Getting WMI Objects (Get-WmiObject)

The first problem most WMI users encounter is trying to find out what can be done with WMI. WMI classes describe the resources that can be managed. There are hundreds of WMI classes, some of which contain dozens of properties.

Get-WmiObject addresses this problem by making WMI discoverable. You can get a list of the WMI classes available on the local computer by typing:

PS> Get-WmiObject -List


__SecurityRelatedClass                  __NTLMUser9X
__PARAMETERS                            __SystemSecurity
__NotifyStatus                          __ExtendedStatus
Win32_PrivilegesStatus                  Win32_TSNetworkAdapterSettingError
Win32_TSRemoteControlSettingError       Win32_TSEnvironmentSettingError
...

You can retrieve the same information from a remote computer by using the ComputerName parameter, specifying a computer name or IP address:

PS> Get-WmiObject -List -ComputerName 192.168.1.29


__SystemClass                           __NAMESPACE
__Provider                              __Win32Provider
__ProviderRegistration                  __ObjectProviderRegistration
...

The class listing returned by remote computers may vary due to the specific operating system the computer is running and the particular WMI extensions added by installed applications.

Note:

When using Get-WmiObject to connect to a remote computer, the remote computer must be running WMI and, under the default configuration, the account you are using must be in the local administrators group on the remote computer. The remote system does not need to have Windows PowerShell installed. This allows you to administer operating systems that are not running Windows PowerShell, but do have WMI available.

You can even include the ComputerName when connecting to the local system. You can use the local computer's name, its IP address (or the loopback address 127.0.0.1), or the WMI-style '.' as the computer name. If you are running Windows PowerShell on a computer named Admin01 with IP address 192.168.1.90, the following commands will all return the WMI class listing for that computer:

Get-WmiObject -List
Get-WmiObject -List -ComputerName .
Get-WmiObject -List -ComputerName Admin01
Get-WmiObject -List -ComputerName 192.168.1.90
Get-WmiObject -List -ComputerName 127.0.0.1
Get-WmiObject -List -ComputerName localhost

Get-WmiObject uses the root/cimv2 namespace by default. If you want to specify another WMI namespace, use the Namespace parameter and specify the corresponding namespace path:

PS> Get-WmiObject -List -ComputerName 192.168.1.29 -Namespace root


__SystemClass                           __NAMESPACE
__Provider                              __Win32Provider
...

If you already know the name of a WMI class, you can use it to get information immediately. For example, one of the WMI classes commonly used for retrieving information about a computer is Win32_OperatingSystem.

PS> Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_OperatingSystem -Namespace root/cimv2 -ComputerName .


SystemDirectory : C:\WINDOWS\system32
Organization    : Global Network Solutions
BuildNumber     : 2600
RegisteredUser  : Oliver W. Jones
SerialNumber    : 12345-678-9012345-67890
Version         : 5.1.2600

Although we are showing all of the parameters, the command can be expressed in a more succinct way. The ComputerName parameter is not necessary when connecting to the local system. We show it to demonstrate the most general case and remind you about the parameter. The Namespace defaults to root/cimv2, and can be omitted as well. Finally, most cmdlets allow you to omit the name of common parameters. With Get-WmiObject, if no name is specified for the first parameter, Windows PowerShell treats it as the Class parameter. This means the last command could have been issued by typing:

Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem

The Win32_OperatingSystem class has many more properties than those displayed here. You can use Get-Member to see all the properties. The properties of a WMI class are automatically available like other object properties:

PS> Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_OperatingSystem -Namespace root/cimv2 -ComputerName . | Get-Member -MemberType Property


   TypeName: System.Management.ManagementObject#root\cimv2\Win32_OperatingSyste
m

Name                                      MemberType Definition
----                                      ---------- ----------
__CLASS                                   Property   System.String __CLASS {...
...
BootDevice                                Property   System.String BootDevic...
BuildNumber                               Property   System.String BuildNumb...
...