SMBIOS Support in Windows

Updated: April 25, 2005

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The Windows family of operating systems provides robust support for system management BIOS (SMBIOS) data. Management programs often use SMBIOS data to discover information about the hardware platform, such as the system manufacturer or the system BIOS version. Windows relieves programs of the need to scan physical memory for SMBIOS table data by automatically retrieving SMBIOS data at system startup and then making it available to programs. SMBIOS data is available through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) classes and through the Microsoft Win32 application programming interface (API). Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 include a new driver, the Microsoft SMBIOS driver, which offers support for additional data collection capabilities and accurate system identification.

Future versions of Windows will depend on accurate system identification for new scenarios. This paper explains the requirements for accurate system identification using SMBIOS, information that will be important to system manufacturers. For software developers, this paper explains how to access SMBIOS data in Windows.

This information applies for the following operating systems:
Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1
Microsoft Windows XP SP2

Included in this white paper:

• Reading SMBIOS Table Information from Applications

• Driver Access to SMBIOS Data by Using WMI

• Microsoft System Management BIOS Driver

• SMBIOS "Designed for Windows" Logo Requirements