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Thread: How to run application under different credentials

  1. #1
    James Guest

    How to run application under different credentials

    I used the "run as" feature in XP to run applications as a different user.
    How can I do this in Vista? I only see "run as administrator" when I right
    click on a shortcut. We are in a network environment and I want to run as a
    different user but not the local admin user.

    Thanks,
    James


  2. #2
    Synapse Syndrome Guest

    Re: How to run application under different credentials

    Well, nobody has answered yet, so..

    You can try using the RUNAS from the command line. I am not actually sure
    if it works as it did in XP, as I no longer have to run from a power user
    account now we have this UAC business, so I have not been using RUNAS in
    Vista.

    But, from my memory, before I understood UAC, I tried using RUNAS when I
    started using Vista and it did not work as I expected. I can't actually
    check it right now as I am using my XP Thinkpad.

    So, until somebody else, or I, can give you a better answer, try using RUNAS
    from the command line.

    ss.

  3. #3
    Andrew McLaren Guest

    Re: How to run application under different credentials

    Hi James,

    Fortunately, runas.exe still works from the command-line. You can run an app
    as any arbitrary user (administrator or standard user); for example,

    C:\>runas /user:mydomain\bill notepad

    to run Notepad as standard user "mydomain\bill".

    If you want to run as an administrative user, who is a member of the
    Administrators group (but not the built-in Administrator user) you can
    choose "Run as .." from the context menu and add any alternative
    credentials, as long as the user you enter is an administrator.

    The loss of ability to run an app as an alternative standard user in Vista
    is a major hassle, in some scenarios (it was great for software testing an
    debugging). But apparently the change is "by design". Several bugs were
    opened by beta testers during the Vista beta and they were all closed as
    "won't fix". The Microsoft Windows developers were apparently guarding
    against some specific security threat (I'm not sure which).

    You can create batch files for apps you run regularly, to avoid too much
    comand-line typing. Main thing to know about runas.exe is that you *must*
    type in the user's password interactively, you can't pass it as a command
    line parameter, or pipe it in, in a batch file.

    Also note that if you run an app from a mapped network drive, the
    alternative user context won't necesarily have the same drive mapping. But
    this issue also applies to XP, Vista is not especially different in that
    regard.

  4. #4
    Bruce Chambers Guest

    Re: How to run application under different credentials

    Pretty much in the exact same way. All of the command-line options
    that were available for RUNAS.EXE under WinXP are still abvailable in
    Vista. Further, if you feel the need to use the default GUI shortcut,
    it'll still work, regardless of whether or not the selected account has
    administrative privileges, assuming that the account does have whatever
    privilege level is required by the task. From Vista's Help & Support:

    ========================================================================
    Using the Run As command

    In previous versions of Windows, you had to use an administrator account
    to do certain things, such as changing system settings or installing
    software. If you were logged on as a limited user, the Run as command
    eliminated the need to log off and then log back on as an administrator.

    In this version of Windows, the Run as command has been changed to Run
    as administrator. You should rarely have to use the Run as administrator
    command because Windows will automatically prompt you for an
    administrator password when needed. Some older programs might still
    require you to use the Run as administrator command to eliminate the
    need to log off and then log back on.

    Right-click the program icon or file that you want to open, and then
    click Run as administrator.

    Select the account that you want to use, and then type the password.

    ************************************************************************
    Tip
    You can also use the Run as administrator command to run a program as
    another user, even if the user does not have an administrator account.
    To do so, select the account after clicking Run as administrator.
    ************************************************************************

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