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You receive a “Cannot open <Snap-in Name>” error message when you try to start MMC on a Windows XP-based computer

Article ID: 326574 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q326574

SYMPTOMS

When you try to start Microsoft Management Console (MMC) with a snap-in on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, MMC may not start and you may receive the following error message:

MMC cannot open Snap-in Name. This may be because the file does not exist, is not an MMC console, or was created with a later version of MMC. This may also be because you do not have sufficient access rights to the file.

Note In this error message, Snap-in Name is a placeholder for the name of the MMC snap-in file, such as Compmgmt.msc.

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CAUSE

This problem may occur when the following conditions are true:

You configure the user of the %APPDATA% folder or you configure the system environment variable to point to a location that is not available, such as a network share.
The Offline Files feature is turned off on your Windows XP-based computer.

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RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Windows XP 32-bit editions

   Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   16-Aug-2002  18:17  5.1.2600.55       765,952  Mmc.exe          
   19-Aug-2002  16:57  5.1.2600.55        67,584  Mmcbase.dll      
   19-Aug-2002  16:58  5.1.2600.55     1,141,248  Mmcndmgr.dll     
   19-Aug-2002  16:58  5.1.2600.55        46,592  Mmcshext.dll

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition

   Date         Time   Version            Size    File name
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   16-Aug-2002  18:17  5.1.2600.55     2,907,136  Mmc.exe        
   19-Aug-2002  16:58  5.1.2600.55       138,240  Mmcbase.dll     
   19-Aug-2002  16:58  5.1.2600.55     3,801,088  Mmcndmgr.dll    
   19-Aug-2002  16:58  5.1.2600.55       134,656  Mmcshext.dll

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, turn on the Offline Files feature on your Windows XP computer. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

307853

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307853/ )

How to use offline files in Windows XP

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