WhatsUp Professional - SQL Server Database Instances Missing When Adding WMI Performance Monitor

Question/Problem:  When I try to create a WMI Performance Monitor via the "Select Performance Counter" dialog, I see "Performance Counter" entries beginning with "MSSQL$WHASUP" on the left side of the dialog.  However, when I select any of them, they don't display any entries in the "Performance Instances" on the right side of the dialog.

Answer/Solution:  On some systems, Microsoft's implementation of WMI does not correctly communicate with Microsoft SQL Server to obtain database instances.  Here is a workaround that will correct this problem.

1.     Download the file whatsup.dll:
ftp://ftp.ipswitch.com/Ipswitch/Product_Support/WhatsUp/WhatsUp.dll

2.     On the system that is exhibiting this problem, place this DLL in any folder where are you sure it will not get deleted. 

3.     The name of the DLL must match the SQL Server database instance name; in most cases, this will be the default, "whatsup".  If you are using a different instance name, rename whatsup.dll to match your instance name (for example, "betatest.dll").  Make multiple copies of the DLL if necessary (if you have more than one instance).

4.     From a DOS window, run the following command to register this DLL:

regsvr32  {YourInstanceName}.dll

5.     It may take several minutes for this change to take effect.  To make it take effect immediately, run these commands in a CMD window:

Windows XP and later

wmiadap /clearadap

wmiadap /resyncperf

Windows 2000

winmgmt /clearadap

winmgmt /resyncperf

These two commands could take a while to execute.

Note that registering this DLL will make a change to the Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSSQL$WHATSUP\Performance The existing "Library" value will be renamed "Library_OLD", and a new "Library" value will be added.  Do not delete the "Library_OLD" value - this workaround will not work if you do so, and you will lose the previous "Library" value, which you will need if you want to undo this change.

Note: To "undo" this workaround, run this command in a DOS window:

regsvr32  {YourInstanceName}.dll /u

This will reset the Registry settings described above back to their original values.

References

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/wmisdk/wmi/winmgmt.asp - Information on the wmiadap.exe program.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/tools/tools/performance_monitor.asp - Information on the perfmon.exe program