SMBIOS Data Not Displayed Correctly by dmidecode and lshw on Debian 12 Powered by Core Ultra 7 165U

Samadhan · ‎01-13-2025

I have a physical bare-bone system with Intel Core Ultra 7 165U series , and I am encountering an issue with missing or incomplete SMBIOS/DMI information on Linux Debian12.

Despite multiple attempts to retrieve the SMBIOS data, such as manufacturer, product name, serial number, and other relevant details, are returning "NONE" or are missing entirely

I apologize for posting these questions here, but I have attempted various Linux utilities and troubleshooting steps with no success. I also posted the same question on the Linux Debian community but did not receive a resolution yet.
Ref : - https://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=815144#p815144

I just want to confirm if there are any specific limitations regarding SMBIOS/DMI data reporting on Intel Core Ultra U series or Intel motherboards. Is this a known issue or limitation on these hardware platforms?

System Information:

- CPU :

root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# lscpu
Architecture:             x86_64
  CPU op-mode(s):         32-bit, 64-bit
  Address sizes:          46 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
  Byte Order:             Little Endian
CPU(s):                   14
  On-line CPU(s) list:    0-13
Vendor ID:                GenuineIntel
  BIOS Vendor ID:         Intel(R) Corporation
  Model name:             Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 165U
    BIOS Model name:      Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 165U NONE CPU @ 1.5GHz
    BIOS CPU family:      1
    CPU family:           6
    Model:                170
    Thread(s) per core:   2
    Core(s) per socket:   12
    Socket(s):            1
    Stepping:             4
    CPU(s) scaling MHz:   80%
    CPU max MHz:          1700.0000
    CPU min MHz:          400.0000
    BogoMIPS:             5376.00
    Flags:                fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc art arch_perfmon pebs bt
                          s rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe po
                          pcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm 3dnowprefetch cpuid_fault epb intel_ppin ssbd ibrs ibpb stibp ibrs_enhanced tpr_shadow flexpriority ept vpid ept_ad fsgsbase
                           tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid rdseed adx smap clflushopt clwb intel_pt sha_ni xsaveopt xsavec xgetbv1 xsaves split_lock_detect avx_vnni dtherm arat pln pts hwp hwp_notify
                          hwp_act_window hwp_epp hwp_pkg_req hfi vnmi umip pku ospke waitpkg gfni vaes vpclmulqdq rdpid bus_lock_detect movdiri movdir64b fsrm md_clear serialize pconfig arch_lbr ibt flush_l1d arc
                          h_capabilities
Virtualization features:
  Virtualization:         VT-x
NUMA:
  NUMA node(s):           1
  NUMA node0 CPU(s):      0-13
Vulnerabilities:
  Gather data sampling:   Not affected
  Itlb multihit:          Not affected
  L1tf:                   Not affected
  Mds:                    Not affected
  Meltdown:               Not affected
  Mmio stale data:        Not affected
  Reg file data sampling: Not affected
  Retbleed:               Not affected
  Spec rstack overflow:   Not affected
  Spec store bypass:      Mitigation; Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Spectre v1:             Mitigation; usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Spectre v2:             Mitigation; Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB conditional; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS Not affected; BHI BHI_DIS_S
  Srbds:                  Not affected
  Tsx async abort:        Not affected

- Operating System:

root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /etc/os-release
PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)"
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
VERSION_ID="12"
VERSION="12 (bookworm)"
VERSION_CODENAME=bookworm
ID=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~#
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~#
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /etc/debian_version
12.8

- Kernel:

root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# uname -a
Linux DEB-NONE-NONE 6.11.5+bpo-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.11.5-1~bpo12+1 (2024-11-11) x86_64 GNU/Linux

- BIOS:

root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# dmidecode -t bios
# dmidecode 3.6
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.6.0 present.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 26 bytes
BIOS Information
        Vendor: American Megatrends International, LLC.
        Version: E7000MBXX00004
        Release Date: 10/24/2024
        Address: 0xF0000
        Runtime Size: 64 kB
        ROM Size: 0 MB
        Characteristics:
                PCI is supported
                BIOS is upgradeable
                BIOS shadowing is allowed
                Boot from CD is supported
                Selectable boot is supported
                BIOS ROM is socketed
                EDD is supported
                ACPI is supported
                BIOS boot specification is supported
                Targeted content distribution is supported
                UEFI is supported
        BIOS Revision: 5.32

Handle 0x0004, DMI type 13, 22 bytes
BIOS Language Information
        Language Description Format: Long
        Installable Languages: 1
                en|US|iso8859-1
        Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~#
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/bios_date
10/24/2024
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/bios_version
E7000MBXX00004
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/bios_date
10/24/2024
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~#
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/bios_
bios_date     bios_release  bios_vendor   bios_version
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/bios_vendor
American Megatrends International, LLC.

