# phpman > man > biosdecode(8)

[BIOSDECODE(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/BIOSDECODE/8/markdown)                          System Manager's Manual                         [BIOSDECODE(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/BIOSDECODE/8/markdown)



## NAME
       biosdecode - BIOS information decoder

## SYNOPSIS
       **biosdecode** [**OPTIONS**]

## DESCRIPTION
       **biosdecode**  parses  the  BIOS  memory  and  prints information about all structures (or entry
       points) it knows of. Currently known entry point types are:

       • SMBIOS (System Management BIOS)
         Use **dmidecode** for a more detailed output.

       • DMI (Desktop Management Interface, a legacy version of SMBIOS)
         Use **dmidecode** for a more detailed output.

       • SYSID

       • PNP (Plug and Play)

       • ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)

       • BIOS32 (BIOS32 Service Directory)

       • PIR (PCI IRQ Routing)

       • 32OS (BIOS32 Extension, Compaq-specific)
         See **ownership** for a Compaq ownership tag retrieval tool.

       • SNY (Sony-specific, not decoded)

       • VPD (Vital Product Data, IBM-specific)
         Use **vpddecode** for a more detailed output.

       • FJKEYINF (Application Panel, Fujitsu-specific)


       **biosdecode** started its life as a part of **dmidecode** but as more entry point types were  added,
       it was moved to a different program.

## OPTIONS
### -d --dev-mem
              Read memory from device **FILE** (default: **/dev/mem**)

           **--pir** **full**
              Decode the details of the PCI IRQ routing table

### -h --help
              Display usage information and exit

### -V --version
              Display the version and exit

## FILES
       _/dev/mem_

## BUGS
       Most  of  the  time,  **biosdecode** prints too much information (you don't really care about ad‐
       dresses) or not enough (because it doesn't follow pointers and has no lookup tables).

## AUTHORS
       Alan Cox, Jean Delvare

## SEE ALSO
       [**dmidecode**(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/dmidecode/8/markdown), [**mem**(4)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/mem/4/markdown), [**ownership**(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/ownership/8/markdown), [**vpddecode**(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/vpddecode/8/markdown)



dmidecode                                   February 2007                              [BIOSDECODE(8)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/BIOSDECODE/8/markdown)