A memory leak issue occurs in the Windows Management Instrumentation service on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

On a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7, you use the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service to run some queries. Then, you notice that the memory usage of the WMI service keeps increasing and that system performance decreases. Additionally, you cannot restart the WMI service if other services that depend on the WMI service are currently in a running state.

For a sample scenario of this memory leak issue, see the "Sample scenario" section.

Note The WMI service runs in a Svchost.exe process. You can use the Process ID (PID) of this Svchost.exe process that hosts the WMI service to monitor its memory usage by using Task Manager or by using Resource Manager. To determine the related PID, open a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

tasklist -svc

This issue occurs because some allocated memory is not freed when the WMI service runs the "associator" queries.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, your computer must be running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7.

Registry information

To use the hotfix in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace a previously released hotfix.

File information

The Global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 file information notes

Important Windows 7 hotfixes and Windows Server 2008 R2 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, hotfixes on the Hotfix Request page are listed under both operating systems. To request the hotfix package that applies to one or both operating systems, select the hotfix that is listed under "Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2" on the page. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.

• The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows Server 2008 R2 and for Windows 7" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintaining the state of the updated component. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

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

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Sample scenario

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 and that has the Hyper-V role installed.
• You use the Hyper-V Manager console to create and to manage some virtual machines (VMs).
• You run a query under the following namespace by using the local computer or by using remote access:
  root\virtualization

In this scenario, a memory leak issue occurs in the WMI service.

Note This issue also occurs in other scenarios in which the WMI service is used to run queries.

Additional file information

Additional file information for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2

Additional files for all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2