All 3 of these lines of code work as expected.
Get-CimInstance CIM_ComputerSystem
(Get-CimInstance CIM_ComputerSystem).Name
(Get-CimInstance CIM_ComputerSystem -Property*).Name
yet this fails.
$machine='m342014' # this is my PC. Not a remote box
Get-CimInstance CIM_ComputerSystem -ComputerName$machine
-ComputerName is a supported switch for this yet I get this error.
Get-CimInstance : The client cannot connect to the destination specified in the request. Verify that the service on the destination is running and is accepting requests.