There are many situations where you need to use the command line instead of the GUI apps and many of the command lines require the admin privilege in order to complete the mission. And those special command lines that requires admin privilege need a Command Prompt window that runs as local administrator. And here are a few ways to open a Command Prompt window with local admin privilege in Windows 8.
Option 1: From Win+X menu
If you have a keyboard on your Windows 8, this is the easiest and quickest way. Press Win+X to bring the Win+X from the bottom left corner, and choose Command Prompt (Admin).
Option 2: Search from Metro UI
Press Win key, type “cmd”, right click the Command Prompt from result screen, and select Run as Administrator from the bottom option bar.
Option 3: Pin to the task bar
If you need the Command Prompt window open in Admin mode, you can pin it to the taskbar on the desktop in Windows 8. You can do so by right clicking the Command Prompt window that you open with Admin right, and choosing Pin this program to taskbar.
Option 4: Pin to Start
You can’t seem to Pin a Command Prompt (Admin) shortcut directly to the Metro start window, but you can still pin a regular one there and run As administrator from there.
To pin, right click the Command Prompt window from the search result page, and choose Pin to Start from the bottom option list.
To open it as administrator from Start screen, right click the icon and choose Run as Administrator. From a touch screen, simply wipe down the icon instead.
What if I only have a touch screen
It’s a lot easier to open a Command Prompt window with a physical keyboard attached. If unfortunately that’s not the case, since you can’t seem to bring up Win+X menu with a touch device, you will end up having to swipe out the Charm bar, tap search, and type “cmd” using the soft keyboard, and go from there. I’d recommend pining it either to the taskbar or Start screen for easy access if you need to open it more often later on.