MS System Management BIOS Driver

Question

My Inspiron 2500 just went through a series of problems, and after wrestling with it for a few days, I've almost got it working. The only remaining problem is that the modem doesn't work. It is installed, and says its working, but MSN can't find it. The only problem I see in the device manager is that a system device 'Microsoft System Management BIOS Driver' has a question mark. I don't know if it will fix the problem, but its a start. Does anyone know where I can find that driver?

bacillus · Answer

Have you tried clicking on update driver under properties of that device with a question mark next to it? I only suggest this because the driver used is included in Windows XP.

jkingdev · Answer

Yes I have, and the driver is not found. It is not on the XP operating system cd or the XP drivers and utilities cd. The wizard then suggests searching online, but of course, the modem doesnt work. Is there a place where I can download the driver, and will it fix the modem?

jkingdev · Answer

I was doint some searching on google, and I found an HJT Log (what is that?). One of the entries was:

Microsoft System Management BIOS Driver: System32\DRIVERS\mssmbios.sys (manual start)

So on the broken laptop, I browse over too C:\Windows\System32\DRIVERS, and sure enough there is a file called mssmbios.sys. I am assuming this is the driver. So I go to the device manager and attempt to install the driver again and tell it to search that directory for the driver, and it still says that it cannot find the correct driver!!! What is the problem?!?! Please help.

jkingdev · Answer

I think I know why mssmbios.sys wont work. It is the service pack 2 version of the driver (it said so in the driver properties). I no longer have sevice pack 2. My laptop came with the origional xp, and I got sp2 from windows update. One of the things that I did recently to fix it was run the repair installation process on the xp cd. I think this erased sp2, and the problem is that the driver was not replaced. Does anyone have the non-sp2 version of the driver for an insp2500? Can I find it compressed somewhere on the xp cd?

DELL-BobT · Answer

jkingdev, Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum. This file can easily be found through a Google search.  Here is a link to a page where you can download the file.

Locked Topics – Laptops General

MS System Management BIOS Driver

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