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Error message when you open SQL Server Configuration Manager in SQL Server 2008: "Cannot connect to WMI provider. You do not have permission or the server is unreachable"

Article ID: 956013 - View products that this article applies to.

Symptoms

On a 64-bit computer, you install an instance of the 32-bit (x86-based) version of Microsoft SQL Server 2008. On the same computer, you install an instance of the 64-bit version of SQL Server 2008. If you then uninstall the 64-bit instance, you receive the following error message when you open SQL Server Configuration Manager:

Cannot connect to WMI provider. You do not have permission or the server is unreachable. Note that you can only manage SQL Server 2005 and later servers with SQL Server Configuration Manager.
Invalid namespace [0x8004100e]

This problem also occurs if you uninstall the 32-bit instance, and you then open SQL Server Configuration Manager.

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Cause

This problem occurs because the WMI provider is removed when you uninstall an instance of SQL Server 2008. The 32-bit instance and the 64-bit instance of SQL Server 2008 share the same WMI configuration file. This file is located in the %programfiles(x86)% folder.

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Workaround

To work around this problem, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

mofcomp "%programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Shared\sqlmgmproviderxpsp2up.mof"

Note For this command to succeed, the sqlmgmproviderxpsp2up.mof file must be present in the %programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Shared folder.

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Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

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More information

Installing a 32-bit instance of SQL Server 2008 in a 64-bit cluster environment is not supported. For more information about the Microsoft SQL Server support policy, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

327518

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327518/ )

The Microsoft SQL Server support policy for Microsoft Clustering

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