[Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

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fth0
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by fth0 »

jefazo92 wrote:I hope in the next revision the date format can be specified (or provide examples which would be even better)
In general, the format of SMBIOS variables depends on the version of the SMBIOS specification used. A prominent change in the past was the change of the endianness of parts of the DMI System UUID (in my early VirtualBox forum days, I helped analyzing a VirtualBox issue regarding that change, that's when I learnt about it ;)). I'd guess that the VirtualBox developers don't want to cover/duplicate multiple SMBIOS versions in their documentation.

Thinking about it, another hint: Within the guest OS, check which SMBIOS version is used by the VirtualBox version you're using, and look at the corresponding version of the specification.
jefazo92
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by jefazo92 »

mpack wrote:New topic merged because I see it as the exact same discussion, only the choice of DMI variable has changed. I also expect that the answer will be exactly the same: get the format from the manual, then do that.
Well perhaps if the manual said which format should be used I wouldn't be asking this. Please since you are so knowledgeable of the manual, can you tell me in which page I can find the info? Or perhaps you can try to make the change yourself and see if it's so easy to make it as you make it sound becasue the manual only says write an integer, which I did as you can see in my screenshot above, and it has changed nothing.
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by fth0 »

To give you one example that I just tried myself:

Code: Select all

VBoxManage setextradata "Windows 10" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSReleaseMinor" 42

Code: Select all

wmic bios get SystemBiosMinorVersion
SystemBiosMinorVersion
42
System Management BIOS (SMBIOS) Reference Specification 3.6, chapter "7.1 BIOS Information (Type 0)", pp. 32 ff.
jefazo92
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by jefazo92 »

fth0 wrote:Thinking about it, another hint: Within the guest OS, check which SMBIOS version is used by the VirtualBox version you're using, and look at the corresponding version of the specification.
Thank you foryour reply @fth0. I have SMBIOS 2.5 but I want to change it as the one used by my host (version 1.41). However, I don't understand what I have to find in the SMBIOS documentation for me to be able change major version from 2 to 1, and minor version from 5 to 41. This has to do with the

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VBoxManage setextradata cuckoo1 "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSReleaseMinor" 
command not the SMBIOS spec and as you can see in the screenshot above from the merged topic, I have tried as you've done it and it hasn't make any changes to the BIOS version in my Windows 7 VM.

And even if what you are saying about the SMBIOS guide is true for certain features, this is not mentioned at all in the User Manual and. at the very least, it could be mentioned.
Last edited by mpack on 28. Jul 2022, 16:33, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Trim verbatim quote.
fth0
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by fth0 »

Ah, it sounds like you're confusing things:

SMBIOS version and BIOS version are two different things. You asked how to change the latter, and my example just does that. Changing the SMBIOS version is a totally different beast. AFAICS, VirtualBox only creates SMBIOS 2.5 tables, and you'd have to adapt the VirtualBox source code and build VirtualBox yourself to change that.

FWIW, I don't know any SMBIOS version older than 2.0, which was specified ~1996. That doesn't mean that there couldn't be a 1.41 version, though.
scottgus1
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by scottgus1 »

jefazo92 wrote: this is not mentioned at all in the User Manual and. at the very least, it could be mentioned.
It sure could be, yes. I'll give you a perspective on why it probably won't be, though: If everything that folks wanted in the manual was put there, the manual would be unbearably huge. It's big enough now. 6.1.36's manual is 409 pages printed out on 8.5 x 11 paper. 'Tis quite a book already.

Virtualbox help materials tell how to run Virtualbox, not how to use the OS's that act as the Virtualbox hosts or get installed in the guests. The help materials show how to use Virtualbox's networks, but not how to set up a network. Those things not explained are discoverable with web-searches from sources that have already explained them. And Virtualbox explains what can be done with DMI info, but what gets put in DMI info is web-searchable from the sources that have explained it already.
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by mpack »

scottgus1 wrote:If everything that folks wanted in the manual was put there, the manual would be unbearably huge. It's big enough now. 6.1.36's manual is 409 pages
That's your threshold for "unbearably huge" is it? :D

I'm currently working my way through the hardware reference for the NXP i.MX 8M Quad processor, a great bedtime read at 6555 pages!

But I agree - there will always be details that can't be included in a user manual. You get it from the source code.
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by jefazo92 »

scottgus1 wrote:And Virtualbox explains what can be done with DMI info, but what gets put in DMI info is web-searchable from the sources that have explained it already.
I understand what you mean @scottgus1 about trying not to lengthen the guide unnecessarily but to simply say, for example, "for more information see Manual A", you wouldn't have to write another whole chapter about it and as a Virtualbox user, it would help us a lot. There may be things that are discoverable with web searches but there are way more that aren't because they are very niche questions/topics that not everyone knows about. Look for example at this question I made on how to change the SMBIOS version, I have googled everywhere, asked in many online communities yet it seems that nobody knows the answer of how to change the SMBIOS major and minor versions nor did anyone know, for my previous BIOS date question, that the date format had to be written as mm/dd/yyyy with slashes and not dashes. I know that mods and people like you are very knowledgeable, these kind of questions are easy and mean nothing to you but please understand that there are many users here like me who are students starting to get into virtualisation and if we ask questions it might be, as in my case, that there isn't anything online about it. That's why I wrote here so that I could get help from the experts but not to get turned down and be issued a warning because my new question is "very simple" and has to be in this same thread since it is about dmi setting. If I try to make a new question about this I'll get a warning again from mpack and since the title now says "solved", not written by me, I'm limited to somebody who might want to check a "solved" post to read my latest question about SMBIOS version. I'm here to learn and if nobody doesn't know the answer to my question, then, with all due respect, who does?
Last edited by mpack on 28. Jul 2022, 16:34, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Trim verbatim quote.
fth0
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by fth0 »

