http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBO/tip7000/rh7080.htm
7080 ? An alternate method of recovering from 'The Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) information might be corrupted' when you view network properties in Windows XP.
I proposed a fix for the subject problem in tip 7078.
A frequent visitor proposes the following quicker / easier alternative:
1. Boot to the Recovery Console.
2. Navigate to the %SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem\Repository\FS folder.
3. Delete the INDEX.BTR and OBJECTS.DATA files.
4. Exit the Recovery Console.
5. Start Windows XP normally.
6. Reconfigure ICS and ICF settings because step 3 causes them to be reset to factory defaults.
Or
http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBK/tip5200/rh5281.htm
5281 ? Windows XP reports that Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) might be corrupted?
You may receive any of the following error messages in Windows XP:
Unable to view network properties.
Windows cannot display the properties of connection. Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) might be corrupted.
Unable to view System Information (MSinfo32).
If you run Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), wmimgmt.msc, you receive:
Failed to connect to local computer due to WMI:Generic failure.
These error will occur if the %SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem\Repository folder is damaged.
To fix this problem:
1. Use the Start menu to right-click My Computer.
2. Press the Manage item.
3. Double-click Services and Applications in the left-hand pane.
4. Press Services to expand it.
5. Scroll to Windows Management Instrumentation in the right-hand pane and right-click it.
6. Press Stop.
7. Use Windows Explorer to delete all the files in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem\Repository folder.
8. Shutdown and restart your computer. The Windows Management Instrumentation service will start and the files will be re-created.