Specifying the current directory for an admin-level command prompt in Vista

by Mitch Tulloch

April 7, 2008 —

Vista takes some getting used to, doesn't it? Especially User Account Control (UAC) and the effects it has on doing things like running simple tasks. For example, if you open an ordinary command prompt by typing cmd in the Start Search box above The Pearl and then clicking cmd in the search results, the current directory used in the command prompt window that opens is your own user profile directory, for example C:\Users\Bob for a user named Bob.

If you try and open an admin-level command prompt however by typing cmd in the Start Search box above The Pearl, right-clicking on cmd in the search results, and selecting Run As Administrator, the command window that opens has C:\Windows\System32 as its current directory.

But what if you want to open an admin-level command prompt at a different directory? Yes I know you could just cd to that directory starting from C:\Windows\System32, but users who work from the command line are always looking for ways of doing things using fewer steps. Anyway, here's what you can do: Let's say you frequently need to open an admin-level command prompt with C:\Users as the current directory. To do this, create a new shortcut on your desktop called "CMD to Users" and have it run the following command:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k "cd C:\Users"

Once you've done this, you can right-click on this shortcut, select Run As Administrator, enter admin credentials at the UAC consent prompt, and a command window opens with C:\Users as its current directory. You can even specify that the current directory is on a different drive by using the /d switch with the cd command like this:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k "cd /d D:\Tools"

Just make sure that you right-click on the shortcut and select Run As Administrator, and don't just double-click the shortcut. If you double-click the shortcut, you'll get a command-line window open at C:\Users that has "CMD in Users" in its title bar. But if you right-click on the shortcut and select Run As Administrator, you'll get a command-line window open at C:\Users that has "Administrator: CMD in Users" in its title bar. Be careful to note the difference.

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