Before being just a command-line tool, WMIC used to provide a complete Graphical User Interface (GUI). However, Microsoft announced that the WMIC UI has been deprecated in Windows 10 version 21H1, and will be deprecated in the following releases as well. This was because it was being superseded by Windows PowerShell for WMI. That said, the WMI tool is still usable from the Windows command line. If you are reading this, it is probably because you tried executing a WMIC cmdlet on your system but have ended up with the following error message instead: This error message does not occur because the tool is deprecated, but it can be due to another reason.
Why is WMIC Not Recognized
If you see the error stated above, it can be due to 2 primary reasons:
The Windows Management Instrumentation service is not running.The environmental variable for WMIC no longer exists.
There could be a third reason, which is corrupted system files on your computer. These can be repaired using DISM and SFC command-line tools. Let us now discuss how to address the other 2 issues and get the WMIC tool working again.
Enable and Start Windows Management Instrumentation Service
First, make sure that the dependency service for WMIC, which is Windows Management Instrumentation, is running. To do so, follow these steps: Now check to see if you can run the WMIC cmdlet. If not, then continue to perform the solution given below.
Create Environment Variable for WMIC
As we mentioned above, another reason for the “WMIC not recognized as an internal or external command” is the missing environmental variable. Therefore simply entering the wmic.exe will be insufficient as Windows will not understand which EXE file to run. You can overcome this problem by either providing the complete path to the WMIC.exe file (given below) or manually creating the environmental variable. However, if you choose to enter the complete path, you will need to do so each time you want to run the WMIC tool. Therefore, we suggest that you create the variable to save time and effort in the long run. Once it reboots, you should now no longer experience the same error again. Once done, click OK.
Final Thoughts
Some people may have been confused, and maybe even upset after hearing that WMIC was deprecated. However, after reading this post, you will have understood that that’s not the case. Furthermore, some guidelines online even suggest that you reinstall WMIC through the Optional Features available from the Settings app in Windows 11. Let us inform you that the method no longer works, as Microsoft has also removed WMIC from the Optional Features. Also see:
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