Fix WMI Error 0x1073: Invalid Registration Info

Getting error 0x1073 is annoying because it usually hits right when you need to check something in Disk Management or Event Viewer. I've seen it most often after a botched Windows update or when someone tried to clean up registry entries manually and clipped the wrong key. The good news is you don't need to format your drive. The fix is resetting the WMI repository, and I'll walk you through it.

How to Fix WMI Error 0x1073 (Invalid Registration Info)

Before you do anything else, back up your current WMI repository. Yes, even though it's broken. You might need the old files later if something goes sideways.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Hit the Windows key, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and pick Run as administrator. You'll see a User Account Control prompt — click Yes.
Stop the WMI service by typing:
```
net stop winmgmt
```
Hit Enter. You should see "The Windows Management Instrumentation service is stopping" and then "stopped." If you get an error like "service not started," that's fine — just move to step 3.
Now rename the repository folder so Windows creates a fresh one. Type:
```
ren %windir%\System32\wbem\Repository Repository.old
```
Press Enter. If you see "The system cannot find the file specified," that means the folder is already gone or hidden. Try dir %windir%\System32\wbem\ to check if Repository exists. If it's missing, skip to step 5.
Restart the WMI service:
```
net start winmgmt
```
You'll see "The Windows Management Instrumentation service is starting" and then "started." Windows will build a new repository automatically.
Re-register all WMI-related DLLs. Run these commands one at a time. Wait for each to say it succeeded before moving to the next:
```
cd /d %windir%\system32\wbem
for %i in (*.dll) do RegSvr32 -s %i
for %i in (*.mof) do Mofcomp %i
```
The first command changes to the wbem folder. The second registers every DLL silently (the -s flag suppresses pop-ups). The third compiles every MOF file. This step takes a couple of minutes — don't panic if it looks stuck.
Reboot your machine. After restart, try whatever app gave you the error (like Disk Management or Event Viewer). It should load clean now.

If you still see error 0x1073 after those steps, you likely have a deeper corruption in the registry. Run this command in an admin Command Prompt to scan and fix system files: sfc /scannow. Let it finish — it can take 15 minutes. Then run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth to fix the component store. Reboot again.

Why the WMI Repository Goes Bad

The WMI repository is a database of system management info — hardware, drivers, services, that kind of thing. When it gets corrupted, Windows can't read registration data for WMI providers. Error 0x1073 is the generic "I can't parse this file" message. The most common trigger I've seen is a third-party security tool that tries to "lock down" WMI and borks the binary files inside the Repository folder. Another frequent cause is a failed cumulative update that leaves the repository in an inconsistent state.

Deleting the Repository folder forces Windows to rebuild it from scratch using the MOF files in %windir%\System32\wbem. Those MOF files are the template that defines how WMI should look. The Mofcomp command compiles them into the new repository. That's why step 5 is critical — without recompiling the MOFs, your new repository stays empty and you'll get the same error.

When the Standard Fix Doesn't Work

Sometimes error 0x1073 isn't a corrupt repository — it's a bad registry key. Here's how to check that.

Open Registry Editor (regedit) as Administrator.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WBEM\CIMOM. Look for a string value named Repository Directory. It should be %windir%\System32\wbem\Repository. If it points somewhere else or is missing, double-click and set it correctly.
Also check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Winmgmt. The ImagePath value should be %windir%\System32\wbem\WinMgmt.exe. If it's wrong, fix it.
Close Registry Editor and restart the WMI service with net stop winmgmt then net start winmgmt.

Another variation I've seen is on Windows Server 2012 R2 after installing the Windows Update Agent. The update agent overwrites a critical MOF file with a version that has a table mismatch. In that case, run the WMIDiag tool from Microsoft. Download it, run it as admin, and let it generate a report. Look for lines that say "FAILED" or "ERROR." The report often points you to a specific registry key or missing DLL. Then you fix just that one piece instead of resetting everything.

Pro tip: If you're on Windows 10 1909 or 2004, and error 0x1073 shows up after a feature update, try rolling back the update first. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Go back. That's faster than rebuilding the repository and usually fixes it.

How to Prevent This Error from Coming Back

You can't bulletproof WMI entirely, but you can reduce the odds. First, stop using registry cleaners — they're the number one cause of WMI corruption I've dealt with. Windows doesn't need them, and they strip out WMI registration keys that look "unused" to the cleaner but are vital.

Second, make sure your system drive has free space. The WMI repository grows over time. If the drive runs out of space during a repository write operation, the file gets truncated and corrupted. Keep at least 10% of your drive free.

Third, test Windows updates on a non-production machine before deploying them broadly. I know that's not always possible for home users, but if you can, do it. Feature updates in particular have a history of wrecking the WMI repository. If you see error 0x1073 after an update, pause updates and uninstall that update via Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates.

Finally, consider running a regular WMI health check. The free tool WMIDiag can do this. Schedule it to run monthly with Task Scheduler and send you the output. You'll catch corruption before it causes an actual error.

That's it. You've fixed the error, you know why it happened, and you've got steps to keep it from coming back. If you're still stuck after all this, the problem might be hardware-related — a failing hard drive can cause file corruption that manifests as WMI errors. Run a SMART check on your disk with something like CrystalDiskInfo to rule that out.