System Information - Error: Cannot Collect Information

[Sam]

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 computer with windows XP Pro (SP2), with all of
the current security updates installed. When trying to open system
information, I can get the applicable dialog box to come up on the monitor.
However, even though the left pane subject listing is okay, the right pane
has the following error message:

Can't Collect
Information
Access denied in Windows Management Instrumentation server on this
computer. Have an administrator change your access permission.

The only options available to me on the dialog box is the X on the top right
corner, or the Close Find button on the bottom right corner. I checked the
Service status for the Windows Management Instrumentation and found the
following: under the status column, it was Started, and under startup type
column, it was Automatic.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated, Sam.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

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

If that does not help, try these commands from Start/Run:

regsvr32 %Windir%\system32\wbem\wbemprox.dll
regsvr32 %Windir%\system32\wbem\wbemcore.dll
regsvr32 %Windir%\system32\wbem\wbemsvc.dll
regsvr32 %Windir%\system32\wbem\fastprox.dll

Reinstalling WMI:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/wmisdk/wmi/reinstalling_wmi.asp

--
Ramesh Srinivasan
MS-MVP, Windows Shell

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

 

[Sam]

Thanks very much for the suggested information.

(1) Using the information given in
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=323209, when opening windows XP services,
I found the Event log, Windows Management Instrumentation, and Remote
Procedure Call (RPC), all were Started and the Startup Type was Automatic.
(2) I was able to successfully register the four dll files that was listed,
and (3) Reinstalling WMI
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/wmisdk/wmi/reinstalling_wmi.asp), I
followed all of the procedures for deleting the Repository Directory (and
rebooted). Unfortunately, none of the procedures solved my existing
problem.

Would very much appreciate any further suggestions, Sam

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Here is another comprehensive repair method by Kenniah.

<quote>

If it is WMI causing the problem, you can reregister it by going to a CMD
prompt and typing...

cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem

for %i in (*.dll) do RegSvr32 -s %i

for %i in (*.exe) do %i /RegServer

</quote>

--
Ramesh Srinivasan
MS-MVP, Windows Shell

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

 

[Sam]

Thanks again for the information and timely reply. I tried the suggested
reregister commands but could not get the them to work. Below is the error
I received in command prompt when trying to run the suggested commands.


Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Sam>cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>%i in (*.dll) do RegSvr32 -s %i
'%i' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM> exit


Any further suggestions would again be very much appreciated, Sam.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Sam,

Please run the commands exactly as quoted before. You did not include the
word "for "

--
Ramesh Srinivasan
MS-MVP, Windows Shell

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

Thanks again for the information and timely reply. I tried the suggested
reregister commands but could not get the them to work. Below is the
error I received in command prompt when trying to run the suggested
commands.


Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Sam>cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>%i in (*.dll) do RegSvr32 -s %i
'%i' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM> exit


Any further suggestions would again be very much appreciated, Sam.

Here is another comprehensive repair method by Kenniah.

<quote>

If it is WMI causing the problem, you can reregister it by going to a CMD
prompt and typing...

cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem

for %i in (*.dll) do RegSvr32 -s %i

for %i in (*.exe) do %i /RegServer

</quote>

--
Ramesh Srinivasan
MS-MVP, Windows Shell

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

 

[Sam]

Need a new pair of glasses!! I tried the commands again and I still have
the same problem with System Information. Below is the results of the
command prompt entries. I noticed entry "RegServer' not found"
after the second line command. Could this be of significance? Also, when
running the
second command line, the Windows Management Instrumentation Tester dialog
box
came up. Had not seen this dialog box before so decided to just click on
the Connect
button. I did this three times and after the third time, the dialog box
changed back to
the same one as the initial second dialog box. So I clicked on the Cancel
button. I tried the
System Information function again and the same error still exists. Darn
computer!! Any
further help would be very much appreciated, Sam.



Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Sam>cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>for %i in (*.dll) do RegSvr32 -s %i

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s cimwin32.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s cmdevtgprov.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s DSPROV.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s esscli.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s evntrprv.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s fastprox.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s framedyn.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s FWDPROV.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s krnlprov.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s mofd.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s MSIPROV.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s ncprov.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s ntevt.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s policman.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s provthrd.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s repdrvfs.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s SMTPCONS.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s stdprov.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s TMPLPROV.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s TRNSPROV.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s UPDPROV.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s viewprov.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s WBEMADS.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemcntl.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemcomn.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemcons.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemcore.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemdisp.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemess.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemperf.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemprox.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemsvc.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wbemupgd.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s WINMGMTR.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmiapres.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmiaprpl.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmicookr.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmidcprv.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s WMIMSG.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmipcima.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmipdskq.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s WMIPICMP.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmipiprt.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmipjobj.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmiprov.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmiprvsd.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmipsess.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmisvc.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s WMITIMEP.DLL

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>RegSvr32 -s wmiutils.dll

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>for %i in (*.exe) do %i /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>mofcomp.exe /RegServer
Microsoft (R) 32-bit MOF Compiler Version 5.1.2600.2180
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corp. 1997-2001. All rights reserved.
File '/RegServer' not found!

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>scrcons.exe /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>UNSECAPP.EXE /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>wbemtest.exe /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>WINMGMT.EXE /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>wmiadap.exe /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>wmiapsrv.exe /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>wmic.exe /RegServer
Invalid Global Switch.

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>wmiprvse.exe /RegServer

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM>

 

[Sam]

Thanks very much for your reply. I went back to a an image file (Symantec
Livestate Desktop backup) that I made about three months ago when the System
Information function was working okay and restored the index.dat file to the
Offlinecache folder on my computer. Unfortunately it did not solve the
problem.

Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated, Sam.

Try putting this file [Index.dat] in this directory.
C:\Windows\Pchealth\Helpctr\Offlinecache\

Mo

Need a new pair of glasses!! I tried the commands again and I still have
the same problem with System Information. Below is the results of the
command prompt entries. I noticed entry "RegServer' not found"
after the second line command. Could this be of significance? Also,
when
running the
second command line, the Windows Management Instrumentation Tester dialog
box
came up. Had not seen this dialog box before so decided to just click on
the
Connect
button. I did this three times and after the third time, the dialog box
changed back to
the same one as the initial second dialog box. So I clicked on the
Cancel
button. I tried the
System Information function again and the same error still exists. Darn
computer!! Any
further help would be very much appreciated, Sam.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Sam,

As you have the drive image utility at present, you may try taking a cmplete
image and try the suggestions mentioned here:

http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/Helpfix.txt

That fix was originally written for Help and Support Center problems, but
I've noticed that it fixes msinfo32 issues by re-creating the index.dat and
other dependencies. If you encounter any problems, then revert back to the
old configuration ( image created using Livestate Desktop backup )

Apart from that, a repair installation might help:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
(If you've SP2 installed already, make sure you use an XP + SP2 slipstreamed
CD for repair installation)

--
Ramesh, MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

Thanks very much for your reply. I went back to a an image file (Symantec
Livestate Desktop backup) that I made about three months ago when the
System Information function was working okay and restored the index.dat
file to the Offlinecache folder on my computer. Unfortunately it did not
solve the problem.

Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated, Sam.

Try putting this file [Index.dat] in this directory.
C:\Windows\Pchealth\Helpctr\Offlinecache\

Mo

Need a new pair of glasses!! I tried the commands again and I still
have
the same problem with System Information. Below is the results of the
command prompt entries. I noticed entry "RegServer' not found"
after the second line command. Could this be of significance? Also,
when
running the
second command line, the Windows Management Instrumentation Tester
dialog box
came up. Had not seen this dialog box before so decided to just click
on the
Connect
button. I did this three times and after the third time, the dialog box
changed back to
the same one as the initial second dialog box. So I clicked on the
Cancel
button. I tried the
System Information function again and the same error still exists. Darn
computer!! Any
further help would be very much appreciated, Sam.

 

[Sam]

Ramesh, many thanks for your multiple suggestions in trying to resolve my
problem!! I will try your suggestions mentioned below. In the last few
weeks, in thinking about this problem and visiting Kelly's Korner web site,
I kind of suspected that I might have to face the repair install and so I
did make the XP+ SP2 slipstreamed CD. I even checked it out to see if it
would bootup my computer and it did.

The strange thing about my computer, it works okay in every other aspect
that I can tell, except for the System Information function. Since this
appears to be a common problem, I would think that Microsoft would be
interested in coming up with a common fix for the problem. Thanks again for
your effort. Have a good weekend, Sam.

