BIOS query

[BoaterDave]

When this PC starts up I've noted that the BIOS is dated 02/24/2003
(American Megatrends)
A6380 V5.7 022403

However, using Belarc Adviser, the BIOS reported is "BIOS: American
Megatrends Inc. 07.00T 04/02/01"

I'd be grateful if someone could explain why the dates differ.

David

(Windows XP Home +SP2 and all Updates)

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

When this PC starts up I've noted that the BIOS is dated 02/24/2003
(American Megatrends)
A6380 V5.7 022403

However, using Belarc Adviser, the BIOS reported is "BIOS: American
Megatrends Inc. 07.00T 04/02/01"

I'd be grateful if someone could explain why the dates differ.

Just a guess, but perhaps Belarc is reporting the copyright date and the
Startup the date the particular version was made.

 

[BoaterDave]

Thanks, Ken.

I'm afraid that doesn't make it very much clearer for me! Do you know what
it is that 'sets' the BIOS? Is it done when a PC is first built or when
Windows is installed (my retail version of Windows dates back to 2002 as,
indeed, does the PC - built in October 2002). I can't correlate how the
current BIOS on start-up is dated 2003.

David
_____________________________________________________

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks, Ken.

I'm afraid that doesn't make it very much clearer for me! Do you know
what it is that 'sets' the BIOS? Is it done when a PC is first built

It's when the BIOS chip is created, which is sometiome before the PC was
built.

However the BIOS can subsequently be updated with a newer version.

or when Windows is installed

No, the BIOS has *nothing* to do with Windows at all. It's a hardware
feature, and is completely independent of WIndows.

 

[gls858]

Thanks, Ken.

I'm afraid that doesn't make it very much clearer for me! Do you know what
it is that 'sets' the BIOS? Is it done when a PC is first built or when
Windows is installed (my retail version of Windows dates back to 2002 as,
indeed, does the PC - built in October 2002). I can't correlate how the
current BIOS on start-up is dated 2003.

David
_____________________________________________________

Just a guess, but perhaps Belarc is reporting the copyright date and the
Startup the date the particular version was made.

The BIOS is set by the motherboard manufacturer. No idea why your dates are
different but installing Windows won't effect the date of the BIOS. As long
as your computer is functioning properly the date is of little consequence.

gls858

 

[BoaterDave]

Thank you again, Ken.

I DO now understand!

I've heard about "flashing" the BIOS. Do you know if it is possible for a
virus/malware to alter the BIOS and thus still be able to take control of a
PC even after a 'clean' install?

David
___________________________________________________

 

[BoaterDave]

Thanks for that, gls858.

Perhaps you will note my reply to Ken.

David
__________________________________________

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you again, Ken.

I DO now understand!

Great, glad to hear it, and you're welcome.

I've heard about "flashing" the BIOS. Do you know if it is possible
for a virus/malware to alter the BIOS and thus still be able to take
control of a PC even after a 'clean' install

I've read lots of contradictory information about whether a virus can affect
the BIOS, but my personal guess (I don't know for sure) is that I don't
think so. Even if it could, I don't think there's much there that would be
seen as a likely target for a virus.

 

[BoaterDave]

Thank you yet again, Ken! I really appreciate you taking the time and
trouble to reply to me.

Moving on slightly, then, are you aware of anywhere else in a desktop PC
that a "nastie" could hide so that, even after formatting the hard disk and
completing a new Windows installation, one's PC could still be compromised?

I recognise that you may not know ......... but you might just know someone
else who does!

Anyway, thanks again for helping me thus far.

David
____________________________________________

 

[Gerry Cornell]

What is your motherboard model?

This freeware programme is excellent for getting information
about your computer:
Everest Home Edition (freeware)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Tip: To copy select Report, Quick Report, Plain Text, highlight
required text, right click and select copy. However, whilst this
is fine for posting small amounts of information into newsgroup
messages longer reports will irritate other newsgroup
subscribers.


--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thank you yet again, Ken! I really appreciate you taking the time and
trouble to reply to me.

Moving on slightly, then, are you aware of anywhere else in a desktop
PC that a "nastie" could hide so that, even after formatting the hard
disk and completing a new Windows installation, one's PC could still
be compromised?
I recognise that you may not know ......... but you might just know
someone else who does!

Anyway, thanks again for helping me thus far.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

 

[BoaterDave]

Hello Gerry.

