MMC cannot open the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg.msc

[Stroller]

[I've previously tried to post this a couple of time, but it doesn't seem to
have come through - I'm fairly sure the newsreader on my other machine is
playing up, but apologies if I'm mistaken & you see this twice]


Hi there,

I manage a small domain with an SBS 2003 server and a handful of PCs
running XP Professional SP2, all reasonably up-to-date using Windows
Update.

I have a shortcut to Disk Defragmenter on my desktop, which is the same
on all machines thanks to roaming profiles. It points to
"%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc"

When I'm at the server and click on the shortcut it works perfectly, but
when I do so at any of the XP machines it fails, giving the error:

MMC cannot open the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg.msc

This may be because the file does not exist, is not an MMC
console, or was created by a later version of MMC. This also
may be because you do not have sufficient access rights to the
file.

Pasting "%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc" into Start > Run or a DOS box
produces the same thing.

The file is there, and if I right-click on it I can see that
Administrators (of which I am one) have "Full Control" (read, write,
execute) rights to it.

If I just type "%SystemRoot%\system32\" into the Run box the
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\" folder opens, indicating that "%SystemRoot%\" is
being resolved correctly. I can find "dfrg.msc" in that folder &
double-click on it. The same error.

Starting from Accessories > System Tools gives the same thing.

I have tried running `regsvr32 dfrgsnap.dll` & `regsvr32 dfrgui.dll` to
no avail - they say they've completed successfully, but make no
difference. (To be honest, I don't know if they should, but when
searching I found it suggested to reregister these DLLs, so gave it a
go). I have also tried right-clicking on dfrg.inf, right-clicking &
choosing install - that helps none, either.

This thread <http://tinyurl.com/2cjhp8> suggests Doug Knox's .MSC file
association fix and also <http://tinyurl.com/yoho6b> reregistering
msxml3.dll. Neither help.

This seems to cover just about every suggestion I can find dealing with
this problem, although if you can find or think of other things to try
then I would love to hear them. I was kinda at my wits' end over this,
until I discovered that the defragmentation pane IS available if I
right-click on My Computer and choose "Manage". So I can defrag the
computers, but it makes no sense at all to me why it works from
"Computer Management" but not by other methods - curiosity and the
desire not to suffer any bugs on my computers drives me to try to
resolve this nonetheless.

Stroller.

 

[Jim Behning SBS MVP]

Why not do a new desktop shortcut to dfrg.msc? None of the other
nonsense. I don't know the answer is different with roaming profiles.

[I've previously tried to post this a couple of time, but it doesn't seem to
have come through - I'm fairly sure the newsreader on my other machine is
playing up, but apologies if I'm mistaken & you see this twice]


Hi there,

I manage a small domain with an SBS 2003 server and a handful of PCs
running XP Professional SP2, all reasonably up-to-date using Windows
Update.

I have a shortcut to Disk Defragmenter on my desktop, which is the same
on all machines thanks to roaming profiles. It points to
"%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc"

When I'm at the server and click on the shortcut it works perfectly, but
when I do so at any of the XP machines it fails, giving the error:

MMC cannot open the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg.msc

This may be because the file does not exist, is not an MMC
console, or was created by a later version of MMC. This also
may be because you do not have sufficient access rights to the
file.

Pasting "%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc" into Start > Run or a DOS box
produces the same thing.

The file is there, and if I right-click on it I can see that
Administrators (of which I am one) have "Full Control" (read, write,
execute) rights to it.

If I just type "%SystemRoot%\system32\" into the Run box the
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\" folder opens, indicating that "%SystemRoot%\" is
being resolved correctly. I can find "dfrg.msc" in that folder &
double-click on it. The same error.

Starting from Accessories > System Tools gives the same thing.

I have tried running `regsvr32 dfrgsnap.dll` & `regsvr32 dfrgui.dll` to
no avail - they say they've completed successfully, but make no
difference. (To be honest, I don't know if they should, but when
searching I found it suggested to reregister these DLLs, so gave it a
go). I have also tried right-clicking on dfrg.inf, right-clicking &
choosing install - that helps none, either.

This thread <http://tinyurl.com/2cjhp8> suggests Doug Knox's .MSC file
association fix and also <http://tinyurl.com/yoho6b> reregistering
msxml3.dll. Neither help.

This seems to cover just about every suggestion I can find dealing with
this problem, although if you can find or think of other things to try
then I would love to hear them. I was kinda at my wits' end over this,
until I discovered that the defragmentation pane IS available if I
right-click on My Computer and choose "Manage". So I can defrag the
computers, but it makes no sense at all to me why it works from
"Computer Management" but not by other methods - curiosity and the
desire not to suffer any bugs on my computers drives me to try to
resolve this nonetheless.

Stroller.

 

[Stroller]

Bearing in mind the information given below, what do you suggest as a
target for that new shorcut?

