Hi RamonetB

I was a whole week struggling with a messy wmi (same error message, but
with w2k3 server, plus not showing the properies of the system) and your
hint has repaired it!! Thanks!!!

RamonetB;3499202 Wrote:
Hello guys,

Not sure if this has found a solution yet or not on this forum, but
I've been experiencing the same problem and have finally found a
solution (Reinstalling is not a acceptable solution). To avoid
exposition, scroll down to "THE FIX."

Turns out Vista is notoriously fragile in keeping permissions straight
in its head between crashes, software installations, and even reboots.

Cat Megex first pointed me in the right direction with the WMI Local
service, specifically with the information that "Access is Denied " to
Win_32 Processor and Operating System classes. This reeked of the same
problems that exist with being unable to access the Network Settings
menus, browsing the network, and that dread red "X" on the network
icon.
That was a permissions issue fixable by adding the NT Authority/Local
Service to the administrators group (which, oddly enough, it wasn't a
member of to begin with, so this "fix" is a black patch at best).

A little further investigation revealed that typing MSINFO32 at the
command prompt (to bring up the system information) would yield the
error:

"Can't Collect Information. Cannot access the Windows Management
Instrumentation software. Windows Management files may be moved or
missing."

These errors are related and, it turns out, this issue is also a
permissions, solved by another black patch of sorts.
_
*_THE_FIX:*_

You must add "SERVICE" to the administrators group. This will give
permissions back to the system to access the WMI classes as well as
allowing MSINFO32 to access them.

Two ways to do this:
_
Simple_/_Long_way_(Vista_Business,_Enterprise,_Ultimate_us ers_only):_
- Access the MMC (microsoft management console) by right clicking on
"My Computer" and select "Manage."
- In the window that appears, along the left hand column, select
"Local Users and Groups."
- The center window will now show a listing of groups and users on
the computer. Click the Groups Tab to open it up.
- Double click Administrators to add a a user to the group.
- Press the "Add" button at the bottom of the new window.
- The window that follows allows you to add users and services to the
administrator group. MAKE SURE THE BOX TITLED "From this Location"
LISTS YOUR COMPUTER NAME AND not YOUR DOMAIN. If it isn't your
computer name, Press the "Locations" button and select your computer.
We want to add a LOCAL (ie, your computer) service to the group.
- In the bottom box, titled "Enter the object names to select," type
SERVICE.
- Press the "Check Names" button and it should verify the name is
correct.
- Press the "Ok" button on the all windows to get back to the
management console.
- THAT'S IT! You may have to reboot to get the information in the
"Show me more details" window to
appear._Technical_/_Quick_way_(All_Vista_users):_

Unfortunately, Vista home editions do not have a management console.
Thusly, we must add the group via the command prompt. This method is
quicker, though more technical.
- Goto the start menu and LOCATE your command prompt (should be under
Accessories).
- Right click on it and select "Run as Administrator."
- At the command prompt, type the following: net localgroup
"Administrators" "NT Authority\Service"
/add

And press Enter.
THAT'S IT! You're done! Again, you may have to reboot.

As an aside, you may also be able use the following line:

net localgroup Administrators /add Service

They technically mean the same thing, but the first one is a
little more thorough and should reduce the risk of Vista getting
confused with something or another service.

Hope that helps you all! Spread the word and no more reinstalling!

-kirk

P.S. I'm running SP1 RC with my Vista and it didn't prevent this issue
or the Networking one either. Here's hoping the final version fixes
it!


--
RamonetB

Once, I thought I was wrong. I was mistaken...


--
brambila
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