Il firmware pre-installed by the motherboard manufacturer is not free from problems. It may happen that a specific BIOS version, as has repeatedly happened in the past, could cause problems. To check the version of the firmware in use, it is not essential to restart the machine and enter the BIOS (with procedures that often differ from system to system): it is also possible to find this information from a Windows environment.
BIOS legacy e UEFI
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) legacy e UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) are two types of firmware that allow the computer to start and initialize the hardware. When it comes to BIOS legacy, refers to the standard used for decades in computers that are older today. L’interface The legacy BIOS is text-based, meaning that settings are configured primarily through keyboard commands.
The old BIOS is able to boot the system only from devices with MBR partition scheme (Master Boot Record) and has some limitations in managing partitions and hard disks, including the ability to manage only up to 4 primary partitions on the same unit. Furthermore, it does not offer any functionality advanced security and is more vulnerable to certain types of threats, such as bootkit. BlackLotus, however, is the first bootkit that managed to bypass Secure Boot with UEFI BIOSes (see below).
What changes with UEFI
Against, UEFI represents newer, more advanced technology than legacy BIOS. It offers auser interface more modern and interactive with mouse and keyboard support, allowing for a more intuitive setup.
In the article mentioned above, we highlighted the main ones characteristics of UEFI: one of the main ones, however, is the possibility of booting the system from a storage drive GPT (GUID Partition Table). This brings with it support for large drives (over 2TB capacity) and offers greater flexibility in using SSD disks and other boot devices. UEFI also overcomes the limitation of 4 primary partitions and includes advanced security features, such as Secure Boot, which verifies the integrity of the software during startup to prevent the execution of malicious code. Using GPT partitions and Secure Boot has become essential requirements for the installation of Windows 11.
Old MBR partitions are supported by UEFI with CSM mode (Compatibility Support Module).
Read the BIOS version and check its type
To check if your system is using a legacy BIOS or UEFI, just type msinfo32 in the Windows search box or in the field You open which appears by pressing Windows+R.
At this point, after the window appears System Informationjust check what appears next to the item BIOS mode in the right panel: the indication, which can be Legacy o UEFIis self-explanatory.
For the record, a hint about the “identity” of the BIOS is also found in the file setupact.logwhich contains the information collected by routine Microsoft operating system installation. Try pressing Windows+R then type notepad %SystemRoot%\Panther\setupact.log. After a few moments of waiting, searching Detected Boot Environment Inside the file, you will find UEFI or EFI in one case, BIOS in case the system uses a legacy BIOS.
How to Extract BIOS Version Number in Windows
To read the BIOS version in a Windows environment, without even needing to restart the system, just always use the utility System Information then check what appears to the right of the entry BIOS version/date.
Alternatively, just write cmd in the Windows search box then type, al command promptthe following instruction:
wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion
Similar information is returned via the utility DirectX Diagnostic Tool: in this case just press Windows+R to launch it and type dxdiag in the field You open. The information you are looking for appears next to the indication BIOSinside the box System information.
