Quick and Dirty Program Files Directory Work in Vista

An oft-raised complaint about Vista is that if you want to do any detailed work in the Program Files directory (such as deleting or moving things around), you get bombarded with UAC prompts.  Here's one way to work around that: create a shortcut that opens an elevated instance of Explorer, which you can then place in your Quick Launch or Start menu as needed.

1. Right-click somewhere (on the Desktop is fine) and select New | Shortcut.
2. In the item location text box, type %SystemRoot%\explorer.exae "c:\program files"
3. Click Next.  Type a descriptive name, like Program Files (Admin).
4. Click Finish.
5. Right-click on the new shortcut and select Properties.
6. In the Shortcut tab, click Advanced.
7. Check the Run As Administrator box and click OK.
8. Click OK to close the main Properties dialog.

That's all there is to it.  Run it, and you'll get one UAC confirmation, and then an Explorer window that opens directly onto the Program Files directory.  From there on you can do everything you need without being pestered repeatedly.  (If you want to use another directory name, just substitute it for Program Files in step 2.)

(Note: I generally have the Explorer option "Launch folder windows in a separate process" turned on.  I don't think that should affect the behavior of this tip, though.)

(Note #2: This is also a great way to do a lot of work in the Control Panel -- for instance, in the network configuration section -- without being interrupted. Just remember to close that instance of Explorer when you're done.)

(Note #3: If you already have other instances of Explorer open, or a "lingering" instance of Explorer.exe open in the Task Manager [one without an attendant window], close those first!)