Machine Debug Manager

[Mike346]

On surfing the net I've seen a number of remarks concerning a bug in
"mdm.exe". Here is one such remark:

There is a bug with MDM where it will regularly create zero-length temporary
files in the Windows folder and not delete them. If you do not do regular
housekeeping you can end up with hundreds of such files.

My first question is simply this:

Does this problem affect the Windows XP Home platform?

My findings tend to suggest that the answer to this question is NO - only
Windows 95 and 98 are affected.

My second question is:

As a simple-minded user of Windows XP Home, do I have any need to keep the
MDM service running? i.e. Should I shut it down? If so, how?

To shut it down, I can see two things which ought to be done, the first of
which may not be necessary (is it?):

1) Open IE, and click on: Tools|Internet Options|Advanced [tab] ... and
under "Browsing", check the box for "Disable script debugging".

2) Click: Start|Control Panel|Performance and Maintenance|Administrative
Tools|Services ... and then go to "Machine Debug Manger" and under "Startup
Type" switch to "Disabled".

Am I missing anything?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Mike;

Two different deals. mdm.exe is not an XP file. Part of
Office and a bunch of other MS applications.
[[If you do not use your computer for debugging purposes, you can safely
turn off the Machine Debug Manager.]]

As far as Script Debugging.........

Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
CHECK:
 Disable script debugging
[Specifies whether you want to turn off your script debugger, if one is
installed. Script debuggers are used by Web site developers to test programs
and scripts on their Web pages.]
UNCheck:
 Display a notification about every script error
[Specifies whether to display the actual script errors when a page does not
appear properly due to problems with its scripting. This feature is off by
default, but is useful to developers when testing Web pages.]
Apply | OK
====

OFF: How to Turn Off Machine Debug Manager, Mdm.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321410

 

[Mike346]

Thank you, Wesley.

I have followed your instructions for disabling Script Debugging:

Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
CHECK:
 Disable script debugging
[Specifies whether you want to turn off your script debugger, if one is
installed. Script debuggers are used by Web site developers to test programs
and scripts on their Web pages.]
UNCheck:
 Display a notification about every script error
[Specifies whether to display the actual script errors when a page does not
appear properly due to problems with its scripting. This feature is off by
default, but is useful to developers when testing Web pages.]
Apply | OK

I have also checked the document you mentioned:

OFF: How to Turn Off Machine Debug Manager, Mdm.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321410

This document, however, applies to:

Microsoft Office XP, when used with:
the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000.

But I am using:

Microsoft Office XP Small Business, used with:
the operating system: Microsoft Windows XP.

I have, therefore, gone ahead and followed my own prescription for turning
off MDM:

As for the bug in MDM which I mentioned:

There is an article which specifically discusses this matter:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;221438

This article describes the following symptoms [Applies To: Microsoft Office
2000 (Setup)]:
After you install Office 2000, you may notice files whose name begins with
"fff" appearing in your Windows folder. For example, the file name may be
similar to "fffeeecf_{44BE8B61-235B-11D2-8E66-D59A4E66D32D}.tmp". Also,
every time you restart your computer, two more files beginning with "fff"
appear in your Windows folder.
These "fff" files correspond to the "zero-length temporary files" mentioned
above. Since I am NOT using Office 2000, it appears to me that this bug
problem does not apply. In addition, I have searched my computer for any
"fff" files (including hidden files), and none have turned up. So, it seems
that the MDM-bug is not an issue.

Thank you, again, for your response.

---------------------------

Mike;

Two different deals. mdm.exe is not an XP file. Part of
Office and a bunch of other MS applications.
[[If you do not use your computer for debugging purposes, you can safely
turn off the Machine Debug Manager.]]

As far as Script Debugging.........

Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
CHECK:
 Disable script debugging
[Specifies whether you want to turn off your script debugger, if one is
installed. Script debuggers are used by Web site developers to test programs
and scripts on their Web pages.]
UNCheck:
 Display a notification about every script error
[Specifies whether to display the actual script errors when a page does not
appear properly due to problems with its scripting. This feature is off by
default, but is useful to developers when testing Web pages.]
Apply | OK
====

OFF: How to Turn Off Machine Debug Manager, Mdm.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321410

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes

In

On surfing the net I've seen a number of remarks concerning a bug in
"mdm.exe". Here is one such remark:

There is a bug with MDM where it will regularly create zero-length
temporary files in the Windows folder and not delete them. If you do
not do regular housekeeping you can end up with hundreds of such
files.

