Command to run an application with Administrator privileges but NOT AS Administrator (prompt with UAC)

Question

I want to start notepad with elevated privileges to edit C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\host. Notmally I would type notepad in the search box, and with the program highlighted hot ctrl-shift-enter, click Yes on the UAC prompt and then open the file. I do this often, so I want a batch file to do it.

I tried the following command:

runas /user:Administrator /savecred notepad.exe path\to\file

But this is not exaclty what I want, as it prompts for the password of the Administrator account. I really want a command to start a program with elevated privileges for the current user account.

I run Windows 7 RC.

Thanks!

Answer 1

As notepad is a Windows tool, you may not set "Run always as administrator", but there's a trick. Create a symbolic link and open the properties dialog. Under the link properties, select Advanced (bottom right button) and select "Run link as administrator". This should elevate the process.

Edit: I hope this is still the same in Win7 (I tested on Vista)

Answer 2

creating a shortcut to notepad, then going to its properties => Advanced run as administrator works on windows7 64bit.

This is a good solution for me, I was looking for a way to add lines to the hosts. file. This is not ideal, but saves me a lot of time finding the damn thing.