Server Manager is a Windows tool that allows you and other IT professionals to manage local and remote Windows-based servers from your desktops without accessing the servers or connecting to the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). However, at times, Windows Server Manager does not open or work in Windows Server and Client. In this post, we will discuss what you can do to resolve the issue.
Fix Windows Server Manager not opening or working in Windows Server and Client
If Windows Server Manager is not opening or working in Windows Server and Client machines, follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Reboot your server or client computer
- Make sure that the Server Manager Service is running
- Recreate the user.config file
- Enable .NET Framework from the Command Prompt
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Reboot your server or client computer
First of all, we need to reboot your computer as that can get rid of some of the glitches that could have been causing the issue. So, go ahead, restart your system, and then check if the issue is resolved.
2] Make sure that the Server Manager Service is running
The Server Manager Service allows you to connect to the server in question and use the Server Manager application. In case, it’s disabled or is not running, you need to enable it in order to resolve the issue. Follow the steps mentioned below to do the same.
- Open Services app.
- Look for the Server Manager service, right-click on it, and select Properties.
- Change the Startup type to Automatic and click on Start.
- Finally, click on Ok.
Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
3] Recreate the user.config file
The user.config file contains all the changes that you have made to the user settings of the Windows Server Manager. In case, you made some changes due to which the application is not launching or working, you need to delete the file and allow it to get recreated. To do the same, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open File Explorer by Win + E.
- Next up, navigate to the following location and delete the user.config file
C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft_Corporation\ServerManager.exe_StrongName_m3xk0k0ucj0oj3ai2hibnhnv4xobnimj10.0.0.0user.config
- Finally, reboot your computer and let it be recreated.
You can now open the Server Manager console and check if the issue is resolved.
4] Enable .NET Framework from the Command Prompt
At times, users have disabled .NET Framework from the Server Manager > Remove Roles and Features Wizard, due to which some of the features of the Server Manager is not working. In that case, we need to re-enable .NET feature. To do the same, open Command Prompt as an admin and run the following command.
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx4ServerFeatures /ALL
Now, open PowerShell in the elevated mode and run the command mentioned below.
Install-WindowsFeature PowerShellRoot,PowerShell,PowerShell-ISE
Finally, reboot the server and check if the issue is resolved.
5]
We have noticed that at times, the Windows Server Manager won’t open, however, one can see that it’s running by analysing the current process from the Task Manager. To resolve the issue, we need to find out what’s causing the problem, in most cases, it is the antivirus, but we can not be certain until we do some investigation of our own.
To do so, start your computer in Clean Boot State and check if you can open Server Manager. If the application opens, you need to enable the processes manully to find out the cause. Once you know what’s causing the issue, either update or remove it and check if it persists.
Hopefully, you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.
Read: Download Windows Server 2025 ISO file
How do I fix Server Manager not opening?
If Server Manager is not opening, you need to recreate the user.config file. This file is read when your computer tries to load the Server Manager, if it is corrupted or has some misconfiguration, the app will fail to load. You can follow the steps mentioned earlier to do the same. But if it doesn’t work, try other aforementioned solutions.
Read: Fix Server execution failed error in WSL
What is Window Client vs Windows Server?
A Windows Server is designed to run specifically on a server. On the other hand, a client OS such as Windows Client (Windows 11/10, etc) is intended to operate on various client devices such as computers, laptops, and other devices. Usually, a server computer is an extremely powerful device which acts as a cluster for other computer in an environment to connect to.
Also Read: ServerManager.exe – This application could not be started.