My first question is simply this:

Does this problem affect the Windows XP Home platform?

My findings tend to suggest that the answer to this question is NO -
only Windows 95 and 98 are affected.

My second question is:

As a simple-minded user of Windows XP Home, do I have any need to
keep the MDM service running? i.e. Should I shut it down? If so,
how?

To shut it down, I can see two things which ought to be done, the
first of which may not be necessary (is it?):

1) Open IE, and click on: Tools|Internet Options|Advanced [tab] ...
and under "Browsing", check the box for "Disable script debugging".

2) Click: Start|Control Panel|Performance and
Maintenance|Administrative Tools|Services ... and then go to "Machine
Debug Manger" and under "Startup Type" switch to "Disabled".

Am I missing anything?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Mike;

You got it!

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes

In

Thank you, Wesley.

I have followed your instructions for disabling Script Debugging:

Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
CHECK:
 Disable script debugging
[Specifies whether you want to turn off your script debugger, if one
is installed. Script debuggers are used by Web site developers to
test programs and scripts on their Web pages.]
UNCheck:
 Display a notification about every script error
[Specifies whether to display the actual script errors when a page
does not appear properly due to problems with its scripting. This
feature is off by default, but is useful to developers when testing
Web pages.]
Apply | OK

I have also checked the document you mentioned:

OFF: How to Turn Off Machine Debug Manager, Mdm.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321410

This document, however, applies to:

Microsoft Office XP, when used with:
the operating system: Microsoft Windows 2000.

But I am using:

Microsoft Office XP Small Business, used with:
the operating system: Microsoft Windows XP.

I have, therefore, gone ahead and followed my own prescription for
turning off MDM:

As for the bug in MDM which I mentioned:

There is an article which specifically discusses this matter:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;221438

This article describes the following symptoms [Applies To: Microsoft
Office 2000 (Setup)]:
After you install Office 2000, you may notice files whose name begins
with "fff" appearing in your Windows folder. For example, the file
name may be similar to
"fffeeecf_{44BE8B61-235B-11D2-8E66-D59A4E66D32D}.tmp". Also, every
time you restart your computer, two more files beginning with "fff"
appear in your Windows folder.
These "fff" files correspond to the "zero-length temporary files"
mentioned above. Since I am NOT using Office 2000, it appears to me
that this bug problem does not apply. In addition, I have searched
my computer for any "fff" files (including hidden files), and none
have turned up. So, it seems that the MDM-bug is not an issue.

Thank you, again, for your response.

---------------------------

Mike;

Two different deals. mdm.exe is not an XP file. Part of
Office and a bunch of other MS applications.
[[If you do not use your computer for debugging purposes, you can
safely turn off the Machine Debug Manager.]]

As far as Script Debugging.........

Open IE | Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab |
CHECK:
 Disable script debugging
[Specifies whether you want to turn off your script debugger, if one
is installed. Script debuggers are used by Web site developers to
test programs and scripts on their Web pages.]
UNCheck:
 Display a notification about every script error
[Specifies whether to display the actual script errors when a page
does not appear properly due to problems with its scripting. This
feature is off by default, but is useful to developers when testing
Web pages.]
Apply | OK
====

OFF: How to Turn Off Machine Debug Manager, Mdm.exe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321410

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes

In

On surfing the net I've seen a number of remarks concerning a bug in
"mdm.exe". Here is one such remark:

There is a bug with MDM where it will regularly create zero-length
temporary files in the Windows folder and not delete them. If you
do not do regular housekeeping you can end up with hundreds of such
files.

My first question is simply this:

Does this problem affect the Windows XP Home platform?

My findings tend to suggest that the answer to this question is NO -
only Windows 95 and 98 are affected.

My second question is:

As a simple-minded user of Windows XP Home, do I have any need to
keep the MDM service running? i.e. Should I shut it down? If so,
how?

To shut it down, I can see two things which ought to be done, the
first of which may not be necessary (is it?):

1) Open IE, and click on: Tools|Internet Options|Advanced [tab] ...
and under "Browsing", check the box for "Disable script debugging".

2) Click: Start|Control Panel|Performance and
Maintenance|Administrative Tools|Services ... and then go to
"Machine Debug Manger" and under "Startup Type" switch to
"Disabled".

Am I missing anything?