In Windows, how can I run an administrator task from a non-admin account?
In Windows, certain tasks, including installing or upgrading software and configuring certain operating system parameters, require that you log in as an administrator.
However, you can also accomplish most of these tasks as a regular user by temporarily logging in with administrative rights to carry out your task, while keeping the actual administrator account insulated from security risks. (See In Windows, why should I avoid running my computer as an administrator?)
- In Vista, when you begin a task requiring
administrative privilege, you will be prompted to enter the username
and password for your administrative local account.
If a particular software application on your computer requires you to be logged in as an administrator, you can right-click the application and select
Run as administrator. - Windows XP and 2000 provide a Secondary
Logon service (also known as "run as") that lets you run programs as
different users. To use it, do one of the following:
- Navigate to the program you wish to launch with different
privileges. Click it once to select it, then hold down the
Shiftkey and right-click the program. You'll see a contextual menu from which you can selectRun as...and then choose a different account.
- From the
Startmenu, selectRun..., and enter the following command: runas /user:username cmdReplace
usernamewith the name of the account you want to use. You can replacecmdwith any command you'd like to run (if it contains spaces between characters, enclose it in double quotes). ClickOK. When prompted, enter the password for the account you've chosen. This method will start a new command shell in a new session, from which you can launch programs.
- Navigate to the program you wish to launch with different
privileges. Click it once to select it, then hold down the
For more on this topic, see Wikipedia's User Account Control page.
Also see:
- Best practices for computer security
- What is the principle of least privilege?
- On a computer, what are administrators and administrative rights?
- In Windows XP or Vista, how do I create an administrator account?
- In Windows 2000, XP, or Vista, how do I set the administrator password?
- At IU, why do I need to know the administrator account on my computer?
Last modified on July 30, 2008.






