Adminstrative Tools "Access Denied" Messages

[Joe]

When I click on any Administrative Tool (e.g., Computer Management) or even
another MMC I've created, I get an Access Denied" dialog box. I can access
the mmc by selecting Author from the alternate-click menu or even using "Run
as" & accepting the current user credentials. Here are the details:
System: WXP Professional SP3 & NIS 2008
Worked Correctly: yesterday morning.
Possible Cause: Yesterday I loaded a friend's camera memory card into my HP
All-in-One card slot. I copied her photos to my Desktop & then to her Flash
Drive. NIS 2009 Auto Protect kicked in, catching five viruii & trojans on
both the card & flash drive (including W32Silly). I then ran the scanner &
found one more virus on her flash drive. NIS reported that it resolved all
problems.
When Current Problem Noticed: This morning I attempted to open the Microsoft
Management Console & received the error.
What I've Done: Changed MMC mode to Author (from User-Full), ran Microsoft
Problem Scanner (no viruii or spyware, but fixed a few Registry errors), run
full NAV scan, & examined Local Computer Policy (had to run as Author) to
look for changed Administrative policies (particularly associated with
snap-in restrictions & MMC priviledges); none were apparent. I also tried to
examine System32 access priviledges, but discovered that I have no options
since it's a system folder.
If anyone has any ideas that can help me resolve this pest, please help.

 

[Joe]

Neither System 32 Folder nor individual *.msc File Permissions are are an
issue. The same Access is Denied message appears regardless of whether Simple
File Permissions is checked in Folder Options or unchecked with
Administrators having Full Control on the Security tab.

 

[Joe]

Update. I installed Windows 2003 Resource Kit's SubINACL & then created &
executed Reset.cmd to affect Full security permissions for Administrators &
System on all Registry items & Windows directory tree. Result? Access is
[still] Denied. Help!

 

[Joe]

I have corrected this problem. From reading other IT-help sites, it seems
that one of Microsoft's recent updates corrupted all .msc File Associations.
I downloaded a .msc File Association "fix" from
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm. A slightly more complex fix would
be to delete the HKCR\.msc Registry key, then "Open With" the Adminstrative
Tool of interest using C:\WINDOWS\system32\mmc.exe via the Browse button. The
latter fix provides the mmc icon, which may be changed -- I think -- using
TweakUI's Repair's "Rebuld Icons tool, though I haven't tested this. I'm also
not sure if the latter fix needs reapplying to every file with an .msc
extension; the former fix does them all. The former solution takes care of
the icon as well, though you have to reboot to see the change.

 

[Leonard Grey]

"...it seems that one of Microsoft's recent updates corrupted all .msc
File Associations..."

Which update was that? None of my file associations are corrupted, and
I'm completely up to date at Windows Update. Either I didn't install the
update in question, or...
---
Leonard Grey
Errare Humanum Est

Security Tips for Everyone, from PC Magazine
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334856,00.asp

 

[Joe]

Leonard, I'm not sure why my .msc associations would be corrupt (i.e., give's
Access Denied" versus "Unknown File Extension") while yours are not, unless
the updates are effected by differing configurations (e.g., do you have .Net
3.5 installed?, how does your LGPO differ from mine?, services
configuration?, etc.). The subject of my entry pops up all over the IT
landscape (Google "Access Denied when opening .msc", or similar). I found
good reads at http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/, http://www.tek-tips.com/, &
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3657049.php to name a few. In the
latter one, the author lists eleven (11) Microsoft updates that he theorizes
caused the problem. My bet is, assuming that it was in fact a Microsoft
uodate that caused this, that Microsoft will release a KB article & fix in
the days ahead. Hope this helps.

 

[Leonard Grey]

There's some 'theorizing' and 'assuming' in your post.

I can only help you if you answer the question I originally asked:
"Which update was that?" Until you tell me which update allegedly causes
this problem, I can't check to see whether I have this update installed.

The mere fact that something has lots of hits in Google doesn't make it
true.

If I have the update in question, I can confirm that my .msc
associations are unbroken. If I don't have the update in question, I'll
tell you so.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare Humanum Est

Security Tips for Everyone, from PC Magazine
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334856,00.asp

 

[Joe]

I must appoligize for the confusion, Leonard; I no longer need your help as
I've already resolved my problem as indicated in this thread (my fourth post
dtd 11-21). I tried to complete the thread by answering "yes," but apparently
the same person who begins a thread cannot also complete it (I've found the
same limitation on other threads where no-one in these forums could -- or
would -- help me & I found the solution elsewhere). Now regarding your
comments: you are totally correct, but I am retired & don't have the energy
to go through each of the 11 MS updates mentioned in the thread
(http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3657049.php) to discover which one
-- if any -- caused my problem; to do so would entail uninstalling all of
them & then one-by-one reupdating. Since I'm now fixed, I'll leave it to you
to investigate -- if you're so inclined. Rather than me going to the link
I've just given, copying the update information, & then reposting for you to
read, why not visit the link yourself for faster information access? If you
do "experiment," please post your results. Good luck in your efforts. Cheers.

 

[Leonard Grey]

Joe, you're the one who asserted that an update from Microsoft corrupted
your file association, so it's up to you to prove your statement. If you
no longer believe that an update caused your problem, we can leave it at
that.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare Humanum Est

Security Tips for Everyone, from PC Magazine
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2334856,00.asp