Windows PowerShell is similar to Command Prompt but is functionally advanced in many aspects. It offers the option to automate various administration tasks, a feature that seems missing in Command Prompt. Executing tasks via PowerShell is simple. All you need to do is, enter the relevant shell command and hit ENTER, just like in Command Prompt.
While you can normally run plenty of shell commands on PowerShell, some commands require administrative privileges. In such cases, you will be required to launch Windows PowerShell as an administrator or launch an elevated Windows PowerShell, in other words.
There are several ways you can open PowerShell as an administrator and we have listed them all. An understanding of each method will help quickly launch PowerShell, irrespective of the system’s state.
1. Launch Elevated PowerShell in Windows Terminal
To launch an elevated PowerShell, press WINDOWS + S to launch the Search menu, enter ‘Windows Terminal’ in the text field at the top, right-click on the relevant search result, and select ‘Run as administrator’ from the context menu. Click ‘Yes’ on the UAC prompt that pops up next.
If you haven’t changed the default profile in Windows Terminal, Windows PowerShell will launch by with administrative privileges, by default.
In case you don’t have PowerShell as the default profile, click on the downward-facing arrow at the top, and select ‘Windows PowerShell’ from the list of options that appear. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + SHIFT + 1 after launching Terminal to open PowerShell.
2. Launch Elevated PowerShell from Search Menu
To launch an elevated PowerShell, press WINDOWS + S to launch the Search menu, enter ‘PowerShell’ in the search box at the top, right-click on the relevant search result, and select ‘Run as administrator’ from the context menu. Click ‘Yes’ on the UAC prompt that pops up.
This will launch the elevated Windows PowerShell.
3. Launch Elevated PowerShell from Quick Access/Power User Menu
To launch an elevated PowerShell, right-click on the ‘Start’ icon in the Taskbar or press WINDOWS + X to launch the Quick Access menu, and select ‘Windows Terminal (Admin)’ from the list of options. Click ‘Yes’ on the UAC prompt that pops up.
Once you have an open elevated Terminal, follow the steps mentioned in the last method to launch an elevated PowerShell.
4. Launch Elevated PowerShell from Run Command
To launch an elevated PowerShell, search for ‘Run’ in the ‘Search’ menu, and click on the relevant search result to launch it. Alternatively, you can press WINDOWS + R to launch the ‘Run’ command.
Type ‘powershell’ in the Run text field, and either hold the CTRL + SHIFT key and click on ‘OK’ or press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to launch an elevated PowerShell. Click ‘Yes’ on the UAC prompt that pops up.
5. Launch Elevated PowerShell from Start Menu
To launch an elevated PowerShell, click on the ‘Start’ icon in the Taskbar or press the WINDOWS key to launch the Start menu.
If you don’t have PowerShell in the ‘Pinned’ apps section, click on ‘All apps’ to view the apps on the computer.
Now locate the Windows Terminal apps, right-click on it, hover the cursor over ‘More’, and select ‘Run as administrator’ from the list of options that appear. Click ‘Yes’ on the UAC prompt that pops up.
6. Launch Elevated PowerShell from Task Manager
To launch an elevated PowerShell, right-click on the ‘Start’ icon in the Taskbar or press WINDOWS + X to launch the Quick Access menu, and select ‘Task Manager’ from the list of options.
In the Task Manager, click on the ‘File’ menu at the top-left corner and select ‘Run new task’ from the list of options that appear.
In the ‘Create new task’ box, enter ‘powershell’ in the text field, select the checkbox for ‘Create this task with administrative privileges’ and click on ‘OK’ at the bottom.
This will launch an elevated PowerShell right away.
7. Launch Elevated PowerShell from Command Prompt
To launch an elevated Command Prompt, search for ‘Windows Terminal’ in the Search menu and click on the relevant search result to launch the app.
Now, open the ‘Command Prompt’ tab in Terminal, if it isn’t set to default profile. Next, type or paste the following command and press ENTER to launch an elevated PowerShell. Click ‘Yes’ on the UAC prompt that pops up.
powershell Start-Process powershell -Verb runAs
8. Launch Elevated PowerShell from a Batch File
A batch file consists of a series of commands to be executed, stored in text form. To create a batch file, open a text editor, enter the relevant commands and save it as a batch file (with the ‘.bat’ extension). Now each time you launch the batch file, the same set of commands will be executed.
To launch an elevated PowerShell, right-click anywhere on the desktop, hover the cursor over ‘New’, and select ‘Text Document’ from the list of options that appear.
In the Notepad, type, or copy and paste the following command.
Powershell.exe -Command "& {Start-Process Powershell.exe -Verb RunAs}"
Next, click on the ‘File’ menu at the top-left corner, and select ‘Save as’ from the list of options that appear. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + SHIFT + S to launch the ‘Save as’ window.
Enter the file name as ‘LaunchPowerShell(Admin).bat’ and hit ‘Save’. You can have any other file name too, provided the ‘.bat’ extension is added at the end of the name.
Double-click the saved batch file to launch an elevated PowerShell. Click ‘Yes’ on the UAC prompt that pops next.
9. Launch Elevated PowerShell using Desktop Shortcut
If you need to frequently access an elevated PowerShell, create a desktop shortcut for it and set it to always open with administrative privileges.
To launch an elevated PowerShell, right-click anywhere on the Desktop, hover the cursor over ‘New’, and select ‘Shortcut’ from the list of options that appear.
In the ‘Create Shortcut’ window, enter the following path in the text field under ‘Type the location of the item’.
For 32-bit Windows
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exeFor 64-bit Windows
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exeAfter entering the path, click on ‘Next’ at the bottom.
You would next be asked to name the shortcut. You can choose the default name or change it. Once done, click on ‘Finish’ to create the PowerShell shortcut.
After creating the PowerShell shortcut, set it to launch as administrator. To do this, right-click on the shortcut, and select ‘Properties’ from the context menu.
Next, click on ‘Advanced’ in the ‘Shortcut’ tab.
Now, tick the checkbox for ‘Run as administrator’ and click on ‘OK’ at the bottom.
Finally, click on ‘OK’ in the shortcut properties window to save and apply the changes.
You can now launch an elevated PowerShell using the shortcut.
These were all the ways you can open Windows PowerShell as an administrator. While some of them may appear obvious, some surely did add to your list of methods. Try them the next time you have to launch an elevated PowerShell.
Member discussion