When you launch an app by selecting the ‘Run as Administrator’ option, the app is launched with administrative privileges. This allows it to make changes that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible under standard/limited privileges. The app can now access restricted portions of the system and make changes to them.

There’s a lot around the concept that most users aren’t aware of. So, let’s first discuss those before we move to the methods to ‘Run as Administrator’ on Windows 11.

Why does an App Need Administrative Privileges?

First, most apps don’t need administrative privileges at all. This is primarily because they don’t make any critical changes to the system or access the system files. But, apps such as Command Prompt, will require administrator privileges to execute a bunch of commands. The same goes for PowerShell.

When you normally run an app and try to make critical changes, the system wouldn’t permit it. However, when you provide administrative privileges, it indicates to the system that you trust the app and the changes that it’s about to make. Thus, the system would allow these changes.

Also, if an app is not functioning properly, try running it as administrator and see if that fixes the issue. Many apps require administrative privileges to run.

Should I Run All Apps as Administrator?

As mentioned earlier, not all apps require administrative privileges. But for those that do, only grant it to those that you trust. Granting administrative privileges to the app allows it to access files and make changes that could affect the functioning of the system. Therefore, only run the apps that you trust as an administrator.

Why Can’t I Run Some Apps as Administrator?

You can only run the desktop apps as administrator on Windows 11. For other apps, you wouldn’t find the ‘Run as Administrator’ option.

Why is it Asking for Password to Launch an App as Administrator?

You are asked to enter the password when running an app as an administrator from a ‘Standard’ user account. There are two types of accounts of Windows, Standard and Administrator. If you log in with an administrator account, you wouldn’t be required to authenticate, rather a simple confirmation box will pop up.

Now that you have a fair idea of the concept and can identify the apps that could be run as an administrator, here are all the ways to do so.

Note: Whenever you launch an app with administrative privileges, a UAC window appears asking to confirm the change. Click on ‘Yes’ to proceed.

Run as Admininstator from Start Menu

To run an app as administrator from the Start Menu, first, click on the ‘Start’ icon in the Taskbar or press the WINDOWS key to launch the Start Menu.

If you have previously pinned the app to the ‘Start Menu’, locate and right-click on it, and select ‘Run as administrator’ from the context menu.

If you haven’t pinned the app, click on the ‘All apps’ option near the top-right to view all the apps installed on your system.

Locate the app that you want to run as administrator, right-click on it, hover the cursor over ‘More’, and select ‘Run as administrator’ from the sub context menu.

The app will now launch with administrative privileges.

Run as Administrator from Windows Search Menu

To run an app as administrator from the Search Menu, first, either click on the ‘Search’ icon in the Taskbar or press WINDOWS + S to launch the Search Menu.

If the app appears under ‘Best match’, either right-click on it and select ‘Run as administrator’ or click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option on the right to launch it with administrative privileges.

If the app does not appear under ‘Best match’ but somewhere down the list in the ‘Search Menu’, you can still right-click on it and select ‘Run as administrator’.

Another way to launch the app with administrative privileges is to first click on the carrot arrow icon next to the app.

Next, click on the ‘Run as administrator’ option on the right.

Run as Administrator from Taskbar

If you have an app pinned to the Taskbar, simply press and hold the CTRL + SHIFT keys and click on the app icon in the Taskbar.

Alternatively, you can also press CTRL + SHIFT + WINDOWS followed by the number denoting the position of the pinned app. The number ‘1’ is assigned to the first pinned app from the left, ‘2’ to the second, and so on. Also, the ‘Start’, ‘Search’ and ‘Widget’ buttons are not be included in the counting. For instance, to launch Command Prompt with administrative privilege in the above case, you would have to press CTRL + SHIFT + WINDOWS + 4, since it’s the fourth pinned app on the Taskbar from the left.

Run as Administrator with a Keyboard Shortcut

To run an app as an administrator, you can go with the keyboard shortcut as well. Just select the app and press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER, to launch it with administrative privileges.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut to launch an app from the ‘Start’ or ‘Search’ menu.

Run as Administrator from Run Command

To run an app as administrator from the Run command, press WINDOWS + R to launch Run, enter the executable name of the app, and either hold the CTRL + SHIFT key and click on ‘OK’ or press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to launch the app with administrative privileges.

Run as Administrator from Context Menu

You can also launch an app with administrative privileges by right-clicking on it and selecting ‘Run as administrator’ from the context menu.

Run as Administrator from the Command Prompt

For users who prefer Command Prompt over the conventional GUI ways, this method will come in handy.

First, launch Windows Terminal app with administrative privileges as discussed earlier, open the ‘Command Prompt’ tab, enter the path of the app that you want to run as administrator, and press ENTER.

To get the path of the app, either locate the app in the File Explorer or look it up in the ‘Search Menu’ and click on ‘Open file location’ on the right.

Now, select the app, click on the ellipsis at the top, and select ‘Copy path’ from the list of options that appear.

Now, head to the elevated Terminal, and either right-click anywhere or press CTRL + V to paste the path.

Run as Administrator from Task Manager

To run an app as administrator from the Task Manager, search for the ‘Task Manager’ in the Start Menu, and click on the relevant search result to launch the app. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to launch the Task Manager.

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 text box, enter the executable file name for the app or its path, tick the checkbox for ‘Create this task with administrative privileges’, and click on ‘OK’ at the bottom.

Note: You can also browse and select the app to be run by clicking on the ‘Browse’ option.

Always Launch an App with Administrative Privileges

If you frequently launch an app with administrative privileges, there’s no need to go through the hassle each time. You can set it to launch as administrator by modifying its compatibility settings, and it will automatically launch with administrative privileges the next time onwards. Here’s how you do that.

To modify the compatibility settings, right-click on the app and select ‘Properties’ from the context menu. Alternatively, you can select the app and press ALT + ENTER to launch its properties.

In the ‘Properties’ window, navigate to the ‘Compatibility’ tab, select the checkbox for ‘Run this program as an administrator’, and click on ‘OK’ at the bottom to save the changes.

Now, the app will launch will administrative privileges the next time onwards.

These are all the ways you can launch an app with administrative privileges on Windows 11. We would like to reiterate that you must not allow administrative privileges to untrusted apps, since it gives the app uncontrollable access over the system.