

To do so, open an explorer window on your Windows PC. You can also launch ‘This PC’ from your desktop or alternatively, press the Windows+E shortcut on your keyboard to open it. Then, type system32 in the address bar of the explorer and hit Enter on your keyboard.

Now, locate the cmd (exe) file in the ‘System32’ folder and right-click on it. Then, choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option from the context menu.

After that, if you are logged in with a non-administrative user you will have to enter the administrator password. Otherwise, if you are already logged in with an administrative account you will receive an overlay alert on your screen; click on the ‘Yes’ button to launch the Command Prompt with admin privileges.