FAQ.lst

Frequently-Asked Questions	Release 61		Last Edit 16jul00
Copyright 2000 Ralf Brown

Have a frequently-asked question about interrupts or ports and its answer?
Mail them to me for inclusion in this file (with credit to you).
	ralf@pobox.com

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Index:
  1.	Is there an interrupt to get the BIOS serial number as shown on the
	power-up screen?


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Q1: Is there an interrupt to get the BIOS serial number as shown on the
   power-up screen?
A: (Ralf Brown)
   There is no general way to get the serial number.  In most cases, you
   need to know the proper offset in the BIOS image for that particular
   make, model, and revision of the BIOS (and that offset may not even
   be present in the real-mode image loaded into shadow RAM!).

   Further, with a flashable BIOS, it is quite likely that every single
   machine that has been updated with a downloadable upgrade from the
   Web will have identical serial numbers, assuming they weren't already
   identical as shipped from the factory with the original BIOS version.
   Because of this, the BIOS serial number is essentially useless for
   any identification purposes.

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