Adding the Administrative Tools Option

Administrative Tools are a collection of nuts-and-bolts applications that you use to, well, "administer" your system. They include programs that allow you to manage your disk drive, manage devices, adjust security settings, etc.

If you envision using such tools often, you may want them displayed on the Start menu or the Start screen. How you accomplish the task depends on the version of Windows you are using, however.

Windows 7

To add the Administrative Tools option to the Windows 7 Start menu, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on Start to display a Context menu.
2. Choose Properties from the Context menu. Windows displays the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.
3. Make sure the Start Menu tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Start Menu tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click the Customize button. Windows displays the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
5. Scroll down until you see the group that controls the System Administrative Tools. (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The System Administrative Tools group of the Start menu.

6. Click the middle radio button, and you enable the Administrative Tools link to appear on the Start menu.
7. Click OK to close any open dialog boxes.

Windows 8

To add the Administrative Tools option to the Start Screen on a Windows 8 system, follow these steps:

1. Make sure the Start screen is displayed. (In other words, don't do these steps from the desktop.)
2. Press Win+C. Windows displays the Charms bar at the right side of the screen.
3. Click the Settings button. Windows displays the Settings task pane.
4. Click the Tiles option. Windows displays two options in the task pane. (See Figure 3.)



Figure 3. Choosing to display Administrative Tools.

5. Click the Show Administrative Tools slider; it should change to Yes.
6. Click on the Start screen, anywhere except in the task pane. The task pane disappears.

Shortly you'll note that the number of tiles on the Start screen increases. What you've added is the Administrative Tools. You can now use the tools, as desired.

Windows 10

To add the Administrative Tools option to the Start menu in Windows 10, follow these steps:

1. Display the Control Panel.
2. Click the System and Security option.
3. Scroll down a bit and right-click on the Administrative Tools option. Windows displays a Context menu.
4. Choose Pin to Start.
5. Close the Control Panel.

The Administrative Tools option now appears as a tile on your Start menu. Clicking it opens up the familiar Administrative Tools window on your system. (See Figure 4.)

Figure 4. The Administrative Tools in the Windows 10 Start menu.

 This tip (12705) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.