Windows Vista introduced the concept of UAC and elevated rights, by default restricting even applications run by local PC Administrators from running with full permissions to access and modify key system components. As a part of PC repair and Windows diagnostics and recovery, it is very important to be able to launch key utilities and components with Elevated Rights also known as Admin Access or Full Permissions or Administrator Privileges. This concept is similar to sudo from the Linux, BSD, and macOS world.
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How to run an application with admin rights
There are several different ways to run an application with elevated privileges and full admin rights. If you are not logged in as an administrator, you will need the username and password of an administrator on the machine to use the following methods:
In the new Windows 8 and Windows 10 start menu, it is possible to run a program or command with elevated privileges by simply right-clicking on the entry in the start menu or in the start menu search results and choosing Run as Administrator:
This is demonstrated in the following screencast:
Method 2: via the run dialog
To launch a program with elevated rights via the Windows run dialog, follow the steps below:
1. Use 
+ R to launch the run dialog
2. Type in the name of the process you wish to launch with admin rights (for example, services.msc or cmd.exe, and then press (at the same time) ctrl + shift + Enter
Support Links
- Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows – our repair and recovery disk.
It’s an easy-to-use and automated diagnostics disk. It’s available for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It’s also available for Windows XP and Windows Server.Read more at Windows Recovery Disks.
- The NeoSmart Support Forums, member-to-member technical support and troubleshooting.
- Get a discounted price on replacement setup and installation discs: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10.
Applicable Systems
This Windows-related knowledgebase article applies to the following operating systems:
- Windows Vista (all editions)
- Windows 7 (all editions)
- Windows 8 (all editions)
- Windows 8.1 (all editions)
- Windows 10 (all editions)
- Windows Server 2016 (all editions)
- Windows Server 2019 (all editions)