{"id":10158,"date":"2019-07-03T14:22:42","date_gmt":"2019-07-03T14:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=10158"},"modified":"2021-05-18T13:44:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T08:14:05","slug":"run-program-as-system-localsystem-account-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/run-program-as-system-localsystem-account-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Run a Program as SYSTEM (LocalSystem) Account in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many Windows system files, registry keys, and services<\/a> are owned by the SYSTEM<\/code> (a.k.a LocalSystem) account, which has a high privilege level. If you need to modify a registry key owned by the SYSTEM<\/code> account, there are at least two options.<\/p>\n

The first option that comes to your mind is to take ownership<\/a> of the corresponding registry key, assign yourself Full Control permissions. Once the registry key or the values are updated, revert the permissions and ownership to SYSTEM<\/code>.<\/p>\n

There is, however, an easier option<\/strong>. You can run the program — e.g., the Command Prompt or the Registry Editor under the SYSTEM<\/code> account directly and update the registry values.<\/p>\n

This article lists 7 different methods using which you can run programs under the SYSTEM<\/code> or LocalSystem account in any version of Windows, including Windows 10. You can also add a Run as SYSTEM<\/strong> right-click menu option for .exe files.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How to Run Programs as TrustedInstaller?<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

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Method to run a program under the SYSTEM account:<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. PsExec from Windows Sysinternals<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Advanced Run from NirSoft<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Process Hacker<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. NirCmd from NirSoft<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. RunAsSystem from Uwe Sieber Tools<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. NSudo from M2Team<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. RunX from d7xTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Before proceeding, understand that the terms SYSTEM<\/code>, LocalSystem<\/code>, and NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM<\/code> are one and the same.<\/p>\n

    How to Run Programs as SYSTEM (LocalSystem account)<\/h2>\n

    To run a program under the SYSTEM<\/code> account, use one of the following tools:<\/p>\n

    <\/a>Using PsExec.exe from Windows Sysinternals<\/h3>\n

    Use PsExec.exe<\/code> console tool from Microsoft’s Windows Sysinternals to run a program under the SYSTEM context. Follow these instructions:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Download PsExec<\/a> from Microsoft Sysinternals.<\/li>\n
    2. Unzip and extract the tool to a permanent folder — e.g., d:\\tools<\/code><\/li>\n
    3. Open an elevated or admin Command Prompt<\/a> window.<\/li>\n
    4. To start the Registry Editor under the SYSTEM account, type the following command, and press ENTER<\/kbd>:\n
      d:\\tools\\psexec.exe -sid c:\\windows\\regedit.exe<\/pre>\n
      \"regedit.exe<\/p>\n
      The above PsExec<\/code> command-line starts the Registry Editor under LOCALSYSTEM<\/a><\/code> account so that you can modify protected areas in the registry.<\/p>\n
      RELATED:<\/strong> Fix: Windows Defender Error 577 | Service Fails to Start<\/a><\/div>\n
      \n
      Note:<\/strong> If you launch Command Prompt (cmd.exe<\/code>) using PsExec.exe under the SYSTEM<\/code> account, it spawns a new Command Prompt window. And, any program you launch from that Command Prompt window would run under the SYSTEM<\/code> (LocalSystem) account, which is a high privileged account. You must be cautious when running programs under the SYSTEM account so that you don’t accidentally run an undesired program as SYSTEM<\/code>.
      \n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
    5. In the Registry Editor window, go to the desired registry key and modify the values you want.
      \n(For instance, you may want to       fix the “Startup type” of Task Scheduler service<\/a> or the Windows Update service<\/a> in the registry.)<\/em><\/li>\n
    6. Exit the Registry Editor.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
      <\/a>Using Advanced Run from Nirsoft<\/h3>\n
      AdvancedRun<\/a> is a simple tool for Windows that allows you to run a program with different settings that you choose, including – low or high priority, start directory, main window state (Minimized\/Maximized), run the program with different user or permissions, Operating system compatibility settings, and environment variables. You can also save the desired settings into a configuration file and then run the program automatically from the command-line with the desired settings.<\/p>\n
      Using Advanced Run, you also launch a program under SYSTEM<\/code> or a different user context.<\/p>\n
      Type in the program name to run and choose SYSTEM<\/code> user in the Run As<\/strong> dropdown box, and click Run.<\/p>\n
      \"run<\/p>\n
      \n
      You can also create a desktop shortcut to run a program as SYSTEM. Here is the command-line syntax you use:<\/p>\n
      AdvancedRun.exe \/EXEFilename \"C:\\Windows\\regedit.exe\" \/RunAs 4 \/Run<\/pre>\n
      \/RunAs 4<\/code> instructs to start the program under the LocalSystem account. The possible value data for the \/RunAs<\/code> switch are below:<\/p>\n