How to run File Explorer as Administrator

Because "File Explorer" on Start is not really an application, it's much like a placeholder or quick access link to explorer.exe (and you can configure a third party file manager to replace Windows default explorer.exe if you want).

You can however use "File Explorer" to open C:\Windows folder, find explorer.exe there, right click and choose "Run as administrator".

It is a security thing, to minimize the damage a malicious program might do. It is called User Account Control - UAC.

WightWalker said:

That works fine, but I still don't understand why, as an administrator, with administrator rights, I still can't delete some files. I've tried taking ownership but with no success.

What files do you want to delete?

It's not the administrator rights. You need to set the permissions and in order to do that you may need to take ownership. If you can't do that from your admin account then activate the super admin account.

Alternatively make a bootable USB or DVD with Hiren's BootCD on it.

Boot to Linux and have at it.

The UAC slider is not enough. You need a registry edit to disable it completely, which has the side-effect of breaking the store apps.

If you do want to do this, run the following from CMD:

Code:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Tis simple really - Create a shortcut on your desktop to Explorer.exe and in Properties select Shortcut tab > Advanced button then check Run as Administrator