There are many ways to automate (un)installation of MSIs, WMIC being one of them. Have you thought about a simpler approach, like a batch file that does:
rem Uninstall old program:
msiexec /qb /x {05EC21B8-4593-3037-A781-A6B5AFFCB19D}
rem Install new program:
msiexec /qb /i MyNewProgram.msi
(of course, replacing the GUID above with your program's GUID or Uninstall key name).
Or, you could use the Automation interface to the Windows Installer.
Or, you could use WMI via VBScript or PowerShell to accomplish the same thing as WMIC will do. But it looks like WMI might be a bit hosed.
I don't have a fix for what I'm seeing, but I do have a couple of things you can try. I recently spent a bit of time troubleshooting WMI issues, so maybe a couple of those same techniques will work here.
First, here is a VBScript that should output the same thing as product get name. Save it to a file getProductNames.vbs and execute it.
Option Explicit
Dim strComputer
Dim objWMIService, colProducts, objProduct
Dim arrstrProducts(), i
strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
Set colProducts = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * From Win32_Product")
i = 0
For Each objProduct in colProducts
ReDim Preserve arrStrProducts(i)
arrStrProducts(i) = objProduct.Name
i = i + 1
Next
WScript.Echo Join(arrStrProducts, vbNewLine)
Now, if that works, then try the same thing with wbemtest.
- Launch the
wbemtest program.
- Click
Connect...
- Change
root\default to root\cimv2, then click Connect.
- Click
Query...
- Enter
Select * from Win32_Product, then click Apply.
This should return a list of products. If it does, then WMI is probably fine, and something is up with WMIC. If the script worked, but this did not, try the following at a Command Prompt:
regsvr32 wbemdisp.dll
then run the wbemtest query again.
If neither the script nor the wbemtest work, then probably WMI is super hosed, and you'll have to repair it.
I don't know why WMIC wont work, but the powershell version does work:
$cred = get-credential tech1\xxxxx
(gwmi -comp 10.162.x.x -cred $cred Win32_OperatingSystem).Shutdown()
You'll be prompted for the password, there's no way around it prompting you for the password.
Best Answer
The first argument. 15 isn't valid. The one that works doesn't surprise me. The reason is that the first parameter is between 1 and 4 (inclusive). This is different from the first wmic code you show:
The first value in the parentheses 15 isn't a valid value. It must be 1, 2, 3, or 4. For detailed information about this, you can review this Microsoft article.