If you’re like most people, you use Task Manager to manage your computer’s resources. But Task Manager doesn’t have a built-in admin account. If you want to enter the admin account, you need to use a third-party tool. To enter the admin account in Task Manager on Windows 10 and 11, follow these steps:

  1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc or by clicking the taskbar icon and then clicking Task Manager.
  2. In the main window, click the Processes tab.
  3. In the list of processes, right-click the process that you want to enter as the admin account and then click Properties.
  4. On the General tab, click User Account Control (UAC) settings and then click Enable user account control (UAC).
  5. On the Security tab, under Select a security level for this process, select Administrators from the list and then click OK.
  6. In the dialog box that appears, type your administrator password and then click OK to confirm it.
  7. In the Processes tab of TaskManager’s Properties window, under Current user name (or name of current user), type your administrator name or username and then press Enter or double-click it to open it in Notepad or another text editor as shown in Figure 1 below: Figure 1: The Administrator Name field in TaskManager’s Properties window ..

To perform certain tasks that require admin privileges, you can enter Task Manager as admin using a graphical option, a command-line option, as well as by creating a desktop shortcut. We’ll show you how to do that on both Windows 10 and 11.

For single instances where you want Task Manager with admin rights, use the first and second methods below. To always run the utility with admin privileges, use the third method in this guide.

RELATED: What Does “Run as Administrator” Mean in Windows 10?

Method 1: The Start Menu

To quickly launch Task Manager as administrator, use an option in your PC’s Start menu.

First, open the “Start” menu and search for “Task Manager.” When you see the utility in the search results, right-click it and select “Run as Administrator.”

You’ll see a “User Account Control” prompt. Here, enter your admin account’s password and press Enter.

Your Task Manager instance is now open with full admin rights, and you may carry out your tasks requiring special privileges.

Method 2: Command Prompt

To use a command to enter Task Manager as admin, first, open your “Start” menu and search for “Command Prompt.”

Right-click the “Command Prompt” utility and select “Run as administrator” from the menu.

In the “User Account Control” prompt that opens, enter your admin password and press Enter. Then, on the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

Task Manager will open with full admin rights.

RELATED: How to Open the Command Prompt as Administrator in Windows 8 or 10

Method 3: A Desktop Shortcut

If you often run Task Manager as admin, add a shortcut to your desktop that always opens this utility with administrator rights.

To do that, first, launch the “Start” menu and search for “Task Manager.” Right-click the utility and choose “Open File Location.”

On the File Explorer window, right-click the “Task Manager” shortcut and choose “Open File Location.”

You’ll see a “Taskmgr.exe” file. Right-click this file and choose Send To > Desktop (Create Shortcut).

You now have a Task Manager shortcut on your desktop. To make this shortcut always open the utility with admin rights, right-click it and choose “Properties.”

On the “Properties” window, in the “Shortcut” tab, select “Advanced.”

Turn on the “Run as Administrator” option, then click “OK.”

Back on the “Properties” window, click “Apply” followed by “OK.”

And you’re all set. From now on, whenever you open your desktop Task Manager shortcut, the utility will launch with admin rights.

RELATED: Enable the (Hidden) Administrator Account on Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11