Troubleshooting MMC

Article
10/08/2009

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Troubleshooting

What problem are you having?

Help for a snap-in cannot be found.
A snap-in is not listed in the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box.
When using a console, one or more of the following occurs: the console is not behaving as expected, the console is timing out, or error messages are displayed that you have not seen before.

Help for a snap-in cannot be found.

Cause: The snap-in may not provide a Help file to merge into the MMC Help table of contents. Instead, the snap-in may use a different method to provide Help.

Solution: Open a console in author mode that contains the snap-in, click the item in the console tree for which you want Help, and then click the Help menu. A separate command for the snap-in Help may be displayed on the Help menu above the Help Topics command. If you do not see a separate command, view the contents of the toolbars and details pane for a Help button or additional icon. If you do not see a separate command, button, or icon, then no Help is available from MMC for the snap-in.

A snap-in is not listed in the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box.

Cause: The corresponding service or software may not be installed on your computer.

Solution: You must install the component to view its snap-in.

Cause: If you are using a computer running Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, or an operating system in the Windows Server 2003 family, an administrator may have set a policy that restricts you from accessing the snap-in.

Solution: An administrator can verify whether a policy setting is restricting access to the snap-in, and change the policy if necessary.

See also: Setting Group Policy in MMC

When using a console, one or more of the following occurs: the console is not behaving as expected, the console is timing out, or error messages are displayed that you have not seen before.

Cause: One of the following might be the cause. The console file may have become damaged. Or, because of changes to your network, the configuration of the console may have become outdated.

Solution: Determine which snap-in is causing the problem in the console and then refer to the troubleshooting information in the documentation for that snap-in to find out how to repair or reconfigure the snap-in. To determine which snap-in is causing the problem, right-click the item in the console tree or the details pane, and then click properties. Hold down the CTRL key and point to the labels of the tabs in the dialog box.

If you cannot directly repair or reconfigure the console, try adding another instance of the snap-in you are using to the console, configure it as needed, and then remove the old version of the snap-in.

Troubleshooting MMC