Quick Answer

Microsoft has removed the legacy WMIC (Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line) utility from Windows 11 version 24H2 and later, including Windows 11 25H2, beginning with the August 2026 servicing period. WMIC is also no longer available as a Windows Feature on Demand (FoD) on these versions.

This change removes the old:

wmic.exe

command-line utility. It does not remove Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) itself. WMI remains supported and continues to be used by Windows, applications, management products, PowerShell and administrative tools.

Administrators, developers and IT support professionals should migrate scripts that use WMIC to PowerShell CIM/WMI commands, particularly Get-CimInstance.

For example, instead of:

wmic bios get serialnumber

use:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SerialNumber

What Is WMIC?

WMIC stands for Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line.

It provided a command-line interface for querying and interacting with Windows Management Instrumentation.

For many years, administrators used commands such as:

wmic bios get serialnumber

wmic cpu get name

wmic computersystem get model

wmic os get caption,version

wmic logicaldisk get name,size,freespace

These commands were especially useful in:

• Batch files
• Login scripts
• Inventory scripts
• Hardware identification utilities
• Help-desk troubleshooting
• Software deployment scripts
• Remote administration
• Asset-management systems
• System-information utilities
• Automated Windows maintenance scripts

WMIC was convenient because useful system information could often be obtained with a single command.

However, WMIC is a legacy management interface and Microsoft has been moving Windows administration toward PowerShell and CIM-based management.

Is WMIC Really Removed from Windows 11?

Yes.

Microsoft currently documents WMIC as a removed Windows feature.

According to Microsoft, Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) has been removed from:

Windows 11 version 24H2 and above

with support removal listed as:

August 2026.

This includes Windows 11:

• Version 24H2
• Version 25H2
• Later applicable Windows 11 releases

Microsoft's August 27, 2026 Windows Message Center notice also tells organizations to prepare for WMIC removal and migrate applications, scripts, deployment tools and monitoring systems that depend on it.

Important distinction

The following has been removed:

WMIC / wmic.exe command-line utility

The following has not been removed:

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

These are not the same thing.

WMIC vs WMI: Do Not Confuse Them

This distinction is extremely important for administrators.

Component	Status	Purpose
WMIC / wmic.exe	Removed from Windows 11 24H2 and above as of August 2026	Legacy command-line interface
WMI	Still supported	Windows management infrastructure
CIM cmdlets	Supported	Modern PowerShell management interface
Get-CimInstance	Recommended replacement for many WMIC queries	Retrieves management information
Get-WmiObject	Older PowerShell approach	Legacy PowerShell WMI access

Therefore, statements such as:

“Microsoft removed WMI from Windows 11”

are incorrect.

Microsoft removed the WMIC command-line utility, not the underlying WMI infrastructure.

WMIC Removal Timeline

The removal did not happen suddenly.

Windows 10 21H1 — WMIC deprecated

Microsoft deprecated WMIC beginning with Windows 10 version 21H1.

Microsoft recommended moving from WMIC toward PowerShell-based WMI management.

Deprecation meant that WMIC was no longer considered the recommended technology, but it could continue to exist and work.

Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 — WMIC as Feature on Demand

WMIC existed as a Feature on Demand (FoD) and was preinstalled by default on Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2.

Windows 11 24H2 — transition away from WMIC

Microsoft moved further toward disabling/removing WMIC as part of the Windows 11 24H2 generation.

This resulted in some confusing information online because older documentation and earlier Windows 11 24H2 builds could behave differently from fully serviced systems.

August 2026 — WMIC fully removed

Microsoft's current documentation states:

WMIC is removed and is no longer available as a Feature on Demand on Windows 11 version 24H2 and above.

This is an important difference from earlier stages of the transition.

Can WMIC Be Reinstalled After August 2026?

For affected Windows 11 24H2-and-later systems, administrators should not plan on reinstalling WMIC as a Feature on Demand.

Microsoft specifically states that WMIC is:

no longer available as a Feature on Demand (FoD).

Therefore, older instructions telling users to reinstall WMIC through:

Settings → System → Optional Features

or through DISM may now be outdated for fully serviced affected systems.

This is especially important when reading troubleshooting articles written before August 2026.

The correct long-term solution is to replace WMIC dependencies rather than trying to restore WMIC.

