Synopsis

Start → All Programs → Administrative Tools → Computer Management

The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a host for many of the administrative tools that come with Windows XP. Each tool that works with MMC is called a "Snap-in." Several Snap-ins can be shown in MMC at any given time and appear as entries in the Explorer-style tree in the left pane.

A collection of one or more Snap-ins can be saved into a Console (.msc) file, which is a small file that simply lists Snap-ins to display in the Console window. More than a dozen predefined Console files are included with Windows, and you can modify them (or even create your own) by adding or removing Snap-ins or creating custom "Taskpad Views," pages with lists of shortcuts to programs or other Snap-ins.