Object exporter specified was not found

You're going to have to tell me / us what's in the script or at least what you're asking Get-WmiObject to do.

Chris

Chris:  Thanks for responding.  Here is the command:
$Wmi = Get-WmiObject -class "Win32_OperatingSystem" -namespace "root\cimv2" -computer Guest-Dev

However, things got worse today.  When I ran it this morning I got the "RPC server is unavailable" error (0x800706BA).  So I didn't get as far as I did yesterday.  Any ideas on this error?  I had overcome that error a few days ago by loading PowerShell 2.0 on the target machine (Guest-Dev)--but now it's back.

Thanks.

"RPC server is unavailable" is typically associated with a connection failure. Whether that's because the machine is offline or firewalled, or the name cannot be resolved.

Check you can resolve Guest-Dev to an IP address first (nslookup)?

In this context the client does not need to be running PowerShell itself. Although it will if you're remotely executing the command.

Chris

Chris:  Yes, it resolves to 10.1.1.8.  Our network guy tells me that we are using static IP addresses.

Can you ping the system?

Either it's firewalled or switched off / not connected.

There's no much you can do about it in PowerShell though. It's a network level error after all.

Chris

Yes.  I ping Guest-dev and get back 10.1.1.8 and its statistics.

Wow, Chris.  I just tried the command on all of the other machines on our little network, and it worked.  The only one it doesn't work on is Guest-Dev.

I just turned off the firewall on Guest-Dev and rebooted it.  This has cleared the "RPC server" error.  So now we are back to the original problem (the "object exporter" error).  But now we know that the command works on all of the machines except Guest-Dev.  

Do you get the error when you run the script, or when you run this command on its own?

Get-WMIObject Win32_OperatingSystem -ComputerName Guest-Dev

And if so, what operating system are you running on Guest-Dev?

Chris

I run the command on the PowerShell command line.  Guest-Dev is running Wndows XP SP3.  It also has .NET Framework 3.5, and I as mentioned before, it has PowerShell 2.0 installed.

Chris:  I just ran the command from Guest-Dev using the PowerShell 2.0 command line.  It, too, works with all of the other machines on the network, except mine, which is Gembarowski-Dev.  So the problem boils down to the fact that the command doesn't work between these two machines in either direction but works with all of the other machines.  I noticed something when I looked at the settings on Guest-Dev:  When I look at "Entire Network" the icons for Microsoft Terminal Services and Web Client Network are not there.  The only thing that shows up is Microsoft Windows Network.  Do you think that has anything to do with the problem?

heh cross-posting.

Anyway, the suggestion is that it's name resolution. How is name resolution configured on your network? DNS or just NetBIOS?

Chris

The command is succesful from Guest-Dev for all of the computers on the network, except for mine (Gembarowski-Dev).  It even works on itself, i.e., when I use Guest-Dev as the target.  It also works when I use IP addresses (except when I use the IP address for Gembarowski-Dev).  I conclude that the name resolution is working okay.  We are using DNS--not NetBIOS.  The problem appears to be between the two machines Guest-Dev and Gembarowski-Dev (in both directions).

Out of curiosity, which OS on Gembarowski-Dev?

You could always install a packet sniffer and see if that gives any indication of the failure. It's vague, the the problem is extremely obscure.

Chris

Gembarowski-Dev has Windows XP SP3 and is running .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

I'm going to be limited to Googling it. I haven't encountered the error before which makes suggesting how to fix it rather tricky.

I assume it persists across reboot?

Chris

Chris:  Thanks again for all the time you have invested in this problem.  Yes, the problem persists across reboots.  I just discovered something new that might shed some light--although I am way out of my area (I am a programmer not a network person).  I found out in the Security Event viewer that I get a "Failure Audit" entry everytime I try the command (and when it fails).  Here are some of the details:
 - Object Server: SC Manager
 - Object Type: SERVICE OBJECT
 - Object Name: RasMan
 - Process ID: 1044
Does this mean anything to you?

I know what the object name is, but I can't really see how it would break WMI connections between two computers very specific computers.

It's difficult to know where to point the finger. I would guess that other hosts are able to connect to Guest-Dev using the script without problem? And I would guess they're also able to connect to Gembarowski-Dev?

Chris

Chris:

What you say is correct.  We loaded Powershell 2.0 onto one of the other machines on our little network yesterday and ran the script from it.  The script worked for both Guest-Dev and Gembarowski-Dev.

The only thing I can think of is if one system were a clone of the other. Anything that would potentially prevent them from agreeing on security, or would cause a failure to negotiate the connection.

Chris

Chris:  I agree with you that there is some bad Karma between the two machines, so much so that I  built a new machine (Vista) to replace Gembarowski-Dev.  It seems to work well with Guest-Dev and Guest-Dev seems to work well with it.  However, something interesting just happened!  Our network guy just did a DNS refresh, now Guest-Dev and Gembarowski-Dev talk to each other through PowerShell.  I don't know whether this is a temporary situation or whether it will work well from here on out.  It appears to me that after all is said and done, the final solution involved the firewall which you pointed out early on, and DNS name resolution which you also brought up.  If you would post one more comment summarizing what you think the final resolution was, I would like to award you the points--you have been very helpful.

I meant to split the closure between the two solutions recommended by Chris-Dent.  When I acted on the first part #31369041 it closed the solution completely.  I was never able to attribute part of the solution to #31373780.  If the moderator could fix it so that we have both pieces of the solution I would appreciate it.  I am new to this process, so I wasn't sure how to do it.