Windows – How to start control panel with runas in Windows XP

control-panelwindows xp

Sometimes I need to make a config change on another user's PC. The user doesn't have admin rights so I try to start control panel using the runas command. I can start other stuff with the command but if I try to start control panel nothing happens. It doesn't even give me an error message.

Alternatively I start another command prompt as admin (using the runas command again) and from that try to start control panel. Still no joy.

Is control panel designed not to be startable from a non-admin profile as an admin user?

Best Answer

Starting with Windows 95, Control Panel is not a separate program but a special Windows Explorer namespace, and the control.exe program just opens the Control Panel namespace in Explorer.

By default, Windows Explorer only runs one instance of itself per desktop – when attempting to run it via runas, the new process will only ask the first instance to open a new window.

You should be able to start explorer /separate, however, and navigate to the Control Panel from there.

Alternatively, many applets can be launched directly, e.g. mmc compmgmt.msc, sysdm.cpl or desk.cpl. Even in a normal user's Control Panel, you can Shift + right click an applet and use "Run As..." in the context menu. (This won't work Fonts or Printers; they are virtual folders like Control Panel itself.)

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