Motherboard is an MSI KT266 Pro2-A (MS-6380E) with an AMD Duron 1300 MHz
Processor

I'll have a look at the link to Everest a little later. Thank you for that.

David
____________________________________________

 

[Gerry Cornell]

David

The Report by Bellarc is odd. It will be interesting to see
what Everest reports.

It seems you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard:
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_detail.php?UID=320&kind=1

http://snipurl.com/13nv7

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[BoaterDave]

Hi Gerry

Very interesting data brought up by Everest - I enjoyed reviewing it all.
Many thanks.

Everest reported:-

Field Value
System BIOS Date 02/24/03

So it seems that the BIOS date I can see when my PC starts up is 'correct'.
It does, therefore, seem strange why Belarc suggests otherwise.
Perhaps it will be best to ask Belarc what *they* deduce from the data
received.

I'll report back IDC.

Thanks for your help.

David
_____________________________________________________

 

[BoaterDave]

Another puzzling point raised by using Everest:

Motherboard Properties:
Manufacturer MSI
Product MS-6380E
Version 1.0
Serial Number 00000000


Perhaps there is a simple explanation for there being no serial number being
reported. If you have the time, Gerry, perhaps you would look and see what
your PC reports.

OT here - are you really an accountant, Gerry, or does 'your' FCA stand for
something computer related?

David
_________________________________________________

 

[Gerry Cornell]

David

These programmes can only report what is recorded on the system. The
Microsoft tool is System Information but this generates less information
than Bellarc Advisor and Everest. On my system I do not see a line for
Version and Serial Number but it may be that my copy of Everest needs
updating.

You reported from Bellarc KT266 Pro2-A. The MSI archive suggests
K7T266 Pro2-A. Have you copied it correctly from Bellarc?

I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and
Wales. Newsgroups are a hobby, much as some do Crosswords.

--

Regards.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[BoaterDave]

Hello again, Gerry.

My Belarc Adviser reports as follows:-

Operating System System Model
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600) MSI MS-6380E 1.0
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.30 gigahertz AMD Duron
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
64 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: MSI MS-6380E 1.0
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 07.00T 04/02/01
Drives Memory Modules c,d
81.96 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
60.89 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

LITE-ON LTR-40125S [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

Maxtor 6L080L0 [Hard drive] (81.96 GB) -- drive 0, s/n L21NZL7H, rev
BAJ41G20, SMART Status: Healthy 384 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot '0' is Empty
Slot '1' has 256 MB
Slot '2' has 128 MB
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) 41.94 GB 36.33 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 0) 40.02 GB 24.56 GB free


From the 'Notes'

a. Megahertz measurement may be inaccurate if other programs were busy
during last analysis.
c. Memory slot contents may not add up to Installed Memory if some memory is
not recognized by Windows.
d. Memory slot contents is reported by the motherboard BIOS. Contact system
vendor if slot contents are wrong.
____________________________________________________________________________

I personally added the 256 Mb extra memory which I bought from Crucial.
I don't understand why it appears that only 64 Mb is shown under 'Processor'
____________________________________________________________________________

System Information reports as follows:-

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name DAVIDSPC
System Manufacturer MSI
System Model MS-6380E
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 7 Stepping 1 AuthenticAMD ~1300 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 07.00T, 02/04/2001
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180
(xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name DAVIDSPC\DGB (Admin)
Time Zone GMT Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 384.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 67.82 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 922.32 MB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

__________________________________________________________________


Of interest here is that the stated 'Locale' is ........ United States!

My much older Dell PC says United Kingdom!

You said "You reported from Bellarc KT266 Pro2-A" - I cannot identify where
you think I may have said that. I took the number from the handbook which I
received with this PC - it is entitled K7T266 Pro2-A - I may have failed to
include the '7' - I apologise if this is the case! :-(

You also mentioned "I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of England and
Wales. Newsgroups are a hobby, much as some do Crosswords". My daughter is
an accountant too (ACCA) and when I worked for Bowring (later Marsh) as an
IFA running our Exeter office (Financial Services) I came into regular
contact with accountants! You may recall that Bowring ran a special PHI
scheme for the ICA!

Computing is simply a hobby for me, too, yet I still become frustrated "when
I cannot find answers to the clues"! <g>

Any ideas will be welcomed. I've not yet heard from Belarc by email.

David
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