I'll only address some parts of your latest post (I'm no moderator ;)):
jefazo92 wrote:I have SMBIOS 2.5 but I want to change it as the one used by my host (version 1.41).
fth0 wrote:SMBIOS version and BIOS version are two different things.[...]
jefazo92 wrote:Look for example at this question I made on how to change the SMBIOS version
Just to be sure: Did you realize that you asked this question the first and only time in your previous post, as quoted above, and never before in this thread? Did you understand my answer, quoted partly above?
jefazo92 wrote:I'm here to learn and if nobody doesn't know the answer to my question, then, with all due respect, who does?
I've also been trying to encourage you to learn, and I've answered nearly all of your questions, but perhaps my answers have been too cryptic or too demanding for you, which is perfectly ok. If you'd tell me what you did understand and what not, I'd be willing to try to help you further. :)

But also note that the Volunteers and Moderators serve the VirtualBox forums in their limited spare time, so tutoring you may be out of scope.
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by scottgus1 »

In addition to fth0's comments, I'll just point out that suggestions on manual wording and things to possibly put in can be posted as enhancements on the Bugtracker. We here on the forum have no say in what goes in the manual. FWIW I didn't know the date format either. It wasn't until I looked at the specification and at Martin's post several times that it finally dawned on me that there would not be a 14th month... :D
jefazo92
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by jefazo92 »

fth0 wrote:also note that the Volunteers and Moderators serve the VirtualBox forums in their limited spare time, so tutoring you may be out of scope.
@fth0 thank you for your reply. Believe me I'm not asking to be tutored here. But I obviously appreciate and welcome it. You've been trying to help me out and I have read through the SMBIOS manual and tried the same command as you have had, however, it's not making any changes in my VM. As you can see 2 posts (the one which was added by mpack and in which I meant SMBIOS but has now been edited) I have tried many numbers but when I run

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wmic bios get SystemBiosMinorVersion
, I get 5 from the 2.5 SMBIOS that is by default on the Windows VM and I don't know why it's not working for me. I really would appreciate it if you could let me know if I'm doing something wrong.
Last edited by mpack on 28. Jul 2022, 16:35, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Trim verbatim quote.
fth0
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by fth0 »

Ok, I think I'm quite sure now that you still didn't understand the following crucial part (I'll try it with colors this time):
fth0 wrote:SMBIOS version and BIOS version are two different things.
fth0 wrote: VBoxManage setextradata "Windows 10" "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSReleaseMinor" 42

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wmic bios get SystemBiosMinorVersion
SystemBiosMinorVersion
42
What I've been doing here is changing and querying the minor part of the BIOS version. This is one of hundreds of fields contained in the SMBIOS structures/tables, whose layout is defined in the SMBIOS specification, which has a version called the SMBIOS version which is contained in a header field of the SMBIOS structures/tables. Changing the SMBIOS version means creating totally different SMBIOS structures/tables.

VirtualBox uses the SMBIOS specification 2.5 and constructs the SMBIOS structures/tables as defined in the specification. It allows to change some commonly used fields in the SMBIOS structures/tables like the BIOS version.
fth0 wrote:FWIW, I don't know any SMBIOS version older than 2.0, which was specified ~1996. That doesn't mean that there couldn't be a 1.41 version, though.
What is the 1.41 you've been talking about? Is it a BIOS version or a SMBIOS version. How do you know that?

PS: I know I'm sounding like a teacher here, but you should pay more attention to details. For example:
jefazo92 wrote:SMBIOS manual
There is a VirtualBox User Manual and a SMBIOS specification. I assume you mean the latter, but because of your inaccurate wording I cannot be sure about that.
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by jefazo92 »

@fth0 perhaps I haven't been explaining myself well. I know the difference between BIOS and SMBIOS. BIOS is the Basic Input/Output system responsible for POST whereas SMBIOS is the System Management BIOS. I understand that clearly. I wanted to change the SMBIOS version because in my real Windows laptop that is the version SMBIOS version I'm running. And according to the VirtualBox User Manual if you run the command you run above in the host and then check the SMBIOS version with msinfo32 or wmic with cmd in the Windows VM you should see the newly changed SMBIOS version which for me is not happening. Now I only want to know why is that happening to me and how may I then change the SMBIOS version. And when I say the SMBIOS specification, I mean the "System Management BIOS (SMBIOS) Reference Specification Version: 3.6.0"
Last edited by mpack on 28. Jul 2022, 16:28, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Remove verbatim quote.
mpack
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by mpack »

jefazo92 wrote:BIOS is the Basic Input/Output system responsible for POST whereas SMBIOS is the System Management BIOS.
Not really. AIUI, SMBIOS is a spec (for certain aspects, e.g. certain kinds of a status reporting), the BIOS we use is an implementation. Hence why you can't just arbitrarily change the SMBIOS version that your BIOS conforms to.
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Re: [Solved] How can the BIOS release date be changed for a VirtualBox VM?

Post by jefazo92 »

mpack wrote:Not really. AIUI, SMBIOS is a spec (for certain aspects, e.g. certain kinds of a status reporting), the BIOS we use is an implementation.
In that case, it means it's impossible to change the SMBIOS version?
Last edited by mpack on 28. Jul 2022, 16:29, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Trim verbatim quote.
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