Quick Links

Key Takeaways

To run PowerShell as an administrator on Windows 10, open the Start Menu, search for "PowerShell," then right-click the result and click "Run as Administrator," Alternatively, press Windows+X to open the Power User Menu, then click "Windows PowerShell (Admin)" to launch PowerShell as an admin.

Almost everything you need to do in Windows PowerShell you can do in a normal window. However, you'll occasionally have to open PowerShell as an admin to run certain commands that require you to have elevated privileges. Here's how.

Use Windows Search to Launch PowerShell

You can quickly launch Windows PowerShell as an admin from the Windows Search bar. In the Search bar, type "Windows PowerShell." Next, right-click the Windows PowerShell app in the search results, and then click "Run as Administrator" in the menu that appears. You can also click "Run as Administrator" in the Start Menu itself.

Launching PowerShell as admin from the Start Menu.

Windows PowerShell will then launch in admin mode.

Use the Power User Menu to Launch PowerShell as Administrator

You can also launch Windows PowerShell as an admin from the Windows Power User menu. To access the Power User menu, right-click the Start menu (Windows icon) in the bottom-left corner of the desktop. The Power User menu will appear. Here, click "Windows PowerShell (Admin)."

Press Windows+X to open the Power User Menu with a hotkey.

Launching Windows PowerShell via the Power User Menu.

Windows PowerShell will launch in admin mode.

Use the Run Application

You can open Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges from Run. First, press Windows+R to open Run, and then type "powershell" in the text box. Next, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

Enter "PowerShell" in the Run box.

Windows PowerShell will open in admin mode.

Switch from PowerShell to PowerShell Admin

If you're already working in PowerShell but you need to switch over to admin mode, you can do so without closing PowerShell. Just run this command:

start-process powershell -verb runas

Launching PowerShell as Admin from within a non-elevated PowerShell.

A new instance of PowerShell will open with admin privileges.

That's all there is to it. If you use Command Prompt more often than you use PowerShell, then you might often find yourself in a similar situation. No worries, though. You can easily open Command Prompt as an admin, too.