The Windows Management Instrumentation service may not respond in Windows 2000 (919862)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

SYMPTOMS

On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 2000, the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service may not respond. When this problem occurs, tasks that use the WMI service do not work. You must restart the computer to recover from this problem.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because a race condition in the Provthrd.dll file causes a deadlock. Therefore, the WMI service stops responding.

RESOLUTION

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[LN];CNTACTMS

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must have Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) installed.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.
File nameFile versionFile sizeDateTimePlatform
Ntevt.dll1.50.1085.6968196,68821-Jul-200609:41x86
Provthrd.dll1.50.1085.710577,91921-Jul-200609:41x86

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use Task Manager to stop the Winmgmt.exe process. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, and then click Task Manager.
  2. Click the Processes tab.
  3. In the list of processes, click the Winmgmt.exe process, click End Process, and then click Yes.
  4. Exit Task Manager.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about how hotfix packages are named, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

816915 New file naming schema for Microsoft Windows software update packages

For more information about the terms that are used in this article, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:8/14/2006
Keywords:kbBug kbfix kbQFE kbWin2000preSP5fix kbhotfixserver kbpubtypekc KB919862 kbAudITPRO
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