I am indeed using roaming profiles - this is mentioned in the original post,
albeit incidentally.

Stroller.

Why not do a new desktop shortcut to dfrg.msc? None of the other
nonsense. I don't know the answer is different with roaming profiles.

...

Pasting "%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc" into Start > Run or a DOS box
produces the same thing.
...
Starting from Accessories > System Tools gives the same [problem].

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Does this help?

You receive a "Cannot open <Snap-in Name>" error message when you try to start MMC on a Windows XP-based computer:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326574

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Shell/User]
Windows® Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


[I've previously tried to post this a couple of time, but it doesn't seem to
have come through - I'm fairly sure the newsreader on my other machine is
playing up, but apologies if I'm mistaken & you see this twice]


Hi there,

I manage a small domain with an SBS 2003 server and a handful of PCs
running XP Professional SP2, all reasonably up-to-date using Windows
Update.

I have a shortcut to Disk Defragmenter on my desktop, which is the same
on all machines thanks to roaming profiles. It points to
"%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc"

When I'm at the server and click on the shortcut it works perfectly, but
when I do so at any of the XP machines it fails, giving the error:

MMC cannot open the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg.msc

This may be because the file does not exist, is not an MMC
console, or was created by a later version of MMC. This also
may be because you do not have sufficient access rights to the
file.

Pasting "%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc" into Start > Run or a DOS box
produces the same thing.

The file is there, and if I right-click on it I can see that
Administrators (of which I am one) have "Full Control" (read, write,
execute) rights to it.

If I just type "%SystemRoot%\system32\" into the Run box the
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\" folder opens, indicating that "%SystemRoot%\" is
being resolved correctly. I can find "dfrg.msc" in that folder &
double-click on it. The same error.

Starting from Accessories > System Tools gives the same thing.

I have tried running `regsvr32 dfrgsnap.dll` & `regsvr32 dfrgui.dll` to
no avail - they say they've completed successfully, but make no
difference. (To be honest, I don't know if they should, but when
searching I found it suggested to reregister these DLLs, so gave it a
go). I have also tried right-clicking on dfrg.inf, right-clicking &
choosing install - that helps none, either.

This thread <http://tinyurl.com/2cjhp8> suggests Doug Knox's .MSC file
association fix and also <http://tinyurl.com/yoho6b> reregistering
msxml3.dll. Neither help.

This seems to cover just about every suggestion I can find dealing with
this problem, although if you can find or think of other things to try
then I would love to hear them. I was kinda at my wits' end over this,
until I discovered that the defragmentation pane IS available if I
right-click on My Computer and choose "Manage". So I can defrag the
computers, but it makes no sense at all to me why it works from
"Computer Management" but not by other methods - curiosity and the
desire not to suffer any bugs on my computers drives me to try to
resolve this nonetheless.

Stroller.

 

[Steve Foster [SBS MVP]]

[I've previously tried to post this a couple of time, but it doesn't seem
to
have come through - I'm fairly sure the newsreader on my other machine is
playing up, but apologies if I'm mistaken & you see this twice]


Hi there,

I manage a small domain with an SBS 2003 server and a handful of PCs
running XP Professional SP2, all reasonably up-to-date using Windows
Update.

I have a shortcut to Disk Defragmenter on my desktop, which is the same
on all machines thanks to roaming profiles. It points to
"%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc"

When I'm at the server and click on the shortcut it works perfectly, but
when I do so at any of the XP machines it fails, giving the error:

MMC cannot open the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg.msc

This may be because the file does not exist, is not an MMC
console, or was created by a later version of MMC. This also
may be because you do not have sufficient access rights to the
file.

What happens if you create a new .MSC file for Defragmenter, by running
"MMC /a", adding the Disk Defragmenter Snap-In and saving that?

Is it possible that the local dfrg.msc files are being copied from the
server? SBS is likely to be running MMC v3, XP only has MMC v2, so if the
..MSC file has been updated from the server, you would expect to get
"...later version of MMC" errors.

 

[Jim Behning SBS MVP]

What I do is right click desktop and choose new shortcut. In the
whitebox I type dfrg.msc and next. I type dfrg.msc at the next page
and I am done. If you can type dfrg.msc in the run box and it works
there is no need to do anything else when you make a shortcut.

Are you saying when you type dfrg.msc in the run box it does not run?
If so then you need to focus on that. I make shortcuts often enough
where all I type in the shortcut is the name of the msc. If I missed
the question it would not be the first time.

Bearing in mind the information given below, what do you suggest as a
target for that new shorcut?

I am indeed using roaming profiles - this is mentioned in the original post,
albeit incidentally.

Stroller.

Why not do a new desktop shortcut to dfrg.msc? None of the other
nonsense. I don't know the answer is different with roaming profiles.

...

