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OFF2000: Files Whose Name Begins with "fff" Appear in Windows Folder

IMPORTANT : This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

After you install Office 2000, you may notice files whose name begins with "fff" appearing in your Windows folder. For example, the file name may be similar to "fffeeecf_{44BE8B61-235B-11D2-8E66-D59A4E66D32D}.tmp". Also, every time you restart your computer, two more files beginning with "fff" appear in your Windows folder.

CAUSE

When you install the Microsoft Script Editor, a program called Mdm.exe (Machine Debug Manager, which is used to provide application debugging) is also installed. Mdm.exe creates these files in your Windows folder.

WORKAROUND

WARNING : Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT or Windows 2000, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).


To work around this issue, remove Mdm.exe to be started as a service on Window 95 and Windows 98 platforms. To do this, remove Mdm.exe from the list under the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices

MORE INFORMATION

When Mdm.exe is registered on the Windows 95 or Windows 98 platform, the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices registry key is modified to include Mdm.exe to start as a "service".

Windows 95 or Windows 98 starts each application listed under this key when Windows starts. This is done because DCOM on Windows 95 and Windows 98 does not support remote starting of DCOM components, which include Mdm.exe, although the implementation of DCOM on the Windows 95 or Windows 98 platform does permit connections to running objects. Therefore, upon installation, Mdm.exe registers itself to start each time Windows is started to enable the option of remote debugging with Mdm.exe.

Due to the way DCOM is implemented on the Windows 95 and Windows 98 platforms, Mdm.exe creates temporary files in the Windows folder that DCOM uses for access and decline of user rights to the DCOM component. Typically, DCOM calls Mdm.exe for startup as a proxy for another application that requires debugging support. Upon the shutdown of this application, a call is made through DCOM to shut down the registered DCOM server and, on Windows 95 or Windows 98, clean up any temporary files created by Mdm.exe. Because Windows 95 or Windows 98 is starting Mdm.exe directly as a program and not as a DCOM server, no registration is performed in DCOM. Therefore, on the shutdown of Windows 95 or Windows 98, DCOM is not aware that the Mdm.exe program needs to be shut down and the TMP files created are in need of clean up. Because DCOM does not perform cleanup, the temporary files remain after shutdown, and Mdm.exe creates a new set of TMP files every time Windows 95 or Windows 98 is restarted.

REFERENCES

For additional information about DCOM security, refer to Chapter 11, titled "Security", in Inside Distributed COM (ISBN 1-57231-849-X) or miscellaneous MSDN topics on the IAccessControl interface.