Unable to start the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service?
Published: Sep 19, 2005Send your feedback
Symptom
When you attempt to start the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service, you may receive the following error message, and the service does not start:
Could not start the windows management instrumentation service on local computer.
Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start
Resolution
First, verify the number of dependencies attached to the WMI service. This can be viewed by running the following command from Start, Run:
CMD /K SC QC WINMGMT
The output should exactly as given below.
[SC] GetServiceConfig SUCCESS
SERVICE_NAME: winmgmt
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
START_TYPE : 2 AUTO_START
ERROR_CONTROL : 0 IGNORE
BINARY_PATH_NAME : C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs
LOAD_ORDER_GROUP :
TAG : 0
DISPLAY_NAME : Windows Management Instrumentation
DEPENDENCIES : RPCSS
SERVICE_START_NAME : LocalSystem
The only dependency is the RPCSS service, and it does run by default whenever you start Windows. If you have any other dependencies listed, then it may be the causing the problem. To remove the additional Dependencies, follow this:
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Before you modify the registry, backup the registry key by exporting the corresponding branch. Also, see here to learn how to perform a complete registry backup.
- Click Start, Run and type Regedit.exe
- Navigate to the following location
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services\ winmgmt
- Double-click DependOnService and set it's Value data to RPCSS
- Close Regedit and restart Windows
