How to know the motherboard BIOS version using the command line

Question

How can get the BIOS version of my motherboard?

The command dmidecode gives you some information about the BIOS, but I can't find what I need...

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I tried dmidecode command before asking and I didn't find what I needed - I want only the BIOS version and nothing else in the output.

Solution 1

I got the solution.

Using dmidecode (of course), but the problem was with the result...

I don't want to list block result about my bios I just need the version..

The command is:

sudo dmidecode -s bios-version

The output will just print the version:

SIX7910J.86A.0537.2012.0723.1217

Solution 2

Try this command,

sudo dmidecode | less

Solution 3

dmidecode usually returns, amongst other things, a block with information about your BIOS. It should look something like this:

BIOS Information
    Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
    Version: 0309
    Release Date: 04/18/2013
    Address: 0xF0000
    Runtime Size: 64 kB
    ROM Size: 8192 kB
    Characteristics:
        PCI is supported
        APM 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: 4.6

The information here includes both version and BIOS revision. If dmidecode does not include that data on your machine, I'm afraid you will have to reboot and actually look at the BIOS.

Solution 4

Another way to reduce the DMIDECODE output is to port it to Grep and extract just the lines you want -

E.G. - sudo dmidecode | grep 'Vendor\|Version: V\|BIOS Revision\|Processor'

Inside the grep, each "or" (The vertical bar) needs to be escaped with a backslash prefix, as illustrated above.

There will probably be a few extra sundry "Versions" after the Vendor one; you should be able to figure out what's what and ignore the rest. I haven't yet figured out to eliminate these... ;-)

Bonus! Above, the processor info has also been included.

View more solutions

Comments

[drc]

Please make sure your question accurately reflects what you are looking for. In this case, you appearently are looking for a way to print only the BIOS version instead of all the information including the BIOS version.

[Maythux]

@drc I state that... Read the question again please i just say i want the bios version and i state that i use dmidecode but i can't find the version

[drc]

Finding the BIOS version is as easy as looking for the string Version in the BIOS Information block, as multiple answers said. If you are looking for a way to print only this version string, say so.

[Maythux]

I don't need to list block reslut about my bios i just need the version..

[Maythux]

This is the not the bios version. I answered my question my self

[Avinash Raj]

your command displays 71CN40WW(V1.15) on my pc.

[evaristegd]

@Maythux is wrong. I ran Avinash's command on my PC and it does indeed show the BIOS version. I can even use vim-like commands, so I'd say it's better than Maythux's answer.