We’ve been looking at a number of tools for exploring WMI. The last one I want to discuss is actually a PowerShell script, but it won’t feel like any PowerShell script you’ve run before. The WMI Explorer was written back in the days of PowerShell 1.0, I believe, by former PowerShell MVP Marc van Orsouw, more familiarly known as MoW.
In my previous article I demonstrated how to use the free WMI Tools from Microsoft for exploring WMI. One of the downsides is that they aren’t officially supported for any current operating system and rely on an older version of Internet Explorer. Another option is the free WMI Explorer from SAPIEN Technologies.
In previously published articles I demonstrated how to use the free WBEMTest utility to validate connectivity and credentials. While you can use WBEMTest to browse namespaces, classes and instances it is hardly intuitive. You are better off with a WMI Explorer or Browser.