Knowledge Base FAQ Item #7250010

Q7250010: For one of my Windows servers, I get the error: "Unable to connect to [myserver]; WMI Error 0x800706BA: The RPC server is unavailable". We're using WMI through DCOM.

Most common reason are:

DCOM is disabled on that server
Firewall settings on the monitored server block all RPC data
The account used is not a member of the built-in local Administrator

For enabling/disabling DCOM, see FAQ #Q7250017

The solutions are described below.

Firewall Settings

If you use a third-party firewall on the monitored server, check the appropriate settings. If you do not use a third-party firewall, type 'Windows Defender Firewall' in the Search bar of the monitored server, and open the 'Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security' application.
If you have your Public Profile switched on, you will get an 'RPC Server is unavailable' error, so switch it off! If it does not work, also try the Private Profile and the Domain Profile.

UAC Settings

Make sure that UAC (User Account Control) is not causing you problems. UAC is enabled by default. Try to switch it off on the monitored server and see if the problem still persists. To disable UAC:

Start a new Command Prompt;
Type 'UserAccountControlSettings.exe' to open the User Account Control Settings window;
Drag the slide-bar to: 'Never Notify';
Reboot the server (you will be prompted to do so).

Alternate credentials

If you have created a local Administrator account on a monitored Windows 2022/2019/2016/2012/2008 server, and you use this account as alternate credentials without turning off UAC, it will definitely not work! Only the built-in local Administrator has sufficient rights. If you want to make use of another local Administrator, make sure UAC is turned off.

DCOM Server Process Launcher

On the monitored server, also check the 'DCOM Server Process Launcher'. This is a service that should be set to 'Automatic Start', and should always be running.
Check the settings in the Services applet of the operating system.

WMIC

Check WMI without ActiveXperts by running the Windows built-in WMIC utility from the command-line (replace myserver with the hostname of your server):

WMIC /node:computername PATH Win32_Processor WHERE DeviceID='CPU0' GET LoadPercentage

To use alternate credentials, execute (replace myserver, account and password ):

WMIC /node:computername /user:user /password:password PATH Win32_Processor WHERE DeviceID='CPU0' GET LoadPercentage

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