Further information for WMI
You can find resources and examples for using WMI in the following print and online sources:
The following printed material is available to help you learn more about WMI:
Lavy, Matthew and Megitt, Ashley Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
New Riders Publishing; ISBN: 1578702607; 1st edition (October 15, 2001).
Lissoir, Alain Understanding Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Scripting.
Digital Press; ISBN: 1555582664 (March 2003).
Lissoir, Alain Leveraging Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Scripting.
Digital Press; ISBN: 1555582990 (March 2003).
Includes a section on secure scripting and the use of security descriptors.
Golomshtok, Alexander .NET System Management Services.
Apress; ISBN 1-59059-058-9 (April 8, 2003).
The Microsoft Windows Resource Kit Scripting Team Microsoft Windows 2000 Scripting Guide.
Microsoft Press; ISBN: 0735618674; 1st edition (December 16, 2002).
Tunstall, Carig and Cole, Gwyn Developing WMI Solutions: A Guide to Windows Management Instrumentation.
Addison Wesley Professional; ISBN: 0201616130; 1st edition (November 12, 2002).
Includes information for writing WMI providers.
Policht, Marcin WMI Essentials for Automating Windows Management.
Sams; ISBN: 0672321440; 1st edition (July 23, 2001).
Martinsson, Tobias
Scripting XML and WMI for Professional Developer's Guide.
John Wiley & Sons; ISBN: 0471399515; Book & CD edition (January 12, 2001).
Wilson, Ed Microsoft Windows Scripting with WMI: Self-Paced Learning Guide.
Microsoft Press; ISBN: 0735622310 (November 2005).
Tutorial format for beginning scripters that includes WMI scripts for more than 100 WMI classes.
Online documentation and examples
The following online documentation and examples are available to help you learn to use WMI:
The most up-to-date version of WMI SDK documentation is located under Win32 and COM Development | Administration and Management | Windows Management Instrumentation.
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Search by category and task to find short administrative scripts. For example, in the Monitoring category, you can find a script titled "Monitor Available Disk Space".
TechNet scripting articles: Tales from the Script.
Articles about topics such as how to run WMI scripts on remote computers or use WMI events. Each article provides examples.
Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) articles
Articles about the basics of WMI administrator scripting. Each article provides examples.
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A comprehensive overview of the scripting technologies available in the Windows operating systems, including WMI. This Microsoft TechNet website offers hundreds of administrator scripting examples and information about how to modify them for the needs of your system.
WMI scripting
The Scripting Clinic under Columns includes advanced scripting topics besides the WMI Scripting Primers, such as Creating user accounts from Excel data.
Downloads
| SDK name | Windows Server version | URL (download link) | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4.0 | Windows Server 2008 R2 | https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/confirmation.aspx?id=8279 | %Install Path%\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.1\Samples |
| Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) | Windows Server 2008 | https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/sdk-archive/ | %Install Path%\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.1 |
CIM_Studio and other WMI Administrative Tools—the WMI tools include:
WMI CIM Studio
The CIM Studio tool allows you to work with WMI classes and namespaces in the CIM repository. It is also an important tool for WMI provider development because it helps in the initial WMI class creation in the CIM repository.
WMI CIM Studio provides the ability to:
- Connect to a chosen system and browse the CIM repository in any namespace available.
- Search for classes by their name, descriptions, or property names.
- Review the properties, methods, and associations related to a given class.
- See the instances available for a given class.
- Perform queries in the WQL language.
- Generate a MOF file based on selected classes.
- Compile a MOF file you want to load in the CIM repository.
WMI Object Browser
The Object Browser allows you to view the WMI objects present on your computer. The root of the hierarchy is the instance of Win32_ComputerSystem that represents your computer system. Using the Object Browser, you can edit property values and qualifiers and run methods.
WMI Event Registration
The Event Registration tool allows you to create, display, and modify event consumers, filters, and timers for a specified namespace. It is a tool for both developers and system administrators.
WMI Event Viewer
You can use the Event Viewer to display the occurrence of WMI events you have configured in the WMI Event Registration.
You can download PowerShell RC2 and documentation at Windows PowerShell 1.0 RC2 Installation Package for Windows Vista RC1 and Windows Server 2008.
Note
These books and resources may not be available in some languages and countries or regions.