Windows 7 – How to Fix ‘Run as Administrator’ Greyed Out on Shortcut

Right click on the shortcut icon and select properties. Put a tick in the box for "Run as Administrator".

If you have the original Windows DVD you can open a command prompt as administrator (if you can still do that) and type SFC /scannow This will check your install for corrupt system files against the install DVD and repair anything that is damaged.

Difference comes with programs that cannot work in compatibility mode (all programs that are included with Windows - e.g. PowerShell). For those programs you can only select it through Advanced button on shortcut tab.

Additionally, compatibility settings are applied on executable it-self. Once you select program to be run as administrator in compatibility mode, all instances, regardless of shortcut you use, will run as administrator.

Setting it under shortcut tab allows for finer grade control.