In this post, we will show you how to open or run File Explorer (explorer.exe) with elevated privileges or in administrator mode in Windows 11/10. Windows File Explorer or explorer.exe is also set to run in the standard user context. Even if you right-click on explorer.exe, and select “Run as Administrator”, it will still run in the standard user context. The problem is caused by the fact that User Account Control can only elevate an application to a higher token when it is launching a new process. It cannot elevate an existing process.
How to open File Explorer as admin in elevated mode
First, you need to terminate the existing explorer.exe process.
- Open Task Manager
- Locate explorer.exe process
- Right-click on it and select End Task.
Having done that you have three options to run explorer.exe run as admin..
1] Using Run box
From the Task Manager, select the File tab
Click on Run new task
Run box will open.
Type the following command, select Create this task with administrative privileges and hit Enter.
explorer.exe /nouaccheck
We have restarted the Windows File Explorer as an admin.
Note that just typing in explorer.exe, as suggested by most sites, may not help.
2] Using CMD
Open an elevated command prompt window, type the following and hit Enter:
c:\Windows\explorer.exe /NOUACCHECK
This will open explorer.exe in elevated mode.
Now open Task Manager and go to the Details tab.
We need to add the Elevated column to the Task Manager.
Right-click on any column title, and click Select columns.
Select the Elevated column and click OK.
Now here under the Elevated column, you will see the status as Yes under Elevated, confirm that explorer.exe is running in elevated mode.
Read: Task Manager Tips and Tricks you may not be aware of.
3] Using Taskkill command
Open an elevated command prompt window, type the following and hit Enter:
tskill explorer & explorer
Explorer will close and the new explorer process will restart taking the admin status of the CMD.
Now, this method may or may not work on the latest Windows 10 versions.
Read: File Explorer tips and tricks.
This is the correct way to open File Explorer in elevated mode. You should also verify via the Task Manager if it is indeed running in that mode.
