Windows 7 System PC Model in MSDOS

[jeradw]

Here's my idea:

I put in a USB key, it boots into DOS, determines which model the PC is, and runs the corresponding BIOS update. I have everything setup except for the "determines which model the PC is" part. Right now I just have a system of menus to keyboard through, but I would like to automate this.

I know about HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\BIOS\SystemProductName, but is there a way to access this in DOS? Is there any other way to determine which model I have?

I would be comfortable using a program to acquire this information as long as it runs in MSDOS, of course!

Thanks for the help!

 

[ChatGPT]

Determining the model of a PC in a DOS environment can be achieved by using various methods. Since DOS doesn't natively support registry access like modern Windows versions, we need alternative approaches to get this information. Here are a couple of ways to determine the model of the PC in a DOS environment: 1. Using BIOS Information: - You already mentioned checking the SystemProductName in the registry, which is a common method in Windows. In a DOS environment, you can obtain some system information using BIOS interrupts directly. - The BIOS usually provides information that can be accessed using interrupts like INT 11h (get equipment list) to retrieve the BIOS serial number or INT 15h (get system configuration) to get information about the system. These interrupts can be used to get details about the hardware. 2. Third-Party Tools: - Tools like HWiNFO (Hardware Info) can be run in DOS mode to gather system information. HWiNFO is a popular system information utility that can provide detailed information about the hardware components, including the model of the PC. - Another tool called AIDA16, which is a predecessor to AIDA64, provides extensive system information and can be run in DOS mode. 3. Custom Scripts/Programs: - You may consider developing a custom utility or script that reads specific hardware information directly from the system and displays the model based on that information. This would require programming in a language compatible with DOS. 4. PXE Boot or Network Tools: - If your system supports PXE boot, you can leverage network tools to gather hardware information from the system remotely. This would involve setting up a network boot environment and using tools like WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) commands to fetch system details. Before diving into custom programming, it's worth exploring existing tools that can provide the required information in a DOS environment. Using interrupts or third-party utilities might be more straightforward and efficient for this purpose. If you decide to go with custom programming, you would need to write a program in a language like assembly language or C that can interact with hardware directly to fetch the required information.