How to Enable an Internet Connection When Sharing With a Damaged WMI

Windows Management Instrumentation is a desktop and server management component consisting of several individual extensions. When the computer is started, the WMI service is launched and all shared management applications communicate and use resource through each of the responsible extensions. WMI resources, such as remote management and network printing, are required to load when sharing an Internet Connection. If WMI is damaged, you will get an error message with no further recourse each time you try to enable the connection. Enable a shared Internet Connection with a damaged WMI by using the tools provided by the Windows Operating System to repair the component.

Instructions

System Restore

1. Click “Start.” Type “System Restore” in Search and press “Enter.” This opens the System Restore wizard in a new window.

2. Click the “Next” button at the bottom of the first dialog. Click the “Show more…” box on the following dialog. Look at the “Date and Time” column, and click to select a point in time before WMI was damaged. If you do not know when the problem occurred, click the earliest point available and click “Next.”

3. Click “Finish” on the Confirmation. The computer will automatically reboot and restore to the selected period. Try enabling the shared connection again. Continue reading if the problem continues.

Rebuild WMI Repository

1. Click “Start.” Type “CMD” in Search.

2. Right-click the “CMD.exe” search result and select “Run as Administrator.” This opens an elevated Command Prompt.

3. Type “net stop winmgmt” and press “Enter.” This stops the WMI service. Type “winmgmt /salvagerepository” and press “Enter.” This scans the WMI directory and rebuilds the files detected as inconsistent. Restart the computer and try to enable the connection. Continue reading if the problem still exists or if the utility reported no inconsistencies.

4. Open another elevated Command Prompt. Type “net stop winmgmt” and press “Enter” to stop the WMI service again. Type “CD /d %windir%\system32\wbem” and press “Enter.” This changes the active directory to the WBEM folder.

5. Type “ren repository repository.BAK” and press “Enter.” This renames the repository with the BAK extension.

6. Type or paste each individual command provided below and press “Enter.”

   mofcomp %windir%\system32\wbem\cimwin32.mof
   mofcomp %windir%\system32\wbem\cimwin32.mfl
   mofcomp %windir%\system32\wbem\rsop.mof
   mofcomp %windir%\system32\wbem\rsop.mfl

7. Type “net start winmgmt.” Press “Enter” and restart the computer. An entirely new repository directory is built. Continue reading if the problem still exists.

Safe Mode

1. Restart your PC.

2. Press the “F8” key repeatedly as soon as the initial screen disappears.

3. Press the “Down-Arrow” to highlight “Safe Mode” and press “Enter.”

Repair WMI Resources and Components

1. Boot into Windows Safe Mode. Open another elevated Command Prompt. Stop the WMI service again by entering the “net stop winmgmt” command.

2. Input each of the following five commands into the prompt and press “Enter” to unregister the resources.

   %systemroot%\system32\WBEM\WMIprvse /regserver /s /u
   Regsvr32 /s /u %SystemRoot%\System32\WMI.dll
   Regsvr32 /s /u %SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\Wbemupgd.dll
   Regsvr32 /s /u %SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\WMIsvc.dll
   Regsvr32 /s /u %SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\WMIcore.dll

3. Type each of these four commands and press “Enter” to scan and repair the resources.

   SFC /Scanfile=%SystemRoot%\System32\WMI.dll
   SFC /Scanfile=%SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\Wbemupgd.dll
   SFC /Scanfile=%SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\WMIsvc.dll
   SFC /Scanfile=%SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\WMIcore.dll

4. Type each of these five commands and press “Enter” to scan and register the resources.

   %systemroot%\system32\WBEM\WMIprvse /regserver /s
   Regsvr32 /s %SystemRoot%\System32\WMI.dll
   Regsvr32 /s %SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\Wbemupgd.dll
   Regsvr32 /s %SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\WMIsvc.dll
   Regsvr32 /s /u %SystemRoot%\System32\WBEM\WMIcore.dll

5. Type “net start winmgmt” and press “Enter” to restart the service. Restart your computer. Continue reading if there are still problems with the connection to learn how to restore the Windows network stack.

Repair Internet Protocol

1. Boot into Windows Safe Mode. Open the elevated command prompt.

2. Type “Netsh int ip reset” and press “Enter.”

3. Type “Netsh winsock reset catalog” and press “Enter.”

4. Restart your computer to apply changes.

References

• Microsoft MSDN: About WMI
• Microsoft TechNet: System File Checker
• Microsoft TechNet: Regsvr32
• Microsoft Windows: System Restore
• Microsoft Windows: Start your Computer in Safe Mode
• Microsoft TechNet: Net Start