Elevated Command Prompt - Open in Windows 8

How to Open an Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 8


information   Information
A command prompt is an entry point for typing computer commands in the Command Prompt window. By typing commands at the command prompt, you can perform tasks on your computer without using the Windows graphical interface.

This tutorial will show you how to open an elevated command prompt that will run as administrator with full administrator rights in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to open an elevated command prompt.


EXAMPLE: Elevated Command Prompt
Step3.jpg




OPTION ONE

Open Elevated Command Prompt from Win+X Power Users Tasks Menu


1. Open the Power User Tasks Menu, and click/tap on Command Prompt (Admin). (see screenshot below)​
Win+X_Elevated.jpg






OPTION TWO

To "Open Command Prompt Here as administrator"


NOTE: This option allows you to open a command prompt that opens to the location of the selected folder or drive.
1. In File Explorer, select or open a folder or drive that you want to open the command prompt at that location for, click/tap on the File tab on the Ribbon, and click/tap on Open command prompt as administrator. (see screenshots below)​
File-1.jpgFile-2.jpg





OPTION THREE

Open an Elevated Command Prompt from Task Manager



Note   Note
If you are signed in as a standard user, then this will open an unelevated command prompt.

If you are signed in as an administrator, then this will open an elevated command prompt.


1. Open Task Manager with more details.​
2. Click/tap on File (menu bar), then press and hold the CTRL key and click/tap on Run new task. (see screenshot below)​
Task_Manager.jpg





OPTION FOUR

Open an Elevated Command Prompt from Search Apps


1. Do step 2 or 3 below for how you would like to search for cmd.exe.​
2. Search for CMD from Start Screen
A) While on your Start screen, start typing cmd, and go to step 4 below.​
3. Search for CMD from Search Apps
A) Open the Charms bar, and click/tap on Search, and go to step 4 below.​
NOTE: You could also press the Windows + Q to open Search.​
4. Do step 5 or 6 below for what Windows 8 you have.​
5. In Windows 8 or Windows RT, type cmd in the search flyout. (see screenshot below)​
Search-1.jpg
A) In the search results on the left side, right click or press and hold on Command Prompt, and click/tap on Run as administrator in the application bar at the bottom. (see screenshot below)​
Search-2.jpg
6. In Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, type cmd in the search flyout, right click or press and hold on Command Prompt in the search results, and click/tap on Run as administrator. (see screenshot below)​
Windows_8.1_elevated_cmd.jpg






OPTION FIVE

Open an Elevated Command Prompt from File Explorer


1. Open File Explorer (Windows Explorer), and navigate to the file below. (see screenshot below)​
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe
2. Right click or press and hold on cmd.exe, and click/tap on Run as administrator. (see screenshot below)​
File_Explorer.jpg


That's it,
Shawn


 

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1. Press Win+X (in any window) and you have an admin option in the list
2. Right click on cmd in All Apps and you also get the admin option.
 

My Computer

System One

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    Vista and Win7
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    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Now how do we set it so that it ALWAYS opens as elevated, I am the only user of my home PC, and I trust me I think ;)
 

My Computer

System One

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    Windows 8 Pro x64 RTM Build 9200
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Hello MisterApathy,

Using OPTION ONE in the tutorial above would be the easiest way to do so, but you could also create an elevated command prompt shortcut using the tutorial below if you like. :)

Elevated Command Prompt Shortcut - Windows 7 Forums

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
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    Corsair Hydro H115i
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    Logitech wireless K800
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    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
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    Internet Explorer 11
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    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
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    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Here is the way I do it - manually:

a) pin cmd to the taskbar
b) follow the numbers on the pictures

2012-10-15_2124.png

2012-10-15_2131.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Right-click the Start icon in the bottom left-hand corner and select "Command Prompt (Admin)."
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus X551MA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron @ 1.86GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X551MA (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Browser
    Chrome, firefox, IE11
    Antivirus
    Avira Free A/V

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Ah! Didn't recognize (nor would I ever even remember) the Win+X key combo or its official name: Power Users Tasks Menu.

