>>>>
>>>>Thanks, I've never felt comfortable that the WMI will always be available. I may be wrong, but it can be disabled, can't it?
>>>
>>>Yes. But... https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa826517(v=vs.85).aspx
>>
>>Yes, but I do not want to start something on a client's PC that their IT people have disabled, even if it's only temporarily.
>
>Considering that (keep in mind that this is how the Operating System works, it's nothing specific of your application)
>
>WMI runs automatically at system startup under the LocalSystem account. If WMI is not running, it automatically starts when the first management application or script requests connection to a WMI namespace
>
>it's kind of tilt at windmills to expect to have WMI services quiet down during current system operations (that is, the scenario in which a desktop application normally runs).

Maybe I am associating this with Windows Script Host which used to be disabled by IT departments regularly. Maybe it is different and can't be disabled permanently. I'll do some research into it.