How to Open the Microsoft Management Console MMC in Windows Server 2008
You can open MMC consoles by selecting them from the Administrative Tools folder in the Start menu or by double-clicking their icons in Explorer. You also can start consoles using a command prompt. The format of the MMC command is as follows:
MMC path\file.msc /a
The following list explains the options for MMC:Path\file.msc. Replace path with the path to the console file specified by file.msc.
- You can use an absolute path or use the %systemroot% variable to reference the local computer's path to the Windows Server 2008 folder. Using %systemroot% is useful when you're creating shortcuts to consoles for use on different systems (where the system root folder might be different).
- /a. Use the /a switch to enter author mode and enable changes to the console. Opening an existing console with the /a switch overrides its stored mode for the current session.
- /32. This starts the 32-bit version of MMC. This is only needed when you want to run the 32-bit version on a 64-bit Windows version.
- /64. This starts the 64-bit version of MMC. This option works only on a 64-bit version of Windows.
For example, let’s say that you want to open the DNS console in author mode to add the DHCP snap-in to it. Use this command to open the DNS console in author mode:
MMC %systemroot%\System32\dnsmgmt.msc /a
TIP: You can right-click an .msc file and choose Author from the context menu to open the file in author mode.
After opening the DNS console, you add the DHCP console using the Add or Remove Snap-In command in the Console menu.
TIP: If you prefer, you can open the MMC in author mode and then add both snap-ins using the Add or Remove Snap-In command in the Console menu.
Windows 2008 Server provides several preconfigured consoles for performing various administrative tasks. Most of these console files are stored in \systemroot\System32 and have .msc file extensions (for Microsoft Console).
Windows 2008 Server places several of these consoles in the Administrative Tools folder, which you access by clicking Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools. In essence, each of the preconfigured consoles contains one or more snap-ins geared toward a specific administrative task.
In an apparent effort to simplify the Start menu, Microsoft includes only some of these consoles in the Administrative Tools folder. However, you can open any console by double-clicking its file. When you do so, the MMC loads first and then opens the console. You also can open the MMC and add snap-ins to your own consoles. This gives you the ability to create a custom console containing whichever group(s) of snap-ins you use most often or that are targeted for specific administrative tasks.
Tags: mmc,Microsoft Management Console
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