Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) (WinRM) Service Defaults in Windows 8

Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service implements the WS-Management protocol for remote management. WS-Management is a standard web services protocol used for remote software and hardware management. The WinRM service listens on the network for WS-Management requests and processes them. The WinRM Service needs to be configured with a listener using winrm.cmd command line tool or through Group Policy in order for it to listen over the network. The WinRM service provides access to WMI data and enables event collection. Event collection and subscription to events require that the service is running. WinRM messages use HTTP and HTTPS as transports. The WinRM service does not depend on IIS but is preconfigured to share a port with IIS on the same machine. The WinRM service reserves the /wsman URL prefix. To prevent conflicts with IIS, administrators should ensure that any websites hosted on IIS do not use the /wsman URL prefix.

Default Settings

Startup type: Manual
Display name:Windows Remote Management (WS-Management)
Service name:WinRM
Service type:share
Error control:normal
Object:NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService
Path:%SystemRoot%\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService
File:%SystemRoot%\system32\WsmSvc.dll
Registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinRM
Privileges:
  • SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege
  • SeAuditPrivilege
  • SeChangeNotifyPrivilege
  • SeCreateGlobalPrivilege
  • SeImpersonatePrivilege

Default Behavior

Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) is a Win32 service. In Windows 8 it will not be started until the user starts it. When the Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) service is started, it runs as NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService in a process of svchost.exe, sharing it with other services. If Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) fails to start, the error details are added to Windows 8 error log. When the operating system startup is complete, the user is being notified that the WinRM service hasn't been started.

Dependencies

Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) can't start, if any service from the list below is disabled or not available:

Restore Default Startup Configuration of Windows Remote Management (WS-Management)

Before you begin doing this, make sure that all the services on which Windows Remote Management (WS-Management) depends are configured by default and function properly. See the list of dependencies above.

1. Run the Command Prompt as an administrator.

2. Copy the command below, paste it into the command window and press ENTER:

sc config WinRM start= demand

3. Close the command window and restart the computer.

The WinRM service is using the WsmSvc.dll file that is located in the C:\Windows\system32 directory. If the file is removed or corrupted, read this article to restore its original version from Windows 8 installation media.