Unable to access Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

[This topic is intended to address a specific issue called out by the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool. You should apply it only to systems that have had the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool run against them and are experiencing that specific issue. The Exchange Server Analyzer Tool, available as a free download, remotely collects configuration data from each server in the topology and automatically analyzes the data. The resulting report details important configuration issues, potential problems, and nondefault product settings. By following these recommendations, you can achieve better performance, scalability, reliability, and uptime. For more information about the tool or to download the latest versions, see "Microsoft Exchange Analyzers" at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34707.]  

Topic Last Modified: 2011-05-22

The Microsoft Exchange Best Practices Analyzer examines the components that are available on the server to determine whether the prerequisites to install Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 are present. If the Best Practices Analyzer cannot access Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), or if the Best Practices Analyzer receives an error when it accesses the WMI provider, the tool logs the exception message, and then generates the following error message:

Exchange 2007 requires WMI to install successfully. If a problem exists with the WMI provider on the server, the Exchange 2007 installation will be unsuccessful.

To address this issue, verify that WMI is functioning correctly. For more information about how to obtain the WMI Diagnosis Utility to troubleshoot WMI, see The WMI Diagnosis Utility -- Version 2.0.