Error Description

This error occurs when the Windows Remote Management (WinRM / WS-Management) service attempts to query the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) repository but receives corrupt, invalid, or malformed data. Because WinRM relies heavily on WMI to gather system configuration and status information, any corruption in the WMI repository or an issue with the WMI provider components will immediately break the WS-Management communication channel. This problem is common during remote PowerShell sessions (PSSession), system management tasks, or when monitoring tools attempt to poll the Windows operating system.

Step-by-Step Fixes

Follow these solutions in order. Move to the next step only if the previous one does not resolve the issue.

Step 1: Restart the WinRM and WMI Services

Sometimes the error is caused by a temporary glitch or a locked process in memory. Restarting both services can quickly clear the state.

1. Press Windows Key + X and select Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Type the following command to stop the WinRM service and press Enter:

   net stop winrm

3. Type the following command to stop the WMI service and press Enter:

   net stop winmgmt

4. Type the following command to start the WMI service and press Enter:

   net start winmgmt

5. Type the following command to start the WinRM service and press Enter:

   net start winrm

Step 2: Check and Verify WMI Repository Consistency

If restarting the services does not work, the WMI repository itself might have structural corruption. Windows has built-in tools to check for this.

1. Open Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Run the following command to check the health of the WMI repository:

   winmgmt /verifyrepository

3. Look at the output:
   • If it says "Repository is consistent", the database structure is fine, and you should proceed to Step 4 to reregister components.
   • If it says "Repository is inconsistent", the database is corrupted. Proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Salvage or Rebuild the WMI Repository

If the repository was flagged as inconsistent, you need to repair it.

1. In the Command Prompt (Admin), run the salvage command first. This attempts to read the corrupt database and rebuild it safely:

   winmgmt /salvagerepository

2. Restart your computer and test if the error is gone.
3. If the error persists or the salvage command fails, you must perform a hard reset of the repository by running:

   winmgmt /resetrepository

4. Restart your computer again. Note that a reset returns WMI to its default state, so any third-party software that added custom WMI classes may need to be reinstalled if they stop working.

Step 4: Re-register WMI Modules and Components

If the repository is consistent but the error remains, the DLL files or WMI provider compilation files (.mof files) might be unregistered in the Windows registry.

1. Open Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Switch to the WMI directory by typing:

   cd %windir%\system32\wbem

3. Re-register all WMI dynamic link libraries (.dll files) by running:

   for /f %s in ('dir /b *.dll') do regsvr32 /s %s

4. Recompile all WMI provider files (.mof files) into the repository by running:

   for /f %s in ('dir /b *.mof *.mfl') do mofcomp %s

5. Reboot the computer to ensure all registrations take effect in the system kernel.

Step 5: Reset the WinRM Configuration

If WMI is completely healthy but the WS-Management service still throws the error, the WinRM configuration itself could be broken.

1. Open Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Reset the WinRM configuration to factory defaults by running:

   winrm quickconfig

3. Type y (Yes) when prompted to make the required changes to the firewall and operational rules.