If you want someone without sysadmin rights to use xp_cmdshell in SQL 2000, you need to set up a proxy account.
Books Online (BOL) gives good details on how to do this. Except that BOL does not tell you that if you use a long password for the proxy it will be truncated at 15 characters. This restriction has been removed for SQL 2005 and above.
Original author: https://github.com/SQL-FineBuild/Common/wiki/ 1-click install and best practice configuration of SQL Server 2019, 2017 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008 R2, 2008 and 2005.
When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor they call me a communist - Archbishop Hélder Câmara