Quincy Center for Technical Education
Computer Technology Department

Use Run as to start a program as an administrator

  1. In Windows Explorer, click the program, Microsoft Management Console (MMC) tool, or Control Panel item you want to open.
  2. Press SHIFT and right-click the program, and then click Run as.
  3. Click Run the program as the following user.
  4. Type the user name, password, and domain of the administrator account you want to use.

Notes

  • If you want to use the Administrator account on your computer, in Domain type the name of the computer. If you want to run as a domain administrator, in Domain type the name of the domain.
  • In User name, Password, and Domain, you can type up to 256 characters in each field.
  • Run as allows you to run programs (*.exe), saved MMC consoles (*.msc), shortcuts to programs and saved MMC consoles, and Control Panel items. You can run them as an administrator while you are logged on to your computer as a member of another group, such as the Users or Power Users group.
  • You can set a property on shortcuts to programs and MMC consoles so that you will always be prompted for alternate credentials when you use the shortcut. To set the property, right-click the shortcut, click Properties, and then click Run as different user.
  • Run as can be used to start any program, MMC console, or Control Panel item as long as the following requirements are met:
    • You provide the appropriate user account and password information.
    • The user account has the ability to log on to the computer.
    • The program, MMC console, or Control Panel item is available on the system and to the user account.
  • Run as is usually used to run programs as an administrator, although it is not limited to administrator accounts. Any user with multiple accounts can use Run as to run a program, MMC console, or Control Panel item with alternate credentials.
  • If you try to start a program, MMC console, or Control Panel item from a network location using Run as, it might fail because the credentials used to connect to the network share are different from the credentials used to start the program. The credentials used to run the program may not be able to gain access to the same network share.
  • Some items, such as Windows Explorer, the Printers folder, and desktop items, are launched indirectly by Windows 2000. These items cannot be started with Run as.
  • If Run as fails, the RunAs service may not be running. For more information, see Related Topics.
  • You can also use the runas command from the Run line or a command prompt. For more information, see Related Topics.
  • Run as and the RunAs service accept only password authentication. If policies require smart card logon for special accounts or for all users, then Run as will not work.