Command Line

Legacy WMIC Basics and Modern Replacements

Understand common WMIC inventory commands and their supported PowerShell CIM replacements.

Updated September 2, 2026Difficulty: EasyTime: 7 minApplies to: Windows, Windows 10, Windows 11

Follow the steps in order and stop if the screen or target does not match what is described. Use administrator access only when the task requires it.

Check availability

Do not attempt to reinstall WMIC on current Windows. Existing older systems may still contain wmic.exe.

Legacy: wmic os get Caption,Version,BuildNumber. Modern replacement:

Command

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

Legacy: wmic computersystem get Manufacturer,Model. Modern replacement:

Command

Get-CimInstance Win32_ComputerSystem | Select-Object Manufacturer, Model

Legacy: wmic logicaldisk get DeviceID,Size,FreeSpace. Modern replacement:

Command

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

Replace WMIC parsing with structured CIM objects. Test on every supported Windows version before deployment.

The wmic.exe command-line tool is removed; the WMI infrastructure and PowerShell CIM cmdlets remain available.