Retrieving objects with Get-WMIObject
If you know the name of a class and what namespace that class belongs to, it is simple to retrieve the class using the Get-WMIObject
cmdlet. For instance, there is a class that describes the installed operating system called Win32_OperatingSystem
contained in the default (root\CIMV2
) namespace. To retrieve this class, either of these command-lines will work:
Get-WMIObject –class Win32_OperatingSystem Get-WMIObject –class Win32_OperatingSystem –namespace root\CIMV2
The output here is formatted, so you will probably want to use Select-Object –property *
to see all the properties. In this case, there are 73 properties, which are too many for a screenshot.
Tip
You try it!
Use Get-WMIObject
with the Win32_OperatingSystem
class and look through the properties. You might make a note of the properties that you think would be useful. As you use WMI (and CIM) more and more, you will find a number of classes and properties that you will come back to over and over...