Commands and Output:

I have executed several Linux commands to retrieve the SMBIOS/DMI information, but they consistently return "NONE"

root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# dmidecode -t system
# dmidecode 3.6
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.6.0 present.
Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
Manufacturer: NONE
Product Name: NONE
Version: NONE
Serial Number: NONE
UUID: 11372406-101c-5f75-ffff-ffffffffffff
Wake-up Type: Power Switch
SKU Number: NONE
Family: NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# dmidecode -t baseboard
# dmidecode 3.6
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.6.0 present.
Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 15 bytes
Base Board Information
Manufacturer: NONE
Product Name: NONE
Version: B
Serial Number: NONE
Asset Tag: NONE
Features:
Board is a hosting board
Board is replaceable
Location In Chassis: NONE
Chassis Handle: 0x0003
Type: Motherboard
Contained Object Handles: 0
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# dmidecode -t chassis
# dmidecode 3.6
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.6.0 present.
Handle 0x0003, DMI type 3, 22 bytes
Chassis Information
Manufacturer: NONE
Type: Desktop
Lock: Not Present
Version: NONE
Serial Number: NONE
Asset Tag: NONE
Boot-up State: Safe
Power Supply State: Safe
Thermal State: Safe
Security Status: None
OEM Information: 0x00000000
Height: Unspecified
Number Of Power Cords: 1
Contained Elements: 0
SKU Number: NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# lshw -class system
deb-none-none
description: Desktop Computer
product: NONE (NONE)
vendor: NONE
version: NONE
serial: NONE
width: 64 bits
capabilities: smbios-3.6.0 dmi-3.6.0 smp vsyscall32
configuration: chassis=desktop family=NONE sku=NONE uuid=11372406-101c-5f75-ffff-ffffffffffff
*-pnp00:00
product: PnP device PNP0c02
physical id: 0
capabilities: pnp
configuration: driver=system
*-pnp00:05
product: PnP device PNP0c02
physical id: 5
capabilities: pnp
configuration: driver=system
*-pnp00:06
product: PnP device PNP0c02
physical id: 6
capabilities: pnp
configuration: driver=system
*-pnp00:07
product: PnP device PNP0c02
physical id: 7
capabilities: pnp
configuration: driver=system
*-pnp00:08
product: PnP device PNP0c02
physical id: 8
capabilities: pnp
configuration: driver=system
*-pnp00:09
product: PnP device PNP0c02
physical id: 9
capabilities: pnp
configuration: driver=system
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~#
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/board_name
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/board_serial
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/board_vendor
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/board_serial
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/board_version
B
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/chassis_asset_tag
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/chassis_serial
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/chassis_type
3
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/chassis_vendor
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/chassis_version
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/product_family
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/product_name
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/product_serial
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/product_sku
NONE
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/product_uuid
11372406-101c-5f75-ffff-ffffffffffff
root@DEB-NONE-NONE:~# cat /sys/devices/virtual/dmi/id/product_version
NONE

Request for Assistance:

Could you please provide any insights into why these SMBIOS/DMI values are missing or showing as "NONE" on Intel Core Ultra U series model?
Are there any recommended steps or BIOS/UEFI configurations that may help in enabling the correct reporting of this information?
If this issue is hardware-specific, are there any known limitations or custom BIOS configurations that could be causing this?

Please let me know if you need additional information or logs to further investigate this issue.

Thank you for your time and assistance!

Samadhan · ‎01-16-2025

Based on my understanding, OEM manufacturers are responsible for storing hardware information, such as manufacturer, product name, and serial numbers, in a structured format in the SMBIOS (System Management BIOS) or BIOS during the manufacturing or assembly process. Linux tools, such as `dmidecode` and `lshw`, retrieve this information from the DMI tables within the SMBIOS.

Here are the product details: Vecow SPC-9100 that we are currently using.

I have cross-referenced the `dmidecode` and `lshw` commands with similar systems (Intel NUC and ASUS hardware). These systems correctly display SMBIOS/DMI fields under the same Linux environment.

Intel NUC hardware

root@DEB-NUC11TNH-BTTN2290#######:~# dmidecode -t baseboard
# dmidecode 3.4
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.3.0 present.

Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 15 bytes
Base Board Information
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Product Name: NUC11TNBv5
Version: M11900-405
Serial Number: BTTN2290#######
Asset Tag:
Features:
Board is a hosting board
Board is replaceable
Location In Chassis:
Chassis Handle: 0x0003
Type: Motherboard
Contained Object Handles: 0

Asus hardware

root@DEB-NUC14RVS-S5ARYZ00X########:~# dmidecode -t system
# dmidecode 3.4
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.6.0 present.
# SMBIOS implementations newer than version 3.5.0 are not
# fully supported by this version of dmidecode.

Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
Product Name: NUC14RVS-B
Version: 90AR0051-M000E0
Serial Number: S5ARYZ00X########
UUID: a232847d-f66a-593e-40dd-88aedd65a6f4
Wake-up Type: Power Switch
SKU Number: NUC14RVS-B
Family: RV

This leads me to suspect that the problem might be OEM-specific and related to the Vecow SPC-9100 hardware.

I am in touch with the product's OEM regarding this issue and have received the following response from them:
Vecow does not write any information to the DMI TABLE when the product is shipped.

However, is there still any possibility of addressing this using Linux tools or other methods?

Mike_Intel · ‎01-16-2025

Hello Samadhan,

Thank you for posting in Intel community Forum.

Base on your posts, this processor is likely an OEM processor.

Since it is purchase this system and the processor is embedded on the system.

The BIOS is also from the OEM manufacturer since the board is also configured by them.

Try checking with the OEM system manufacturer first for further checking.

If you have questions, please let us know. Thank you.

Best regards,

Michael L.

Intel Customer Support Technician

n_scott_pearson · ‎01-16-2025

OMG! This problem has absolutely nothing to do with the processor.

The BIOS provides the SMBIOS table and it is the configuration of the BIOS that determines what data it has (or has not) to populate the table. You need to contact the motherboard/system manufacturer and find out from them what tools are available for the modification of the strings, etc. that will be included. It may be standard tools from the BIOS IBV or custom tools from the motherboard manufacturer.

As for the processor information displayed, if this is incorrect, it is because of a bug in the BIOS. This too should be grounds for contacting the motherboard manufacturer.

Hope this helps,

...S