If you have searched for , you are likely encountering one of two problems. Either you are a legacy systems administrator trying to figure out why your old WMIC scripts have suddenly stopped working, or you are a modern developer looking for the new way to query system information without third-party tools.
Get-CimClass | Measure-Object Compare the number of classes available versus wmic /list /? . That is the power of the new way. Last updated: October 2025. Compatible with Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2025.
Example: Shutdown a remote computer.
# Old (Fragile) # wmic /node:"Server01" os get caption $cred = Get-Credential Get-CimInstance -ComputerName "Server01" -Credential $cred -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem B. Calling Methods (Actions) WMIC could technically call methods, but the syntax was horrific. PowerShell makes it natural.
<# .SYNOPSIS Modern inventory script (Replaces wmic /output:report.txt) .DESCRIPTION Gathers system info using CIM instead of deprecated WMIC. #> Write-Host "Gathering System Inventory (New CIM Method)..." -ForegroundColor Cyan $Inventory = [PSCustomObject]@ ComputerName = $env:COMPUTERNAME OS = (Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).Caption OSVersion = (Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).Version LastBoot = (Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime CPU = (Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor).Name Cores = (Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor).NumberOfCores RAM_GB = [math]::Round((Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem).TotalPhysicalMemory / 1GB, 2) Disk_C_Drive_GB = [math]::Round((Get-CimInstance Win32_LogicalDisk -Filter "DeviceID='C:'").Size / 1GB, 2) SerialNumber = (Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS).SerialNumber Output to screen $Inventory | Format-List Output to CSV (Better than WMIC /format) $Inventory | Export-Csv -Path "$env:COMPUTERNAME-Inventory.csv" -NoTypeInformation wmic help new
A: In the old system you used /format:csv . In the new system:
Updated for Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 If you have searched for , you are
# Get the OS object $os = Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem -ComputerName "PC-123" # Invoke the shutdown method Invoke-CimMethod -InputObject $os -MethodName Win32Shutdown -Arguments @Flags=4 WMIC couldn't do this natively without ugly scripts. Register-CimIndicationEvent lets you watch for new processes or USB drives.