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How to see BIOS details on Linux?

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How to see BIOS information on Linux?

Run the dmidecode command to retrieve hardware information, such as BIOS details.

dmidecode --type bios

Linux makes it fairly easy to show the details of the BIOS and other hardware components. One option to retrieve hardware details, is using the dmidecode tool. By specifying the type and set this to bios, we can pull in the basics of the BIOS. Let’s have a look at some examples.

Show basic BIOS details

Use --typebios to query BIOS details.

# dmidecode --type bios
# dmidecode 3.2
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.1.1 present.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 26 bytes
BIOS Information
	Vendor: Intel Corp.
	Version: HNKBLi70.86A.0096.2024.0910.2941
	Release Date: 03/10/2021
	Address: 0xF0000
	Runtime Size: 64 kB
	ROM Size: 16 MB
	Characteristics:
		PCI is supported
		BIOS is upgradeable
		BIOS shadowing is allowed
		Boot from CD is supported
		Selectable boot is supported
		BIOS ROM is socketed
		EDD is supported
		5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
		3.5"/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
		3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
		Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
		8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
		Serial services are supported (int 14h)
		Printer services are supported (int 17h)
		ACPI is supported
		USB legacy is supported
		BIOS boot specification is supported
		Targeted content distribution is supported
		UEFI is supported
	BIOS Revision: 5.6

Handle 0x003C, DMI type 13, 22 bytes
BIOS Language Information
	Language Description Format: Long
	Installable Languages: 1
		en|US|iso8859-1
	Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

Motherboard information

To see the details about the motherboard, which may reveal more about the hardware itself, we can request the baseboard type.

# dmidecode --type baseboard
# dmidecode 3.2
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.1.1 present.

Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 15 bytes
Base Board Information
	Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
	Product Name: NUC8i7HVB
	Version: J68196-602
	Serial Number: BTHN000008AB
	Asset Tag:                                  
	Features:
		Board is a hosting board
		Board is replaceable
	Location In Chassis: Default string
	Chassis Handle: 0x0003
	Type: Motherboard
	Contained Object Handles: 0

Handle 0x0028, DMI type 41, 11 bytes
Onboard Device
	Reference Designation:  AMD HD Graphics Device
	Type: Video
	Status: Enabled
	Type Instance: 1
	Bus Address: 0000:00:01.0

More information types

By specifying the type, we can get information about the system itself.

Valid options include:

  • baseboard
  • bios
  • cache
  • chassis
  • connector
  • memory
  • processor
  • slot
  • system

Learn more about dmidecode

This article uses the dmidecode command to achieve its tasks. For this popular tool there is a cheat sheet available!

» Mastering the tool: dmidecode

dmidecode

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This article has been written by our Linux security expert Michael Boelen. With focus on creating high-quality articles and relevant examples, he wants to improve the field of Linux security. No more web full of copy-pasted blog posts.

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