How to Check Whether WMIC Exists on Your Computer

Open Command Prompt and enter:

wmic

or:

where wmic

If WMIC is unavailable, Windows may return an error similar to:

'wmic' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

You can also check from PowerShell:

Get-Command wmic -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

If no command is returned, WMIC is unavailable through the current command search path.

What Should Replace WMIC?

For most administrative scripts, Microsoft recommends migrating toward PowerShell.

One of the most useful commands is:

Get-CimInstance

Its basic syntax is:

Get-CimInstance ClassName

For example:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS

This queries the Win32_BIOS management class and returns BIOS information.

WMIC to PowerShell Command Alternatives

The following examples can help administrators migrate commonly used WMIC commands.

1. Get Computer Serial Number

Old WMIC command

wmic bios get serialnumber

PowerShell replacement

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SerialNumber

2. Get Computer Manufacturer and Model

Old WMIC

wmic computersystem get manufacturer,model

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem | Select-Object Manufacturer,Model

3. Get BIOS Information

Old WMIC

wmic bios get manufacturer,name,serialnumber,version

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object Manufacturer,Name,SerialNumber,Version

4. Get Processor Information

Old WMIC

wmic cpu get name

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | Select-Object Name

For additional information:

Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | Select-Object Name,NumberOfCores,NumberOfLogicalProcessors,MaxClockSpeed

5. Get Windows Version

Old WMIC

wmic os get caption,version,buildnumber

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem | Select-Object Caption,Version,BuildNumber

6. Get Installed RAM

Old WMIC

wmic computersystem get totalphysicalmemory

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem | Select-Object TotalPhysicalMemory

For RAM module information:

Get-CimInstance Win32_PhysicalMemory | Select-Object Manufacturer,PartNumber,Capacity,Speed,SerialNumber

7. Get Disk Drive Information

Old WMIC

wmic diskdrive get model,size,serialnumber

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_DiskDrive | Select-Object Model,Size,SerialNumber

8. Get Logical Drive Space

Old WMIC

wmic logicaldisk get name,size,freespace

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_LogicalDisk | Select-Object DeviceID,Size,FreeSpace

PowerShell also provides storage-specific cmdlets such as:

Get-Volume

and:

Get-Disk

depending on the information required.

9. Get Network Adapter Information

Old WMIC

wmic nic get name,macaddress

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_NetworkAdapter | Select-Object Name,MACAddress

For modern Windows network administration, also consider:

Get-NetAdapter

This usually provides more convenient Windows-specific network adapter information.

10. Get IP Configuration

Instead of constructing a WMIC query, PowerShell provides:

Get-NetIPConfiguration

For detailed IP address information:

Get-NetIPAddress

11. List Running Processes

Old WMIC

wmic process get name,processid

PowerShell

Get-Process

Or through CIM:

Get-CimInstance Win32_Process | Select-Object Name,ProcessId

12. List Services

Old WMIC

wmic service get name,state,startmode

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_Service | Select-Object Name,State,StartMode

For routine service administration, PowerShell also provides:

Get-Service

13. Get Motherboard Information

Old WMIC

wmic baseboard get manufacturer,product,serialnumber

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_BaseBoard | Select-Object Manufacturer,Product,SerialNumber

14. Get Computer UUID

Old WMIC

wmic csproduct get uuid

PowerShell

Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystemProduct | Select-Object UUID

Quick WMIC-to-PowerShell Reference Table

Information	Old WMIC	PowerShell Alternative
BIOS serial	wmic bios get serialnumber	Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS
Computer model	wmic computersystem get model	Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem
CPU	wmic cpu get name	Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor
RAM	wmic memorychip get capacity	Get-CimInstance Win32_PhysicalMemory
Physical disks	wmic diskdrive get model,size	Get-CimInstance Win32_DiskDrive
Logical disks	wmic logicaldisk get name,size,freespace	Get-CimInstance Win32_LogicalDisk
Windows information	wmic os get caption,version	Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem
Motherboard	wmic baseboard get product	Get-CimInstance Win32_BaseBoard
UUID	wmic csproduct get uuid	Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystemProduct
Processes	wmic process list brief	Get-Process / Get-CimInstance Win32_Process
Services	wmic service list brief	Get-Service / Get-CimInstance Win32_Service
Network adapters	wmic nic get name	Get-NetAdapter

Why Microsoft Removed WMIC

WMIC is a legacy utility that has existed for many generations of Windows.

