admin password but nowhere to enter it

any admin task is presenting me with the uac window

to continue, type an administrator password, and then click yes"

but there is no text field available to enter the required password

all solutions I read point to I don't have admin rights, and then go into detail about how to get the admin user id active.  The problem being that all the solutions suggested require some element of windows that need the admin password, which takes me back to the there is no text field available to enter the password.

what to do?