CODEWITHSUNDEEP
cwindowsbios
tjac
tjac

Reputation: 822

Modifying SMBIOS from inside Windows

Google has failed me on this one (or I have failed to properly use Google). I have a situation where I'd like to modify some key attributes of the SMBIOS data (like the hardware manufacturer or asset tag). I know from inside Windows I can use WMI to pull SMBIOS data but how can I change the values? Is this even possible? I'd like to do this programmatically if possible.

Is this even possible?

thanks!

Upvotes: 2

Views: 6155

Answers (1)

myron-semack
myron-semack

Reputation: 6425

The SMBIOS data is embedded in the BIOS ROM image, so you need a tool from the BIOS vendor to do it.

AMI and Phoenix both provide utilities to do this, although they are generally not available to the end user. They are meant to be used by the manufacturer to load serial number data during production. You can find them floating around on the web though. (Don't blame me if you brick your system.)

Some PC manufacturers (e.g. Lenovo) provide a utility that allows you to tweak SMBIOS data. This is meant to be used by IT departments to store asset tags and warranty info in the system.

In the comments, you state that this is for a VMware environment. In that case, VMware is the BIOS manufacturer, so you have to work with them. A quick Google search reveals there are some configuration options to pass the host BIOS through to the guest VM (look at SMBIOS.reflectHost). Not sure if that can do what you need. You other option would be to switch to a different hypervisor that allows you to do it.

Upvotes: 2

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