Windows XP in a Nutshell

Name

Microsoft Management Console — \windows\system32\mmc.exe

Synopsis

A single interface for dozens of administrative tools in Windows XP.

To Open

Start → Programs → Administrative Tools → Computer Management

Command Prompt → mmc

Usage

mmc filename [/a] [/64] [/32]

Description

The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a host for most of the administrative tools that come with Windows XP (see Figure 4-51). Each of the tools that works with MMC is called a Snap-in; Several Snap-ins can be shown in MMC at any given time and appear as entries in the Explorer-style tree in the left pane.

Figure 4-51. The Microsoft Management Console houses many important troubleshooting and system-maintenance tools

A collection of one or more Snap-ins can be saved into a Console (.msc) file, which is a small file that simply lists Snap-ins to display in the Console window. Double-click any .msc file to open it in MMC. Windows XP ships with more than a dozen predefined Console files, and you can modify them (or even create your own) by adding or removing snap-ins or creating custom Taskpad Views — pages with lists of shortcuts to programs or other snap-ins.

There are about two dozen Snap-ins included in Windows XP. To add a Snap-in to the current Console file (select File → New to start a new Console), go to File → Add/Remove Snap-in, and click Add (see Figure 4-52). Then, choose one of the available Snap-ins ...