MSINFO32.exe stopped working!

[Clark]

When I start msinfo32.exe (in any of several ways) I get a "Can't Collect
Information" message. Says it can't access the WMI software. Windows
Management files may be moved or missing.

I tried checking the 3 services to see if they were running (WMI, RPC, Event
Log) and they were, but no luck.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Clark

 

[Thorsten Matzner]

When I start msinfo32.exe (in any of several ways) I get a "Can't Collect
Information" message. Says it can't access the WMI software. Windows
Management files may be moved or missing.

See "Msinfo32.exe Generates a "Can't Collect Information" Error
Message" (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=323209).

 

[Clark]

Some more info, when I check the WMI control, under properties it states:

Win32_Processor: WMI: Provider load failure
Win32_WMISetting: Successful
Security information: Successful
Win32_OperatingSystem: WMI: Provider load failure

As I mentioned, I tried the fix in the Knowledge base, and unless I am doing
something wrong, it did not help. If anyone knows which files I should
check, please let me know.

I have had several Blue Screens caused by a Serial to USB converter problem.

Clark

 

[Clark]

I tried that fix. If I did it correctly, all the services are running. I
probably turned something off that I need on.

Thanks,
Clark

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Click Start, Run and enter SFC /SCANNOW Have your Windows XP CD handy. It may prompt you a number of times that a file can't be found or accessed. Just click Retry.

 

[Clark]

Thanks Doug, I did that this afternoon, no change (except my video driver
went south). I got no messages or prompts.

I noticed that when I check Services properties, that no dependencies are
shown, and I know that isn't right. It is probably broken for the same
reason as msinfo32.

Any chance this is related to the Blaster Worm fix? I know it affected RPC.

Clark

Click Start, Run and enter SFC /SCANNOW Have your Windows XP CD handy. It
may prompt you a number of times that a file can't be found or accessed.
Just click Retry.

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Blaster affected the RPC service by trying to exploit a security flaw in it. The attempted attacks would cause the service to crash. You can check the settings for it, and make sure that its set to Started and Autotmatic. As far as Dependencies, the WMI service is dependent upon the Event Log and RPC service being started and running. The Event Log Service is dependent on the RPC service to function correctly. A number of services depend on the RPC service, but it does not have any services that it depends on to function.

There is an article on how to adjust the service dependencies manually, but I can't locate it right now.

 

[Clark]

Thanks Doug, I just did an upgrade/reinstall and the msinfo32 is working
again. I checked all the things you mentioned but could not find the
problem. I will keep your response and if it quits on me again I will try
to determine what happened. The upgrade said it was downloading an updated
version of setup.exe, so I am not sure where I stand in regard to critical
updates. Right now I show none of the updates loaded, so if I install one
and the problems returns, I will advise.

Thanks,
Clark

Blaster affected the RPC service by trying to exploit a security flaw in it.
The attempted attacks would cause the service to crash. You can check the
settings for it, and make sure that its set to Started and Autotmatic. As
far as Dependencies, the WMI service is dependent upon the Event Log and RPC
service being started and running. The Event Log Service is dependent on
the RPC service to function correctly. A number of services depend on the
RPC service, but it does not have any services that it depends on to
function.

There is an article on how to adjust the service dependencies manually, but
I can't locate it right now.
--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com