Windows .msc files overview

Martin Brinkmann
Jun 10, 2017
Windows
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7

MSC files are snap-in control files that are associated with the Microsoft Management Console on Windows machines to run administrative tasks.

You may run some msc files like services.msc or gpedit.msc regularly, but there are plenty more that you can run or create on Windows client and server machines to speed up administrative processes.

Microsoft Windows ships with native .msc files integrated in the operating system, and support for the creation or importing of custom snap-in control files.

The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) was released originally with the Windows 98 Resource Kit, but Microsoft did integrate it in all versions of Windows released afterwards.

computer management msc files

MMC is a framework for administrative tools in which these tools operate. It comes with a graphical user interface, and supports the creation, running, and saving of administrative jobs.

The framework hosts tools, and displays them in its interface by using so-called snap-ins and extension snap-ins. What makes the Microsoft Management Console that flexible is that administrators may create and assign tools to specific user groups, computer systems, or users.

Note: This is a second part of our series about Windows administrative tools. We covered the Windows Control Panel, and the administrative files that you could run to launch various Control Panel applets directly in the first.

List of Windows .msc files

msc files

The default location of .msc files is Windows\System32. You can run any of the files with the shortcut Windows-R, typing the msc file name and extension, and hitting the Enter-key on the keyboard.

Msc File Console Description
azman.msc Authorization Manager Manage Authorization Stores
certlm.msc Certificates Local Computer Loads the list of certificates of the local computer.
certmgr.msc Certificates Loads the list of certificates of the user
comexp.msc Component Services Loads Component Services, Event Viewer, and Services.
compmgmt.msc Computer Management Includes System Tools (Task Scheduler, Event Viewer, Shared Folders, Local Users and Groups, Performance and Device Manager), Storage (Disk Management), and Services and Applications (Services and WMI Control)
devmgmt.msc Device Manager Opens the Device Manager to manage hardware and devices.
devmoderunasuserconfig.msc
diskmgmt.msc Disk Management Opens Disk Management to administrate connected storage devices.
eventvwr.msc Event Viewer Opens the Event Viewer which displays operating system, software, and hardware events.
fsmgmt.msc Shared Folders Loads the list of shared folders, sessions, and open files
gpedit.msc Group Policy Editor Loads the Group Policy Editor to manage system policies
lusrmgr.msc Local Users and Groups Interface to manage local users and user groups.
perfmon.msc Performance Monitor Loads the Windows Performance Monitor
printmanagement.msc Print Management Manage printers.
rsop.msc Resultant Set of Policies List policies, full results only available through command line tool gpresult
secpol.msc Local Security Policy Loads policies such as account policies, public key policies, or advanced audit policy configuration
services.msc Services Manager Loads the list of installed services to manage them.
taskschd.msc Task Scheduler Loads the Task Scheduler to manage tasks
tpm.msc Trusted Platform Module Management Manage the TPM on the local device.
wf.msc Windows Firewall Starts Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
wmimgmt.msc WMI Management Configure and Control the Windows Management Instrumentation Service.

List of Windows Server MMC Files

Msc File Console
adfs.msc Active Directory Federation Services
AdRmsAdmin.msc Active Directory Rights Management Services
adsiedit.msc ADSI Edit
certim.msc Local Computer Certificates
certsrv.msc Certification Authority
certtmpl.msc Certification Templates
ciadv.msc Indexing Service
cluadmin.msc Failover Cluster Manager
da6to4.msc Network Interfaces Performance Monitor
daihttps.msc HTTPS Traffic Performance Monitor
daipsecdos.msc IPSec Performance Monitor
daisatapmsc ISATAP Performance Monitor
dfsmgmt.msc DFS Management
dhcpmgmt.msc DHCP Management
dnsmgmt.msc DNS Manager
domain.msc Active Directory Domains and Trust
dsa.msc Active Directory Users and Computers.
dssite.msc Active Directory Sites and Services
fsrm.msc File Server Resource Manager
fxsadmin.msc Microsoft Fax Service Manager
gpmc.msc Group Policy Management
gpme.msc Group Policy Mangement Editor
gptedit.msc Group Policy Starter GPO Editor
hcscfg.msc Health Registration Authority
idmumgmt.msc Microsoft Identity Management for Unix
iis.msc Internet Information Services Manager
iis6.msc Internet Information Services Manager 6.0
lsdiag.msc RD Licensing Diagnoser
napclcfg.msc NAP Client Configuration
mfsmgmt.msc Services for Network File System
nps.msc Network Policy Server
ocsp.msc Online Responder
pkiview.msc Enterprise PKI
remoteprograms.msc RemoteApp Manager
rrasmgmt.msc Routing and Remote Access
sanmmc.msc Storage Manager for SANs
sbmgr.msc Remote Desktop Connection Manager
scanmanagement.msc Scan Management
servermanager.msc Server Manager
storagemgmt.msc Share and Storage Management
storexpl.msc Storage Explorer
tapimgmt.msc Telephony
tsadmin.msc Remote Desktop Services Manager
tsconfig.msc Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration
tsgateway.msc RD Gateway Manager
tsmmc.msc Remote Desktops
virtmgmt.msc Hyper-V Manager
wbadmin.msc Windows Server Backup
Wdsmgmt-msc Windows Deployment Services
winsmgmt.msc WINS
wbiadmin.msc Windows Server Backup
wsrm.msc Windows System Resource Manager
wsus.msc Update Services

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Windows .msc files overview
Article Name
Windows .msc files overview
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MSC files are snap-in control files that are associated with the Microsoft Management Console on Windows machines to run administrative tasks.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Dan Donx said on January 15, 2023 at 10:29 am
    Reply

    What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?

    Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.

    If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.

  2. Dexter said on January 15, 2023 at 11:14 am
    Reply

    5. Rufus
    6. Ventoy

    PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.

    1. cdr said on January 15, 2023 at 3:32 pm
      Reply

      I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.

  3. sv said on January 15, 2023 at 6:40 pm
    Reply

    bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.

    ps…. time travelling?
    written. Jan 15, 2023
    Updated • Jan 13, 2023

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on January 16, 2023 at 5:49 am
      Reply

      This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.

  4. Anonymous said on January 16, 2023 at 8:24 am
    Reply

    Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.

  5. basingstoke said on January 16, 2023 at 11:18 am
    Reply

    I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:

    1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)

    2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)

    3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””

    4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows

    5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss

    Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:

    6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now

    Have I missed any group off this list?

    1. Heinz Strunk said on September 19, 2023 at 3:57 pm
      Reply

      You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.

      Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.

  6. ilev said on August 24, 2023 at 7:34 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update

    1. EP said on August 24, 2023 at 9:21 pm
      Reply

      only from windows update though
      KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site

  7. Anonymous said on August 24, 2023 at 11:05 pm
    Reply

    1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.

    2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.

    3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.

    This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
    Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.

    Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.

  8. john said on August 24, 2023 at 11:17 pm
    Reply

    Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.

    1. John G. said on August 25, 2023 at 12:08 pm
      Reply

      Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.

  9. EP said on August 25, 2023 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215

  10. EP said on August 29, 2023 at 7:32 pm
    Reply

    check out the following recent articles:

    Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
    https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/

    BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/

  11. Leonard Britvolli said on August 30, 2023 at 10:33 pm
    Reply

    While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.

  12. sembrador said on September 5, 2023 at 9:32 pm
    Reply

    My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.

  13. EP said on September 6, 2023 at 11:55 am
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):

    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277

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