Modern Windows administration increasingly relies on:

• PowerShell
• CIM cmdlets
• Dedicated Windows PowerShell modules
• Modern management APIs
• Microsoft Intune
• Windows management interfaces and automation frameworks

PowerShell provides structured objects instead of primarily text-formatted command output.

This is particularly valuable for automation.

For example:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SerialNumber

returns an object containing the SerialNumber property.

That object can easily be:

• Filtered
• Sorted
• Exported
• Converted to JSON
• Converted to CSV
• Passed to another PowerShell command
• Used programmatically

For example:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SerialNumber | Export-Csv C:\Temp\BIOS.csv -NoTypeInformation

This object-oriented pipeline is one of PowerShell's major advantages over legacy command-line tools.

What Happens to Old Batch Files Using WMIC?

This is one of the biggest practical consequences of the change.

Consider an old batch script containing:

for /f "skip=1" %%a in ('wmic bios get serialnumber') do set serial=%%a

If WMIC is no longer installed, the script can fail.

This can affect:

• .BAT files
• .CMD scripts
• Software installers
• Hardware inventory scripts
• Asset-management applications
• Help-desk utilities
• Deployment systems
• Logon scripts
• Monitoring software
• Custom business applications

Organizations should search existing scripts for references such as:

wmic

and:

wmic.exe

and replace them before deploying current Windows 11 servicing updates broadly.

Microsoft specifically recommends identifying applications, scripts, deployment tools and monitoring systems that use WMIC and migrating them to PowerShell or other supported WMI programming interfaces.

Calling PowerShell from an Existing Batch File

A complete rewrite of every batch file may not always be necessary immediately.

An existing batch file can invoke PowerShell.

For example:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "(Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS).SerialNumber"

This approach can be useful while gradually migrating legacy .BAT and .CMD scripts.

However, scripts should always be tested because PowerShell output formatting, quoting, encoding and error handling can behave differently from WMIC.

Get-CimInstance vs Get-WmiObject

Administrators may find older internet examples using:

Get-WmiObject

For example:

Get-WmiObject Win32_BIOS

While this was widely used with Windows PowerShell, new scripts should generally favor:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS

CIM cmdlets represent the more modern management approach and are preferable when updating legacy WMIC-based automation.

Therefore:

Recommended

Get-CimInstance

rather than designing new scripts around older WMI-specific PowerShell cmdlets.

Does WMIC Removal Affect WMI-Based Software?

Not necessarily.

An application using WMI APIs directly is different from an application that launches wmic.exe.

For example, software that internally queries:

Win32_BIOS

through supported WMI or CIM interfaces may continue working normally.

Software that executes:

wmic bios get serialnumber

as an external command can fail because it depends specifically on wmic.exe.

Therefore, software developers should determine how their application accesses WMI, rather than assuming that every WMI-based application is affected.

How Developers Should Prepare

Developers maintaining Windows applications should search source code for:

wmic

wmic.exe

Process.Start("wmic")

cmd /c wmic

and similar command execution patterns.

Replace them with an appropriate supported approach, such as:

• PowerShell CIM commands
• Native WMI APIs
• CIM APIs
• Windows management APIs
• Language-specific management libraries

Do not simply assume that wmic.exe will be available on a customer's Windows 11 computer.

How IT Administrators Should Prepare

Before deploying current Windows 11 updates throughout an organization, administrators should inventory dependencies on WMIC.

A practical migration plan is:

1. Search .BAT, .CMD, .PS1, installer and deployment scripts for wmic.
2. Identify applications that launch wmic.exe.
3. Document what information each WMIC command retrieves.
4. Find the corresponding CIM class or modern PowerShell cmdlet.
5. Rewrite the command.
6. Test output carefully.
7. Test under standard-user and administrator accounts where applicable.
8. Test remote-management scenarios separately.
9. Update deployment documentation.
10. Remove assumptions that WMIC can simply be reinstalled later.

This is particularly important in enterprise environments where old scripts may have been reused for many years.