Also, Capt. Jack Sparrow seemingly specified the incorrect location to be "the bottom right hand side of the screen," so I wanted to explicitly clear up any remaining confusion for other readers.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus X551MA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron @ 1.86GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X551MA (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Browser
    Chrome, firefox, IE11
    Antivirus
    Avira Free A/V
No problem John. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
OK... You have a different version of W8 as I do not get the option of Administrator by clicking on File in WindowsExplorer. How do I get that choice to show up? It is not there. I can't change my account to Administrator. It's grayed out. I can't seem to do anything with W8. I don't even feel like it's my computer. Why is this? Why these changes that have missing choices or grayed out choices?

This is more confusing now if I have to make a guest account as I have no idea how to turn that into an Admin account.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    unknown
    Memory
    8 GIG RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    unknown
    Browser
    MozillaFireFox
    Antivirus
    Ad-Aware
Where is the "power task menu" found? I have ClassicShell installed so I can use W8 with less confusion of the tiles.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    unknown
    Memory
    8 GIG RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    unknown
    Browser
    MozillaFireFox
    Antivirus
    Ad-Aware

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Oops! I have Windows 8.1 Professional.

To confirm that you have at least an Administrator account, goto Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Manage Another Account and look for the word "Administrator" below any of the listed account names.

Ideally, your everyday Windows account ought to be a Standard Account to minimize the chance of malware erasing/ changing your files & registry settings and adding new ones/ installing programs since the Standard Account - by and large - does not have permission to do so.

You most likely - if you have only one account other than Guest - have your everyday account set as an Administrator account. Instead, create a separate Administrator account for making OS changes - typically called Admin - and select a different password along with a helpful tip to recall it. Then change your everyday account to be a Standard Account.

1.) I googled "power task" "windows 8" and found nothing applicable - nor am I aware of any such item - per "power task (menu)" - per Windows 8. Please provide a screenshot of it using the procedure described below. Thx!

"Power Task" sounds almost like configuring a scheduled change in the Performance/ Battery-Save operating mode of the CPU, etc.

2.) Login to your Admin account (or your everyday account if you haven't changed it to the Std type yet), launch (File)/ Windows Explorer, and right-click a folder to provide its list menu. Upload a screenshot using the procedure below.

In the past for WinXP, etc, I had to use the "Power Toys" utility or execute a corresponding .VBS script/ .EXE file that I found on-line at a reputable site in order to effect the "Open Command Prompt" option in said list menu.

3.) Please post a JPEG file of your desktop via login to your Admin account and right-click on Start button in bottom left-hand corner to launch a list menu of administrative options. If the option "Command Prompt" w/ or w/o "(Admin)" does not appear, then press the "Prt Scr" button to save a screenshot to the Clipboard, launch MS Paint, right-click its white square (work area), select "Paste," click File - Save As -> JPEG picture -> "Admin-DT.jpg" <in preferred folder>, close MS Paint, & upload said file to your reply here. Then repeat the process after logging back into your Std account using filename "Std-DT.jpg."

Next, one of us - if not more - will examine the pix and (hopefully) provide a solution! :)

Best of luck! <Keeping my fingers crossed - lol>
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus X551MA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron @ 1.86GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X551MA (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Browser
    Chrome, firefox, IE11
    Antivirus
    Avira Free A/V
Thanks. I got help. It was really so simple. It's type COMMAND in the search widow - that brought up a menu with the Admin choice. Can you imagine - all the time I spent on this and it took 2 seconds.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    unknown
    Memory
    8 GIG RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    unknown
    Browser
    MozillaFireFox
    Antivirus
    Ad-Aware
Great news Phaedra. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted. :)
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
There's always more than one way to skin a cat!!! (Actually, the word "cat" in this usage refers to catfish, not felines....)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus X551MA
    CPU
    Intel Celeron @ 1.86GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X551MA (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Browser
    Chrome, firefox, IE11
    Antivirus
    Avira Free A/V
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