The wmic command queries system information through aliases, operations and conditions and executes management tasks. 1. Enter wmic to enter the interactive environment or run the command directly; 2. Common aliases include computersystem, os, cpu, process, service, etc., which are used to obtain system, hardware, process and service information; 3. Use the where clause to filter the results, such as filtering by memory usage or service status; 4. Supports output formats such as list, csv, xml, etc., and is recommended to use in non-interactive mode; 5. Note that it is case-insensitive, does not support wildcards, but can be matched like, has slow performance, and has been replaced by PowerShell; 6. Enter exit at the wmic prompt to exit. Despite being deprecated, wmic is suitable for fast diagnostic and scripting tasks in PowerShell-free environments.

The wmic (Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line) utility is a powerful tool in Windows that allows you to query system information, management processes, services, hardware, and more—all from the command line. Although Microsoft has started deprecating wmic in favor of PowerShell, it's still available and widely used in many environments, especially for scripting and troubleshooting.

Here's how to use the wmic command effectively:

1. Accessing WMIC

Open Command Prompt with administrative or standard user privileges:

1. Press Win R , type cmd , and press Enter.
2. Type wmic and press Enter to enter the WMIC shell.

 C:\> wmic

You'll see the prompt change to wmic:root\cli> , indicating you're inside the WMIC environment.

Alternatively, you can run wmic commands directly without entering the shell:

 wmic [alias] [command] [parameters]

2. Common WMIC Aliases and Usage Examples

WMIC organizes system data into aliases , which represents different types of system components. Here are some of the most useful ones:

System Information (Computer System)

Get basic system details like model, manufacturer, and number of CPUs.

 wmic computersystem get name, manufacturer, model, numberofprocessors, totalphysicalmemory

Operating System Info

Check OS version, install date, and architecture.

 wmic os get caption, version, csdversion, installdate, osarchitecture

Processor Details

Get CPU name, number of cores, and clock speed.

 wmic cpu get name, numberofcores, maxclockspeed

Installed Hotfixes (Updates)

List all applied Windows updates.

 wmic qfe get caption, description, hotfixid, installedon

Useful for troubleshooting or verifying patch levels.

Running Processes

List all running processes or kill a process by name/PID.

• List processes:

   wmic process get name, processid, caption

• Kill a process by name (eg, notepad.exe):

   wmic process where name="notepad.exe" delete

• Kill by PID:

   wmic process where processid=1234 delete

Startup Programs

List programs that run at startup.

 wmic startup get caption, command, location

Service Management

Check service status or start/stop services.

• List all services:

   wmic service get name, displayname, state, startmode

• Start a service:

   wmic service where name="Spooler" call startservice

• Stop a service:

   wmic service where name="Spooler" call stopservice

Disk and Partition Info

Get details about logical disks and partitions.

• Disk drives:

   wmic logicaldisk get deviceid, volumename, freespace, size

• Partition info:

   wmic partition get deviceid, type, bootable, size

BIOS Information

Check BIOS version and manufacturer.

 wmic bios get serialnumber, manufacturer, smbiosbiosversion

Often used for asset tracking.

User Accounts

List local user accounts.

 wmic useraccount get name, disabled, localaccount, sid

Filter only local accounts:

 wmic useraccount where localaccount=true get name

3. Using Filters (WHERE Clause)

You can filter results using the where keyword, similar to SQL.

Examples:

• Find processes using more than 100 MB of memory:

   wmic process where "workingsetsize > 10000000" get name, workingsetsize

• Find services that are currently running:

   wmic service where state="running" get name, displayname

• Find a specific service:

   wmic service where name="winrm" get state, startmode

4. Output Formats

By default, WMIC outputs in table format. You can change the output format:

• List format:

   wmic /format:list os get caption, version

• CSV format:

   wmic /format:csv logicaldisk get deviceid, freespace > diskinfo.csv

• XML format:

   wmic /format:xml process get name > processes.xml

Note: Some formats may not work well in the WMIC shell—better used in direct command mode.

5. Tips and Limitations

• Case Insensitive : WMIC commands are generally case-insensitive.
• No Wildcards in WHERE : You can't use * in where clauses. Use like for pattern matching:

   wmic process where "name like 'chrome%'" get name, processid

• Performance : Some queries (eg, wmic process list full ) can be slow.
• Deprecated : Microsoft recommends using PowerShell (eg, Get-WmiObject , Get-CimInstance ) instead.

6. Exit WMIC Shell

If you entered the WMIC environment, type:

 exit

to return to the regular command prompt.

While wmic is being phased out, it remains a quick and effective tool for gathering system data and performing management tasks—especially in legacy scripts or environments where PowerShell isn't available.

Basically, just remember: wmic [alias] [verb] [where clause] [get/format] . Once you know a few key aliases, it becomes a fast way to pull system info without installing extra tools.

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