Does Get-CimInstance Require Administrator Rights?

Not always.

Many read-only queries can run from a normal user account.

For example:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS

normally does not require opening PowerShell as Administrator simply to retrieve common BIOS information.

However, permissions depend on:

• The CIM/WMI class
• The operation being performed
• Local security policy
• Remote computer permissions
• UAC
• Firewall configuration
• WMI/CIM namespace security

Commands that modify system configuration are more likely to require administrative privileges.

Can I Copy WMIC.exe from Another Computer?

This is not recommended as a migration strategy.

WMIC should not be treated as a completely standalone portable executable whose supported functionality can be restored simply by copying wmic.exe.

It can depend on Windows components, providers, libraries and system integration.

More importantly, Microsoft has formally removed WMIC from affected Windows 11 versions.

The supported solution is to migrate the command or application, not manually copy legacy Windows binaries into the operating system.

Does This Affect Windows Server?

Do not automatically assume that every Windows Server version follows exactly the same removal schedule as Windows 11.

Microsoft originally deprecated WMIC for both Windows client and relevant Windows Server releases, but feature availability and removal timing can vary by product and version.

Administrators should verify Microsoft's documentation for the specific Windows Server release they manage rather than applying Windows 11 instructions blindly.

Common Error After WMIC Removal

You may encounter:

'wmic' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

If the system is a fully serviced Windows 11 24H2-or-later installation affected by the August 2026 removal, this may be expected behavior rather than Windows corruption.

Do not immediately run system repair tools simply because WMIC is missing.

First verify:

winver

and determine the installed Windows version and servicing level.

If WMIC was intentionally removed from that Windows release, commands such as SFC or DISM should not be expected to restore a deliberately removed Windows feature.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is WMIC removed from Windows 11?

Yes. Microsoft documents WMIC as removed from Windows 11 version 24H2 and above as of August 2026.

Is WMIC removed from Windows 11 24H2?

Yes. Microsoft's current documentation states that WMIC is removed from Windows 11 version 24H2 and above.

Is WMIC removed from Windows 11 25H2?

Yes. Windows 11 25H2 is included in the affected 24H2-and-above versions.

Is WMI also removed?

No.

Only the legacy WMIC command-line utility is affected. Windows Management Instrumentation itself remains supported.

Can I reinstall WMIC from Optional Features?

Older Windows builds allowed WMIC to be managed as a Feature on Demand. However, Microsoft's current documentation states that from August 2026 WMIC is no longer available as a Feature on Demand on Windows 11 24H2 and above.

What replaces WMIC?

For many administrative queries, PowerShell's CIM cmdlets are the preferred replacement.

A common replacement is:

Get-CimInstance

What replaces wmic bios get serialnumber?

Use:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SerialNumber

If you only want the value:

(Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS).SerialNumber

Will old WMIC scripts stop working?

Yes, scripts that specifically call wmic.exe can fail on systems where WMIC has been removed.

Should I use Get-WmiObject instead?

For newly migrated scripts, Get-CimInstance is generally the better choice.

Is a missing WMIC command evidence that Windows is damaged?

Not necessarily. On an affected Windows 11 24H2-or-later system, WMIC may be absent by design.

Can software still use WMI?

Yes. WMIC removal does not mean that Windows Management Instrumentation itself has been removed.

Final Recommendation / Conclusion

The removal of WMIC is an important change for Windows administrators, developers, support engineers and organizations maintaining legacy Windows automation.

Beginning with the August 2026 servicing period, Microsoft has removed WMIC from Windows 11 version 24H2 and above, and WMIC is no longer available as a Feature on Demand on affected systems.

The key point is:

WMIC is removed. WMI is not.

If you maintain scripts containing commands such as:

wmic bios get serialnumber

wmic cpu get name

wmic diskdrive get model

wmic computersystem get model

do not rely on WMIC remaining available.

Begin migrating these commands to PowerShell and CIM-based alternatives such as:

Get-CimInstance

For example:

Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS | Select-Object SerialNumber

Organizations should also audit older batch files, deployment systems, inventory utilities and internally developed applications for hidden dependencies on wmic.exe.

Updating those dependencies now will make administrative scripts considerably more resilient on current and future Windows 11 systems.

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