How To Fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in

The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is an application that provides a graphical user interface (GUI) and a programming framework in which consoles (collections of administrative tools) can be created, saved, and opened.

MMC was originally released as part of the Windows 98 Resource Kit and is included in all later versions. It uses a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) in an environment similar to Microsoft’s Windows Explorer. MMC is considered to be a container for the actual operations, and is known as a “tools host.” It does not, itself, provide management, but rather a framework in which management tools can operate.

Sometimes, there may be a possibility of a scenario in which some snap-ins may not work properly. Especially, if the registry configuration of a snap-in is broken (note that Registry Editor is not a snap-in), the snap-in initialization would fail. In this case, you’re likely to get the following error message (a specific message in case of Event Viewer): MMC could not create the snap-in. The snap-in might not have been installed correctly.

How To Fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in

How To Fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in

Before moving forward make sure to create a system restore point. Just in case something goes wrong, then you would be able to restore your system to this restore point. Now without wasting any time let’s see how to fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in error via the following troubleshooting guide:

Method 1: Turn on the Microsoft .net Framework

1. Search for the control panel in Windows Search then click on Control Panel from the search result.

Open Control Panel by searching for it in the Start Menu search

2. From Control Panel click on “Uninstall a program” under Programs. 

Click on Programs.

3. Now select “Turn Windows features on or off” from the left-hand menu.

Click on Turn Windows features on or off

4. Now select “Microsoft .net Framework 3.5“.  You have to expand each component and check the ones you want to turn on.

turn on .net framework

5. Restart the computer and check if the issue is fixed if not then go to the next step.

6. You may run the system file checker tool once again.

The above method might Fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in error but if it doesn’t then follow the next method.

Method 2: Run System File Checker

1. Press Windows Key + X then click on Command Prompt(Admin).

command prompt with admin rights

2. Now type the following in the cmd and hit enter:

Sfc /scannow

SFC scan now command prompt

3. Wait for the above process to finish and once done restart your PC.

4. Now again open CMD and type the following command one by one and hit enter after each one:

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

DISM restore health system

5. Let the DISM command run and wait for it to finish.

6. If the above command doesn’t work then try on the below:

Dism /Image:C:\offline /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:\test\mount\windows
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:\test\mount\windows /LimitAccess

Note: Replace the C:\RepairSource\Windows with the location of your repair source (Windows Installation or Recovery Disc).

7. Reboot your PC to save changes and see if you’re able to fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in error.

Method 3: Registry Fix

1. Press Windows + R key simultaneously and type regedit in the Run dialog box to open Registry Editor.

open registry editor

NOTE: Before manipulating the registry, you should make a backup of the Registry.

2. Inside Registry Editor navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MMC\SnapIns

MMC snap ins registory editor

3. Inside SnapIns search for the error number specified in CLSID.

MMC-Could-Not-Create-The-Snap-in

4. After navigating to the following key, right-click on the FX:{b05566ad-fe9c-4363-be05-7a4cbb7cb510} and select Export. This will let you back up the Registry key into a .reg file. Next, right-click on the same key, and this time select Delete.

export snapIns

5. Finally, in the confirmation box, select Yes to delete the registry key. Close the Registry Editor and reboot your system.

After restarting the machine, Windows would automatically generate the required registry configuration for the Event Manager and this solves the problem. So you can open Event Viewer and find it works as expected:

event viewer working

Method 4: Install Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on Windows 10

If nothing fixes the issue then you can use RSAT as an alternative to MMC on Windows 10. RSAT is a very useful tool developed by Microsoft which is used to manage Windows Server’s present in the remote location.  Basically, there is MMC snap-in “Active Directory Users and Computers” in the tool, which enables the user to do changes and manage the remote server. MMC snap-in is like an add-on to the module. This tool is helpful to add new users and reset the password to the organizational unit. Let’s see how to Install RSAT on Windows 10.

Install Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on Windows 10

You may also like:

If you are still getting the Snap-in error you might have to fix by reinstalling MMC:

How to fix MMC could not create the Snap-in

Comments are welcomed if you still have any doubt or question regarding How to fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in.

11 thoughts on “How To Fix MMC Could Not Create The Snap-in”

  1. Avatar photo
    Joshua Marshall

    Still not working… Been trying to change my QoS settings on gpedit, but comes up with ‘MMC could not create the snap in’ after i have executed this fix multiple times.

  2. Im facing the MMC snapin error while opening many features like event viewer, task scheduler, advanced settings in firewall ( administrative tools)… Regedit method is not fixing the problem, its not creating the missing snapins…..
    i couldnot enable .netframework using control panel “turn windows features on or off” is displaying a blank dialog box without any folders or checkboxes in it… how to fix this??

    1. Okay so you can’t enable .netframework and did you restart your computer after trying the method 2(registry one)? Did you saw the video mentioned in the post to fix your problem?

  3. Being a tech professional I got this post is very relevant and informative for me. As in this blog it is discussed about how to fix MMC could not create the snap in. In everyday work its is really required to know for better work. I would suggest you to have a read on it.

  4. When I try to do the MMC method, gpedit.msc isn’t listed as a snap-in.
    I’m trying to get gpedit.msc to work on Windows 10. I keep getting message that MMC could not create the snap-in. Please help.

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