PowerShell: Get BIOS Manufacturer
Need to identify who made the BIOS/firmware on a machine - for hardware inventory, driver troubleshooting, or confirming whether you're on physical hardware or a virtual machine? This one-liner pulls it straight from the system.
Prerequisites:
- Privileges: None
- Module: Built-in, no import needed
Quick Command:
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object ManufacturerExample Output:
Manufacturer
------------
Parallels International GmbH.📦
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How It Works:
- Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS queries the Win32_BIOS WMI class, which stores information about the BIOS/firmware installed on the system.
- Manufacturer returns the name of the company that produced the BIOS - on physical machines, this is usually the OEM (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.) or the motherboard maker.
Why Does This Show a Virtualization Company Instead of a Hardware Brand?
If this shows a virtualization company (like "Parallels International GmbH.", "VMware, Inc.", or "Microsoft Corporation" for Hyper-V) instead of a hardware brand, you're looking at a virtual machine, not physical hardware - a quick way to spot the difference without checking anything else.