Storage Section of Computer Management Console Is Blank (303527)

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you try to open the Storage section of the Computer Management Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, there are no sub-sections available, even though the Disk Management utility, Disk Defragmenter, the Logical Drives module, and the Removable Storage module are normally present. Note that each of these items might start and work correctly if you start them individually from a new (or blank) MMC.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To resolve this issue, use either of the following methods:

Method 1

Restore the registry information from a backup you know is working correctly.

Method 2

Manually enter (or merge) the missing information back into the registry. To manually restore the missing registry information:

Start Notepad.exe, and then copy the following text into a blank text file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MMC\NodeTypes\{476e644a-aaff-11d0-b944-00c04fd8d5b0}]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MMC\NodeTypes\{476e644a-aaff-11d0-b944-00c04fd8d5b0}\Extensions]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MMC\NodeTypes\{476e644a-aaff-11d0-b944-00c04fd8d5b0}\Extensions\ContextMenu]
"{43668E21-2636-11D1-A1CE-0080C88593A5}"="DfrgSnapin"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MMC\NodeTypes\{476e644a-aaff-11d0-b944-00c04fd8d5b0}\Extensions\NameSpace]
"{8EAD3A12-B2C1-11d0-83AA-00A0C92C9D5D}"="Disk Management Extension"
"{6E8E0081-19CD-11D1-AD91-00AA00B8E05A}"="Logical and Mapped Drives"
"{243E20B0-48ED-11D2-97DA-00A024D77700}"="Removable Storage Extension"
"{43668E21-2636-11D1-A1CE-0080C88593A5}"="DfrgSnapin"
On the File menu, click Save As, and then click All Files in the Save as type box.
Name the file FixStorage.reg, and then save the file to the desktop on your computer. You can double-click the FixStorage.reg file to merge the information into the registry of the non-functional computer.