winmgmt
Winmgmt is the WMI service within the SVCHOST process running under the "LocalSystem" account.
In all cases, the WMI service automatically starts when the first management application or script requests connection to a WMI namespace. For more information, see Starting and Stopping the WMI Service.
Note
WMI is a core component of the Windows operating system that allows developers and IT administrators to write scripts and applications to automate certain tasks. Winmgmt.exe is the service that allows WMI to run on your local computer. For more information on using WMI, see Using WMI. If you have received an error message regarding winmgmt.exe, see WMI Troubleshooting. For more information on Winmgmt.exe, see Using WMI Management Tools.
When run from the command prompt, the WMI service has the following switches.
winmgmt
[/backup <filename>]
[/restore <filename> <mode>]
[/resyncperf <winmgmt service process id>]
[/standalonehost <level>]
[/sharedhost]
[/verifyrepository <path>]
[/salvagerepository]
[/resetrepository]
Switches
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/backup <filename>
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Causes WMI to back up the repository to the specified file name. The filename argument should contain the full path to the file location. This process requires a write lock on the repository so that write operations to the repository are suspended until the backup process is completed.
If you do not specify a path for the file, it is put in the %Windir%\System32 directory.
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/restore <filename> <flag>
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Manually restores the WMI repository from the specified backup file. The filename argument should contain the full path to the backup file location. To perform the restore operation, WMI saves the existing repository to write back if the operation fails. Then the repository is restored from the backup file that is specified in the filename argument. If exclusive access to the repository cannot be achieved, existing clients are disconnected from WMI.
The flag argument must be a 1 (force disconnect users and restore) or 0 (default restore if no users connected) and specifies the restore mode.
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/resyncperf <winmgmt-service-process-id>
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Registers the computer's performance libraries with WMI. WMI PID is the process ID for the WMI service.
Only needed if the performance monitor classes are not returning reliable results.
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/standalonehost [<level>]
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Moves the Winmgmt service to a standalone Svchost process that has a fixed DCOM endpoint. The default endpoint is "ncacn_ip_tcp.0.24158". However, the endpoint may be changed by running Dcomcnfg.exe. For more information about setting up a fixed port for WMI, see Setting Up a Fixed Port for WMI.
The level argument is the authentication level for the Svchost process. WMI normally runs as part of a shared service host and you cannot increase the authentication level for WMI alone. If level is not specified, the default is 4 (RPC_C_AUTHN_LEVEL_PKT or WbemAuthenticationLevelPkt).
You can run WMI more securely by increasing the authentication level to Packet Privacy (RPC_C_AUTHN_LEVEL_PKT_PRIVACY or WbemAuthenticationLevelPktPrivacy). The authentication levels for Visual Basic and scripting are described in WbemAuthenticationLevelEnum. For C++, see Setting the Default Process Security Level Using C++. For more information, see Maintaining WMI Security.
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/sharedhost
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Moves the Winmgmt service into the shared Svchost process.
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/verifyrepository <path>
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Performs a consistency check on the WMI repository. When you add the /verifyrepository switch without the <path> argument, then the live repository currently used by WMI is verified. When you specify the path argument, you can verify any saved copy of the repository. In this case, the path argument should contain the full path to the saved repository copy. The saved repository should be a copy of the entire repository folder. For more information about errors returned by this command, see the Remarks section.
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/salvagerepository
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Performs a consistency check on the WMI repository, and if an inconsistency is detected, rebuilds the repository. The content of the inconsistent repository is merged into the rebuilt repository, if it can be read. The salvage operation always works with the repository that the WMI service is currently using. For more information about errors returned by this command, see the Remarks section.
% MOF files that contain the #pragma autorecover preprocessor statement are restored to the repository.
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/resetrepository
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The repository is reset to the initial state when the operating system is first installed. MOF files that contain the #pragma autorecover preprocessor statement are restored to the repository.
Remarks
This tool is located in the %Windir%\System32\wbem directory. For a list of the available switches, type WinMgmt /? at the command prompt.
The WMI repository, also known as the CIM repository, is not just a single file, but a collection of files within the Repository folder that work together as a database. When you use the /backup switch to backup the repository, the resulting backup is a single compressed file.
WMI returns the error ERROR_INTERNAL_DB_CORRUPTION (net helpmsg 1358) if a verification operation indicates that the repository is not in a consistent state. This error can be returned from any command which performs repository verification, such as /verifyrepository or /salvagerepository.
Note
If WMI returns error messages, be aware that they may not indicate problems in the WMI service or in WMI providers. Failures can originate in other parts of the operating system and emerge as errors through WMI. Under any circumstances, do not delete the WMI repository as a first action because deleting the repository can cause damage to the system or to installed applications.
For more info, see WMI Troubleshooting.
Requirements
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| Minimum supported client |
Windows Vista |
| Minimum supported server |
Windows Server 2008 |