This article applies as of PRTG 22

WMI error messages

The following errors that do not show the usual 800xxxxx error codes are caused by erroneous behavior of the Windows WMI subsystem either on the target or the probe system affecting the processing of the monitoring data. Another reason for experiencing PRTG-specific error messages is the use of improper WQL statements in WMI custom sensors.

For an overview of all PE-coded errors, see also What does error code PExxx mean?

WMI timeout errors

PE015

Connection could not be established (code: PE015)

This is not a timeout error per se, it means that probe system and target system were not able to establish WMI communication at all. For more details, see Why do I receive the sensor error message 'Connection could not be established (code: PE015)'?

PE014

The request sent to WMI timed out. To resolve this issue, increase the sensor's scanning interval. Also specify more limiting parameters for the WMI-specific request. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE014)

The request sent to WMI takes a lot of time to be processed (by default more than 1.5 times the scanning interval). It is a recoverable error and can be countered by either increasing the scanning interval or by specifying more limiting parameters for the WMI-specific request (if applicable). This is directly controlled by the WMI timeout setting in the WMI compatibility options (available in the device settings), and set to 1.5 times the scanning interval if left empty or set to the specified amount in seconds. You might want to check the WMI timeout settings of the parent objects if several sensors run into this error.

PE054

There has been a WMI system overload. To resolve this issue, increase the scanning intervals of your WMI sensors and/or use remote probes for load balancing. (code: PE054)

PRTG was unsuccessful in sending the request to the WMI subsystem. This can be a temporary problem that can resolve itself. However, it can also mean that the probe system and/or the target system need a restart if the problem persists.

PE055

The sensor stopped because of a WMI lockup. The probe system was able to send a request to the WMI subsystem but the request did not get a response at all. To resolve this issue, try to restart the target system and the probe system. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE055)

This means that PRTG was able to send a request to the WMI subsystem but it did not return at all. This is about the worst thing that can happen. This error will be shown after five failures, so you can assume that the respective sensor is unusable and all WMI requests to that host are put on hold. Should the problem persist after a restart of the target system, restart the probe system. If this error continues to occur, consider installing a remote probe on the target system.

PE051

The WMI request has unrecoverably timed out. To resolve this issue, consider pausing or deleting the sensor. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE051)

This is only an interim message that leads to the error message PE055.

PE263

The sensor was not able to establish a connection for more than three successive scanning intervals. The reason might be corrupt performance counters or a damaged WMI stack on the target Windows system. To resolve this issue, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/72969. (code: PE263)

For details and a workaround, see Why do my WMI sensors show error PE263 after updating PRTG?

WMI counter value-related errors

PE041

The device sends inconsistent counter data. To resolve this issue, enable an alternative query method in the WMI Alternative Query options of your sensor settings. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE041)

When the Windows WMI subsystem sends data to PRTG for at least two consecutive times, this leads to impossible results, such as unrealistic percent values. PRTG reports this fact as inconsistent and sets the sensor to the Down status.

Should the data sent next be ok, the sensor shows the Up status again. There is no way to change this behavior because the error is caused by WMI, not by PRTG. If this keeps on happening, try to enable an alternative query method in the WMI Alternative Query options of the sensor settings, if available.

PE040 and PE042

The device sends 64-bit counters as 32-bit values. To resolve this issue, enable an alternative query method in the WMI Alternative Query options of your sensor settings. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE040)

There are too many 32-bit overflows on the WMI counters. To resolve this issue, decrease the sensor's scanning interval. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE042)

PRTG relies upon many counters being 64 bit as it takes a considerable amount of time until these counters are full and must start counting from 0 again (this is called overflow). However, WMI sometimes (falsely, dependent on patch levels) uses only 32 bit for these counters, starting from 0 much more often than it should and PRTG reports this fact with the error codes PE040 and PE042.

One way to adapt to this is to decrease the scanning interval, as this measure lowers the probability that an overflow occurs during the scanning interval. Another way is to enable an alternative query method in the WMI Alternative Query options of the sensor settings, if available.

PE025

The sensor receives invalid data. The reason might be that one of the WMI counters that this sensor uses returned a value that prevents PRTG from calculating the correct result. To resolve this issue, restart the target system. (code: PE025)

One of the WMI counters this sensor uses returned a value that prevents PRTG from calculating the correct result, for example, a negative value when only positive values are expected, or a 0 for a denominator. If this error is persistent, we recommend that you restart the target system.

