Here's a peculiar scenario many Windows 7 administrators encounter: You click the IIS Manager shortcut, see it in the taskbar, even get the window preview when hovering - but the actual GUI never appears. Strangely, launching through MMC with the IIS snap-in works perfectly.

The root cause often lies in Windows' window position tracking. IIS Manager might be trying to open at coordinates outside your current display boundaries. This happens particularly after:

• Display resolution changes
• Multi-monitor configuration modifications
• Remote desktop sessions with different resolutions

Try resetting the window position through Registry Editor:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\InetMgr]
"FramePosition"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,\
  00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

Save as reset_iis_window.reg and double-click to merge.

If the registry method doesn't work, try these approaches:

1. Command-line launch with coordinates:

   start /d "C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\" InetMgr.exe -Embedding

2. MMC snap-in workaround:

   mmc.exe /32 %windir%\system32\inetsrv\iis.msc

Create this PowerShell script to handle stubborn cases:

$wshell = New-Object -ComObject wscript.shell
$wshell.Run("inetmgr")
Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
$wshell.AppActivate('Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager')
$wshell.SendKeys('% ')
$wshell.SendKeys('x')
$wshell.SendKeys('{RIGHT}{RIGHT}{ENTER}')

This script forces the window to maximize regardless of its previous position.

For environments where this occurs frequently:

• Create a shortcut with /reset parameter
• Consider updating to a newer IIS version if possible
• Document the workarounds for your team

Recently encountered a bizarre scenario where IIS 7 Manager appears in the taskbar and shows window previews, but refuses to display its actual interface when launched directly. Strangely enough, it works perfectly when loaded through MMC snap-in.

This typically occurs when the window coordinates get stored outside the visible desktop area. Try these steps:

// PowerShell script to reset window positions
Get-ChildItem 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Compatibility Assistant\Store' |
Where-Object { $_.GetValue("Executable") -like "*inetsrv\\inetmgr.exe*" } |
Remove-Item -Force

If the direct shortcut fails, these alternatives work consistently:

• Run: mmc.exe %windir%\system32\inetsrv\iis.msc
• Create new shortcut with: %windir%\system32\inetsrv\InetMgr.exe /reset

For stubborn instances, modify these registry values:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Information Server\Manager]
"Flags"=dword:00000004
"WindowPlacement"=hex:2c,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,01,00,00,00,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,\
  ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,ff,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00

Some graphics drivers interfere with window management. Try:

1. Temporarily switching to basic display driver
2. Disabling desktop composition (Right-click shortcut → Properties → Compatibility)

If all else fails, repair IIS components:

dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-WebServerRole
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-WebServer
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ApplicationDevelopment
dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:IIS-ManagementConsole