Snap-in failed to initialize

[Chad]

When I right mouse button on my computer and select manage I get the following

Snap-in failed to initialize.
Name: Performance Logs and Alerts Extension.
ClasID:xxxxx

Any Ideas how to fix this?

Thanks in advance.

 

[n0cmonkey]

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297064 ?

 

[Chad]

That only applies to Windows 2000, I have XP.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Did you install something right before this started happening?

 

[Nothinman]

That only applies to Windows 2000, I have XP.

And you think MMC changed that much between them?

But I don't think it applies to you because I don't know how you'd uninstall the Performance Logs and Alerts Extension, and in the KB article it says MMC won't show you the name of the extension if it's missing.

 

[Chad]

To be honest, I can't remember. I've been trying to solve this problem for a couple days now, and have been so immersed in solving it, I forgot the circumstances surrounding when it initially happened.

-Chad

 

[RVN]

I had a problem with the built in XP defragger once. I was getting the "snap-in failed to initialize" message. I found this:

when you try to run windows defrag, or
other times, the defrag window will show
up, but the analyze and defragment
buttons will do nothing.
Solution
The solution is actually quite simple. You need to re-register the defragmenters snap-in files,
and the basic registry entries.
l First open up a Command Prompt, this can be found at:
Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt
l Change into your windows\system32 directory. Your windows directory will be either
windows or winnt. Type:
cd \windows\system32
l Register the defrag components, by typing:
regsvr32 dfrgsnap.dll
regsvr32 dfrgui.dll

 

[Chad]

which .dll files would i need to register with my issue though?

 

[Jzero]

Sometimes this kind of error is as simple as not enough disk space, your user account does not have access to the temp file, or the temp/tmp environment variables are pointed to a folder that does not exist.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I used to have the opposite problem - trying to close the MMC "frame" app, with a snap-in active, would result in a GPF dialog mentioning that the MMC Console tried to access memory location 0x0000000. (Aka null-ptr crash.) That was mostly in W2K SP2, haven't see it too often in XP SP1. Never quite figured it out, but it seemed to depend on the load on the PC at the time, and which snap-in I was using. Sounds like the app was shutting down, but the snap-in hadn't shut down yet, so something bailed. Never seemed to have any serious repercussions though.