Check your BIOS version without rebooting

Has tech support ever asked you which version of the BIOS you were on, then had you reboot when you don't know? Instead of rebooting, take a look in these two places:

 

  1. Open Start ->

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  1. Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information. Here you will find System Summary on the left and its contents on the right. Find the BIOS Version option and your BIOS flash version displayed.

     

  2. You can also scan the registry for this information. When Windows loads, it stores the main computer BIOS and video BIOS following information under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWAR\EDESCRIPTION\System registry subkey:

    SystemBiosDate
    SystemBiosVersion
    VideoBiosDate
    VideoBiosVersion
     

This information appears in the registry for only informational purposes and changing these values has no effect on the system.

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This was first published in June 2003

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