PE026

The sensor received invalid previous data samples. Some WMI sensors need their previous data for calculating correct results. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE026)

Some of the WMI sensors need their previous data for calculating their correct results. So if WMI sent unusable values during the previous scan, you see this message. This should be very sporadic. If it is not, we recommend that you restart the target system.

PE061

The host's system returned an invalid value for total memory: %s
To resolve this issue, enable an alternative query method in the WMI Alternative Query options of your sensor settings. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE061)

PRTG needs the total memory to calculate the percentage of free memory, but WMI does not deliver a valid value (usually 0). Try to enable an alternative query method in the WMI Alternative Query options of the sensor settings or see I have tried a lot of things to fix my WMI. What else can I try to avoid reinstalling Windows? for further suggestions.

System-based errors

PE043

The network card cannot be found because Windows might have changed the name of the network adapter. To resolve this issue, create a new sensor with the new name. (code: PE043)

This only applies to the Windows Network Card sensor. The WMI query for network traffic knows only one way to identify a network adapter: by its name. Unfortunately, this name is altered by Windows now and then. At the moment, the only thing you can do is to create a new sensor with the new name.

PE009

The Windows process you want to monitor cannot be found. To resolve this issue, check if you correctly specified the process name in the sensor settings. Also check if the process is running on the target machine. (code: PE009)

This only applies to the Windows Process sensor. This means that either the process name was not correctly specified in the sensor settings or that the process is not running on the target system.

WMI Exchange-specific errors

PE016

The WMI query does not return any results. The reason might be an issue with the host's WMI system. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE016)

The WMI query came back empty while PRTG expected a result. This indicates that there is a problem with the host's WMI system. For further suggestions what to do, see I have tried a lot of things to fix my WMI. What else can I try to avoid reinstalling Windows?

If a cloned WMI Disk Health sensor shows the Down status and PE016, try to manually add it again. The cloned sensor tries to query the same unique identifier as on the source system. By adding the sensor again, it queries the available disks with the correct unique identifiers again.

More errors

WMI Custom/Custom String-specific errors

PE037

The WMI/SQL query returned no records. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE037)

WMI did not return any data at all (record count 0). Even if the class and counters exist, sometimes WMI simply does not return any data. One reason for this is an improper restriction like a WHERE that does not exist. For example, SELECT FreeMegaBytes FROM Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfDisk_LogicalDisk WHERE Name=’Z:\’ but there is no Z: on the host system.

PE044

No field is specified in WQL. To resolve this issue, check the syntax of the request and make sure that it contains a correct field. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE044)

The WQL query did not contain a field. We recommend that you check the syntax of the request and make sure that it contains a correct field, for example, SELECT field_name FROM class_name.

PE045

Too many fields are specified in WQL. To resolve this issue, check the syntax of the request and make sure that only one field per request is processed. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE045)

The WQL query contained too many fields. Because WMI can only process one field per request, we recommend that you check the query and make sure that it follows the correct syntax exactly, for example, SELECT only_one_field_name FROM class_name.

PE046

WQL could not be parsed because the WQL query did not contain entries for SELECT or FROM. To resolve this issue, check the syntax of the request and make sure that both keywords are present in the WQL command. (code: PE046)

The WQL query did not contain entries for SELECT and/or FROM. Check the query and make sure that both keywords are present in the WQL command.

PE047

The WQL file "%s" could not be opened. The reason might be that the file with the query is not available on the probe system. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE047)

The WQL file could not be opened. This is because the file with the query that is to be sent to WMI is not available on the probe system.

The WQL query code must be stored in a file on the parent probe system. If used on a remote probe, the file must be stored on the remote probe system. In a cluster setup, copy the file to every cluster node.

PE078

The WMI query has returned more than one record. This indicates that the result was not properly restricted. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE078)

WMI returned too much data while PRTG expected only a single result. This means that the result contained more than one row, which indicates that the result was not properly restricted. For example, SELECT field_name FROM class_name WHERE <conditional_expression> where the <conditional_expression> is something like Name= 'C:'.

WMI Pagefile/Volume/Security Center-specific errors

PE017

The WMI query returns an ambiguous result set. It returns too much data while PRTG expects only a single result. For more information, see https://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/1093. (code: PE017)

WMI returned too much data while PRTG expected only a single result. This means that the result contained more than one row. Unfortunately, there is no apparent reason for this behavior.

More

• My WMI sensors don't work. What can I do?