Can't start PowerShell as administrator

I have Windows 7, and I want to run PowerShell as an administrator. I found it in the Start Menu, right clicked it and selected Run as administrator, but I get the following:

Windows Explorer has stopped working

Even if I I try to open PowerShell > Windows PowerShell Help, I have the same error. I only can start PowerShell as a regular user, but this is useless because I can't run the following command:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
(ExecutionPolicy : Access to the registry key 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft .PowerShell' is denied.)

Any ideas why I can't start PowerShell with admin rights?

Eric

Posted 2011-07-19T12:55:33.977

Reputation: 61

Check the event log for details on the crash and post the info. – Argonauts – 2016-05-03T15:35:57.787

Try downloading and installing the latest version of PowerShell. (That's version 5.1.) If it is already installed, try removing and reinstalling it. – None – 2017-03-23T21:23:21.707

1Just to confirm: You are an administrator on the local computer? – KCotreau – 2011-07-19T15:19:39.017

Answers

you can run cmd.exe as admin and start powershell.exe

boot2

Posted 2011-07-19T12:55:33.977

Reputation: 19

5This would be a better answer if you explained exactly how to do that. – DavidPostill – 2017-05-23T09:52:11.330

This answer is simple enough. I don't generally expect to need to explain how to press the Alt-Ctrl-Delete combination, or explain what a "double click" is. Dumbing down SuperUser too much could quintruple average answer length. – TOOGAM – 2018-07-08T13:08:43.200

To be honest I'm not sure what the issue is. What I would suggest trying though is going directly to the PowerShell exe and trying to run that as an administrator:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Powershell.exe

Failing that, I would run regedit as an administrator and change the registry key manually:

C:\Windows\System32\regedit.exe

EBGreen

Posted 2011-07-19T12:55:33.977

Reputation: 7 834

-1

You can run any command as Admin (assuming you have the rights), by just typing it (for example "powershell") without the quotes, and once found, hold CONTROL+SHIFT+ENTER to launch it as admin. The error you're describing sounds like a basic configuration issue though. If that doesn't work, I would definitely reinstall powershell. you can verify it's location exists and the executable is there by going to:

%SystemRoot%\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe

or for the 32 bit version:

%SystemRoot%\Syswow64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe

D.J.

Posted 2011-07-19T12:55:33.977

Reputation: 1

-1 : oh, what terrible advice. Pressing Ctrl-Shift won't do anything in particular. Maybe Ctrl-Shift-Enter will, if you launch it from a certain interface, but if you launch it from another method, results could involve beeping or a complete lack of response to the keystrokes. That significant oversight which makes this question outright false, plus multiple painful spelling errors, deserve a downvote. – TOOGAM – 2018-07-08T13:04:05.717

I did forget to mention ENTER, but I'm on my first cup of coffee.

CONTROL + SHIFT + ENTER and the suggestion is still valid. If you have the necessary rights, it will launch the program with administrator rights. I should note this is NOT from the run menu though, rather with just the 'found' results when typing after hitting the windows key or start button (if applicable). – D.J. – 2018-07-08T13:08:02.940

-1

i have the same issue, the solution i found is you go to control panel-> user account-> change user account control setting -> drag down the bar to the lowest, i don't know how it work, but it wor

user1077184

Posted 2011-07-19T12:55:33.977

Reputation: 1