Dell-WMI-Sysman Linux Driver Being Extended For Alienware Systems

Written by Michael Larabel in Hardware on 24 September 2024 at 06:17 AM EDT. 3 Comments
HARDWARE
The Dell-WMI-Sysman driver on Linux allows for managing BIOS settings from within Linux using sysfs. This dell-wmi-sysman kernel driver supports most Dell platforms from 2018 and newer for convenient BIOS management.

This driver was merged back in 2020 and now with pending driver patches is being extended to also cover Alienware systems. With being owned by Dell, modern Alienware systems are quite similar to those branded as Dell. In the case of the dell-wmi-sysman driver it's just a matter of adding OEM string checks for "Alienware" to complement the Dell checks.

Alienware logo


With these patches adjusting the checks to accommodate for Alienware, these modern gaming-focused systems should now be able to enjoy BIOS management under Linux with this driver. The patches are still being reviewed but hopefully will be ready by the next kernel merge window.
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