Pasting "%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc" into Start > Run or a DOS box
produces the same thing.
...
Starting from Accessories > System Tools gives the same [problem].

 

[Stroller]

Hi, Steve.

Thanks for your help.

Steve Foster [SBS MVP] wrote:
....

What happens if you create a new .MSC file for Defragmenter, by running
"MMC /a", adding the Disk Defragmenter Snap-In and saving that?

That works perfectly. It took some fiddling around with the view options to
get my new view of Disk Defragmenter to look just like the standard one,
but now it is so.

I'm still somewhat confused as to the cause of this glitch, but I think I
now have a slightly better idea of what .mmc files are now, and the whole
concept of that console, so at least I've learned something.

Is it possible that the local dfrg.msc files are being copied from the
server? SBS is likely to be running MMC v3, XP only has MMC v2, so if the
.MSC file has been updated from the server, you would expect to get
"...later version of MMC" errors.

I don't see how. I can't think of any opportunity for them to be copied
across from the server. The only files that are shared from there are the
usual soft of documentsy stuff.

Right-clicking on the problem dfrg.msc and choosing properties does not (of
course!) show any version information.

Many thanks for this suggestion. It kinda bugs me not knowing why this has
manifested itself - does it indicate that the rest of my systems are just
about to fall apart completely? - but now I can click on my desktop
defrag shortcut and it works.

Stroller.

 

[VanguardLH]

in message

I have a shortcut to Disk Defragmenter on my desktop, which is the
same
on all machines thanks to roaming profiles. It points to
"%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc"

When I'm at the server and click on the shortcut it works perfectly,
but
when I do so at any of the XP machines it fails, giving the error:

MMC cannot open the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg.msc

This may be because the file does not exist, is not an MMC
console, or was created by a later version of MMC. This also
may be because you do not have sufficient access rights to the
file.

Pasting "%SystemRoot%\system32\dfrg.msc" into Start > Run or a DOS
box
produces the same thing.

The file is there, and if I right-click on it I can see that
Administrators (of which I am one) have "Full Control" (read, write,
execute) rights to it.

If I just type "%SystemRoot%\system32\" into the Run box the
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\" folder opens, indicating that "%SystemRoot%\"
is
being resolved correctly. I can find "dfrg.msc" in that folder &
double-click on it. The same error.

Starting from Accessories > System Tools gives the same thing.

I have tried running `regsvr32 dfrgsnap.dll` & `regsvr32 dfrgui.dll`
to
no avail - they say they've completed successfully, but make no
difference. (To be honest, I don't know if they should, but when
searching I found it suggested to reregister these DLLs, so gave it
a
go). I have also tried right-clicking on dfrg.inf, right-clicking &
choosing install - that helps none, either.

This thread <http://tinyurl.com/2cjhp8> suggests Doug Knox's .MSC
file
association fix and also <http://tinyurl.com/yoho6b> reregistering
msxml3.dll. Neither help.

This seems to cover just about every suggestion I can find dealing
with
this problem, although if you can find or think of other things to
try
then I would love to hear them. I was kinda at my wits' end over
this,
until I discovered that the defragmentation pane IS available if I
right-click on My Computer and choose "Manage". So I can defrag the
computers, but it makes no sense at all to me why it works from
"Computer Management" but not by other methods - curiosity and the
desire not to suffer any bugs on my computers drives me to try to
resolve this nonetheless.

Run mmc.exe. Use File -> Add Snap-In. Then click Add to see if the
Windows Defragmenter is listed - or some other defrag utility. Maybe
you installed Diskeeper [Lite] which usurps the MMC registry entry and
then uninstalled it but it didn't correctly reinstate the original
value.

Do you know if all the users have sufficient permissions on the
dfrg.msc file? Are they admin-level users (even if in a domain they
might have to be special "admin" users but only for their own host and
nowhere else)? You are a full administrator on your own host but are
THEY also admin-level users on their own hosts (when logged under your
domain)?

 

[PD43]

I had same problem with this now sorted and working ok if you have had
windows xp service pack 3 on and took it off thats why put it back on
then it will work

You are replying to a SIX-MONTH-OLD post, moron.

 

[tomcrafford]

Thanks Keith, I had the same problem with another snap-in and can
confirm that installing SP3 and uninstalling it does cause this issue.
Many thanks for posting the answer even though it was an old thread. I
only found it by chance using Google.

 

[tomcrafford]

Thanks Keith, I had the same problem with another snap-in and can
confirm that installing SP3 and uninstalling it does cause this issue.
Many thanks for posting the answer even though it was an old thread. I
only found it by chance using Google.

I am no PC boffin and am from the old school , but I managed to get my defrag working by going to control panel >administrator Tools >computer management and clicked on defrag there and it worked. Sometimes the solutions are so simple that we tend to look for the most complicated solutions first.