PRB: MMC: Management Console May Fail to Start

ID: Q231757

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to open the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) program, you may receive one of the following two error messages:

Failed to create empty document.
-or-
Unable to open the selected file.
The Management Console window may not display or may appear for a very brief time.


CAUSE

The TEMP and/or TMP environment variable(s) may point to a folder that does not exist. When MMC initializes, the console attempts to create a temp file, MMCxx.tmp, in the TEMP folder.


RESOLUTION

Use the following steps to point the TEMP environment variable to a valid folder:

  1. Click Start. Point to Settings, then click Control Panel.


  2. Double-Click the System icon in Control Panel.


  3. Click the Environment tab in the System Properties dialog box.


  4. In the Variable edit field, type TEMP.


  5. In the Value edit field, type the folder name that will receive temporary files. For example, C:\TEMP (if the TEMP folder exists on drive C).


  6. Click OK.



STATUS

This behavior is by design.

Additional query words: mmc 


Keywords          : kbMMC kbNTOS400 kbWinOS98 kbGrpPlatform kbMMC110 
Version           : WINDOWS:1.1,1.2; winnt:4.0
Platform          : WINDOWS winnt 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 21, 1999