Sending Bios data over USB

[Sabertooth990FX]

You know how when you enter your Bios, you see all the info related to your systems hardware? Temperatures, voltages, fan speeds, et cetera?
Can anybody recommend a way to get all that info sent from the Bios to, say USB (Or serial if I have to. Whatever, as long as it gets out of the computer).

Basically what I'm doing is trying to create a hardware based system monitor, via RasPi probably, that monitors, analyzes and helps troubleshoot any issues with a computer. I realize there are plenty of preexisting programs and components out there but they all have one drawback or another that makes it not suitable to my needs. The first biggest drawback is that they only work when the computer is running. If the computer crashes, any data that was being compiled just prior to the crash will be lost. Therefore it must be a self powered, stand alone piece of hardware. Which brings us to drawback number two, any product that solves drawback number one is usually WAY out of my price range.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated. I'm sure what I'm asking for is probably way more involved then could be covered here so I'm not looking for a class; just some key words to type in to google that would help me educate myself.

 

[TJ Hooker]

The first biggest drawback is that they only work when the computer is running. If the computer crashes, any data that was being compiled just prior to the crash will be lost.

Programs ike HWiNFO64 have the option to log sensor data to a file. In the event of a crash all the data should still be captured there.

 

[Dan_136]

To me it sounds like you are attempting to create your own BMC (baseboard management controller).

The key to this is to think of the main computer as one computer system, the chipset as a second, and then the controller you want to add as the third. All 3 will combine to be your final computer system.

It is common for server chipsets to incorporate a BMC which provides out of band hardware management/monitoring this includes voltages, fan speeds, power etc... It also commonly includes a SEL (System Event Log) which records hardware events and errors. The BMC can be extremely useful for diagnosing hardware issues. IPMI tool documentation should give you an idea what is available from a typical BMC.

It sounds like you are looking to create your own form of a BMC. This is going to be difficult because the BMC usually has tight integration with the chipset. In typical servers the BMC is a separate processor in addition to the chipset. The key to create your own form of a BMC with a Raspberry pi or other microprocessor/controller is going to be establishing communication between the chipset and the microcontroller serial communication is a good idea because serial ports are usually connected to the main computer through the chipset, though you may find using an I2C, SPI or other low level bus easier. You will likely need custom firmware to use the serial port or other bus to communicate between the PI and the chipset. It may also be worth attempting to snoop on communications between sensors and the chipset using the I2C Bus or Busses, perhaps you can pick up the data you need here without having to modify firmware.

Easier solution would likely be using your own voltage and temperature probes. The firmware you are looking to mess with is usually locked down well.

If you do choose to continue know that this is a HUGE project. I would start looking at chipset documentation and the coreboot project to get an idea what you are in for.

The time this will take is going to make those prices seem cheap

 

[Sabertooth990FX]

Thanks TJ; I'll certainly give that program a try but most of the programs I've tried that make that claim don't actually work in my case. If the system freezes up fast enough, there just isn't time to write to a file. This isn't a blue-screen-of-death kind of crash where the systems knows something went wrong and can point you at a potential solution. This is an instantaneous halt. No warnings. No glitches. No hiccups. Just stop. All I/O is terminated. All programs (that could write to a log file) stop.

So I'm still looking for a way to get that info out of the Bios.

 

[Sabertooth990FX]

Thanks Dan! That's something to start with. Yeah I kinda figured I'd be stepping in to something with this but I think if it works, it may be worth it. Or at least I'll learn from it. 🙂

 

[mjslakeridge]

If you are getting instantaneous shut downs, I would consider your PSU as a potential culprit. How often does this happen? What are you doing on the computer when it happens?

 

[Sabertooth990FX]

I considered the PSU but I can be doing anything from heavy gaming to word processor work and it will happen. I have a kill-o-watt and noted that power consumption is kinda all over the map when it happens. If it was always at 'x' watts when it happened, then maybe but it's not consistent. That being said, it happens more frequently when gaming or watching YouTube.

And yeah, I could just swap out the video card to see if that solves the problem, but this is something I've been wanting to do for a while anyway. Plus it's no longer my primary computer so I can afford to learn from it now. 🙂

 

[TJ Hooker]

Thanks TJ; I'll certainly give that program a try but most of the programs I've tried that make that claim don't actually work in my case. If the system freezes up fast enough, there just isn't time to write to a file. This isn't a blue-screen-of-death kind of crash where the systems knows something went wrong and can point you at a potential solution. This is an instantaneous halt. No warnings. No glitches. No hiccups. Just stop. All I/O is terminated. All programs (that could write to a log file) stop.

So I'm still looking for a way to get that info out of the Bios.

HWiNFO64 writes to the log file as it's running, i.e. it adds another row to the .csv every time the sensor data updates. Given that the data is already written to file, I don't see how it would be lost even if power was abruptly removed.