Make BIOS settings from Windows

Hello!

I would like to know if it's posible to make a setting in BIOS, from
Windows.
What I want to do is to set RTC Alarm, without entering in BIOS. I
want to make this setting on several computers, that's way I don't
want to make it manually on each computer. What I have in mind is to
use a DLL with some API functions that could allow me to set this in
BIOS from my application under Windows.

Is this posible?


Thanks!

Maxim
Tue Jul 08 11:44:38 CDT 2008

Windows waitable timers can be used for this, but I think you must not turn
the machine off, you must hibernate instead.

RTC Alarm - unlike ACPI timers - is vendor's proprietary feature without
any generic API, any standard, and not supported in most BIOSes.

--
Maxim Shatskih, Windows DDK MVP
StorageCraft Corporation
maxim@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com

"danis" <danisirb@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4097d402-0998-4694-a147-6e034d6b1fc9@w7g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> Hello!
>
> I would like to know if it's posible to make a setting in BIOS, from
> Windows.
> What I want to do is to set RTC Alarm, without entering in BIOS. I
> want to make this setting on several computers, that's way I don't
> want to make it manually on each computer. What I have in mind is to
> use a DLL with some API functions that could allow me to set this in
> BIOS from my application under Windows.
>
> Is this posible?
>
>
> Thanks!

DeStefan
Mon Jul 21 14:23:01 CDT 2008

Make a dummy driver, to read the whole persistent memory of your bios an
write it to a file (you will need a driver due the privileges in kernel mode.
this is the only way to access the ports you will need to read the memory of
the bios).
The big deal is finding out, at which address the non volatile memory of the
bios starts and where it ends. but i think you can get this information from
the manufacturer of the bios.
if you write this information into the file then change the desired bios
setting and read information from bios again.
compage the differences, then you know what you need to change.
use the dummy driver again to write the information. so you can install the
dummy driver on the desired system. after update succeeds, you may remove the
driver.
the easiest approach would be if you have a win98 boot disk. then you do not
need a driver. you can just make a small exe file, that uses _portout resp.
_portin to read and write to/from bios memory.

"danis" wrote:

> Hello!
>
> I would like to know if it's posible to make a setting in BIOS, from
> Windows.
> What I want to do is to set RTC Alarm, without entering in BIOS. I
> want to make this setting on several computers, that's way I don't
> want to make it manually on each computer. What I have in mind is to
> use a DLL with some API functions that could allow me to set this in
> BIOS from my application under Windows.
>
> Is this posible?
>
>
> Thanks!
>