Sam,

As you have the drive image utility at present, you may try taking a
cmplete image and try the suggestions mentioned here:

http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/Helpfix.txt

That fix was originally written for Help and Support Center problems, but
I've noticed that it fixes msinfo32 issues by re-creating the index.dat
and other dependencies. If you encounter any problems, then revert back to
the old configuration ( image created using Livestate Desktop backup )

Apart from that, a repair installation might help:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
(If you've SP2 installed already, make sure you use an XP + SP2
slipstreamed CD for repair installation)

--
Ramesh, MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

Thanks very much for your reply. I went back to a an image file
(Symantec Livestate Desktop backup) that I made about three months ago
when the System Information function was working okay and restored the
index.dat file to the Offlinecache folder on my computer. Unfortunately
it did not solve the problem.

Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated, Sam.

Try putting this file [Index.dat] in this directory.
C:\Windows\Pchealth\Helpctr\Offlinecache\

Mo
Need a new pair of glasses!! I tried the commands again and I still
have
the same problem with System Information. Below is the results of the
command prompt entries. I noticed entry "RegServer' not found"
after the second line command. Could this be of significance? Also,
when
running the
second command line, the Windows Management Instrumentation Tester
dialog box
came up. Had not seen this dialog box before so decided to just click
on the
Connect
button. I did this three times and after the third time, the dialog
box
changed back to
the same one as the initial second dialog box. So I clicked on the
Cancel
button. I tried the
System Information function again and the same error still exists.
Darn
computer!! Any
further help would be very much appreciated, Sam.

 

[=?Windows-1252?B?1L/UIE13cw==?=]

One last thing: See if you have these two registry keys. NOTE They must have the
\1 and \2 present.

Mo

Ramesh, many thanks for your multiple suggestions in trying to resolve my
problem!! I will try your suggestions mentioned below. In the last few
weeks, in thinking about this problem and visiting Kelly's Korner web site, I
kind of suspected that I might have to face the repair install and so I did
make the XP+ SP2 slipstreamed CD. I even checked it out to see if it would
bootup my computer and it did.

The strange thing about my computer, it works okay in every other aspect that
I can tell, except for the System Information function. Since this appears to
be a common problem, I would think that Microsoft would be interested in
coming up with a common fix for the problem. Thanks again for your effort.
Have a good weekend, Sam.

Sam,

As you have the drive image utility at present, you may try taking a cmplete
image and try the suggestions mentioned here:

http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/Helpfix.txt

That fix was originally written for Help and Support Center problems, but
I've noticed that it fixes msinfo32 issues by re-creating the index.dat and
other dependencies. If you encounter any problems, then revert back to the
old configuration ( image created using Livestate Desktop backup )

Apart from that, a repair installation might help:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
(If you've SP2 installed already, make sure you use an XP + SP2 slipstreamed
CD for repair installation)

--
Ramesh, MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

Thanks very much for your reply. I went back to a an image file (Symantec
Livestate Desktop backup) that I made about three months ago when the System
Information function was working okay and restored the index.dat file to the
Offlinecache folder on my computer. Unfortunately it did not solve the
problem.

Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated, Sam.


Try putting this file [Index.dat] in this directory.
C:\Windows\Pchealth\Helpctr\Offlinecache\

Mo
Need a new pair of glasses!! I tried the commands again and I still have
the same problem with System Information. Below is the results of the
command prompt entries. I noticed entry "RegServer' not found"
after the second line command. Could this be of significance? Also,
when
running the
second command line, the Windows Management Instrumentation Tester dialog
box
came up. Had not seen this dialog box before so decided to just click on
the
Connect
button. I did this three times and after the third time, the dialog box
changed back to
the same one as the initial second dialog box. So I clicked on the Cancel
button. I tried the
System Information function again and the same error still exists. Darn
computer!! Any
further help would be very much appreciated, Sam.

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

All the best to you Sam.

--
Ramesh, MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User

Windows XP Troubleshooting
http://www.winhelponline.com

Windows XP Newsgroup Setup Instructions for Outlook Express:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

 

[frodo]

Do you have the DCOM Server Process Launcher service disabled? It must be
running for SI to work. Many people disable this service thinking it is
"bad" because it has the word DCOM in it. [Oopps, like me ;-) Only
discovered that I did need it when, like you, SI stopped working!]

 

[Sam]

Thanks very much for your reply. I checked Services and the DCOM Server
process Launcher service, Status was Started, and the Startup Type was
Automatic. Something different about this service was that it did not have
the options for stop and restart actions, like some of the other services.
I suspect it must be a very critical service that would not allow the stop
feature in windows?? Any other suggestions, would be very much appreciated,
Sam.