Windows Management Instrumentation - Windows 8 Service
Provides a common interface and object model to access management information about operating system, devices, applications and services. If this service is stopped, most Windows-based software will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
This service also exists in Windows 10, 11, 7, Vista and XP.
Startup Type
| Windows 8 edition | Windows 8 | Windows 8.1 | Windows 8.1 Update 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Pro | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Enterprise | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
Default Properties
| Display name: | Windows Management Instrumentation |
| Service name: | winmgmt |
| Type: | share |
| Path: | %WinDir%\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs |
| File: | %WinDir%\system32\wbem\WMIsvc.dll |
| Error control: | ignore |
| Object: | localSystem |
Default Behavior
The Windows Management Instrumentation service runs as localSystem in a shared process of svchost.exe. Other services might run in the same process. If Windows Management Instrumentation fails to load or initialize, Windows 8 start up proceeds. No warning is displayed, but the error is recorded into the Event Log.
Dependencies
Windows Management Instrumentation won't start, if the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service is stopped or disabled.
The following services are unable to start if Windows Management Instrumentation is stopped:
Restore Default Startup Type of Windows Management Instrumentation
Automated Restore
1. Select your Windows 8 release and edition, and then click on the Download button below.
2. Save the RestoreWindowsManagementInstrumentationWindows8.bat file to any folder on your hard drive.
3. Right-click the downloaded batch file and select Run as administrator.
4. Restart the computer.
Note. Make sure that the WMIsvc.dll file exists in the %WinDir%\system32\wbem folder. If this file is missing you can try to restore it from your Windows 8 installation media.