Sometimes, native commands such as net.exe return cryptic error numbers instead of full error messages. Traditionally, you could use the following command to convert these error numbers into full messages:
PS> net helpmsg 3534 The service did not report an error. PS> net helpmsg 1 Incorrect function. PS> net helpmsg 4323 The transport cannot access the medium.
A better way may be to use winrm.exe because this command can do the very same – and more:
PS> winrm helpmsg 3534 The service did not report an error. PS> winrm helpmsg 1 Incorrect function. PS> winrm helpmsg 4323 The transport cannot access the medium.
While net.exe can only convert a certain range of error messages, winrm.exe is more flexible and can for example also convert Remoting-specific error codes:
PS> winrm helpmsg 0x80338104 The WS-Management service cannot process the request. The WMI service returned an 'access denied' error. PS> net helpmsg 0x80338104 The syntax of this command is: NET HELPMSG message#
As you see, winrm.exe returns the correct error message whereas net.exe falls back to a standard template and cannot translate the number. Winrm.exe therefore is the more generic approach that you can safely use to translate any low-level API error code to text.
