Win32_BIOS

Internal identifier for this compilation of this software element.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, BuildNumber

Caption

Short description of the object a one-line string.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, Caption

CodeSet

Code set used by this software element.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, CodeSet

CurrentLanguage

Name of the current BIOS language.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, CurrentLanguage

Description

Description of the object.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, Description

EmbeddedControllerMajorVersion

The major release of the embedded controller firmware.

This value comes from the Embedded Controller Firmware Major Release member of the BIOS Information structure in the SMBIOS information.

Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista: This property is not supported before Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, EmbeddedControllerMajorVersion

EmbeddedControllerMinorVersion

The minor release of the embedded controller firmware.

This value comes from the Embedded Controller Firmware Minor Release member of the BIOS Information structure in the SMBIOS information.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, EmbeddedControllerMinorVersion

IdentificationCode

Manufacturer’s identifier for this software element. Often this will be a stock keeping unit (SKU) or a part number.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, IdentificationCode

InstallableLanguages

UINT16

Number of languages available for installation on this system. Language may determine properties such as the need for Unicode and bidirectional text.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, InstallableLanguages

InstallDate

DATETIME

Date and time the object was installed. This property does not need a value to indicate that the object is installed.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, InstallDate

LanguageEdition

STRING MAX 32 CHAR

Language edition of this software element. The language codes defined in ISO 639 should be used. Where the software element represents a multilingual or international version of a product, the string “multilingual” should be used.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, LanguageEdition

ListOfLanguages

STRING ARRAY

Array of names of available BIOS-installable languages.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, ListOfLanguages

Manufacturer

KEY PROPERTY STRING MAX 256 CHAR

Manufacturer of this software element.

This value comes from the Vendor member of the BIOS Information structure in the SMBIOS information.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, Manufacturer

Name

Name used to identify this software element.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem

OtherTargetOS

Records the manufacturer and operating system type for a software element when the TargetOperatingSystem property has a value of 1 (Other). When TargetOperatingSystem has a value of 1, OtherTargetOS must have a nonnull value. For all other values of TargetOperatingSystem, OtherTargetOS is NULL.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, OtherTargetOS

PrimaryBIOS

BOOLEAN

If TRUE, this is the primary BIOS of the computer system.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, PrimaryBIOS

ReleaseDate

DATETIME

Release date of the Windows BIOS in the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) format of YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.MMMMMM(+-)OOO.

This value comes from the BIOS Release Date member of the BIOS Information structure in the SMBIOS information.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, ReleaseDate

SerialNumber

Assigned serial number of the software element.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, SerialNumber

SMBIOSBIOSVersion

KEY PROPERTY STRING MAX 256 CHAR

BIOS version as reported by SMBIOS.

This value comes from the BIOS Version member of the BIOS Information structure in the SMBIOS information.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, SMBIOSBIOSVersion

SMBIOSMajorVersion

UINT16

Major SMBIOS version number. This property is NULL if SMBIOS is not found.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, SMBIOSMajorVersion

SMBIOSMinorVersion

UINT16

Minor SMBIOS version number. This property is NULL if SMBIOS is not found.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, SMBIOSMinorVersion

SMBIOSPresent

BOOLEAN

If true, the SMBIOS is available on this computer system.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, SMBIOSPresent

SoftwareElementID

Identifier for this software element; designed to be used in conjunction with other keys to create a unique representation of this instance.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem

SoftwareElementState

KEY PROPERTY UINT16

State of a software element.

SoftwareElementState returns a numeric value. To translate it into a meaningful text, use any of the following approaches:

Use a PowerShell Hashtable

$SoftwareElementState_map = @{
      0 = 'Deployable'
      1 = 'Installable'
      2 = 'Executable'
      3 = 'Running'
}

Use a switch statement

switch([int]$value)
{
  0          {'Deployable'}
  1          {'Installable'}
  2          {'Executable'}
  3          {'Running'}
  default    {"$value"}
}

Use Enum structure

Enum EnumSoftwareElementState
{
  Deployable    = 0
  Installable   = 1
  Executable    = 2
  Running       = 3
}

Examples

Use $SoftwareElementState_map in a calculated property for Select-Object

<# 
  this example uses a hashtable to translate raw numeric values for 
  property "SoftwareElementState" to friendly text

  Note: to use other properties than "SoftwareElementState", look up the appropriate 
  translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text

# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "SoftwareElementState" 
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$SoftwareElementState_map = @{
      0 = 'Deployable'
      1 = 'Installable'
      2 = 'Executable'
      3 = 'Running'
}

#endregion define hashtable

#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)

<#
  a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
  "Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "SoftwareElementState", but you can rename it to anything else)
  "Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
  in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
  value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
 
$SoftwareElementState = @{
  Name = 'SoftwareElementState'
  Expression = {
    # property is an array, so process all values
    $value = $_.SoftwareElementState
    $SoftwareElementState_map[[int]$value]
  }  
}
#endregion define calculated property

# retrieve the instances, and output the properties "Caption" and "SoftwareElementState". The latter
# is defined by the hashtable in $SoftwareElementState: 
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Caption, $SoftwareElementState

# ...or dump content of property SoftwareElementState:
$friendlyValues = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | 
    Select-Object -Property $SoftwareElementState |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty SoftwareElementState

# output values
$friendlyValues

# output values as comma separated list
$friendlyValues -join ', '

# output values as bullet list
$friendlyValues | ForEach-Object { "- $_" }

Use $SoftwareElementState_map to directly translate raw values from an instance

<# 
  this example uses a hashtable to manually translate raw numeric values 
  for property "Win32_BIOS" to friendly text. This approach is ideal when
  there is just one instance to work with.

  Note: to use other properties than "Win32_BIOS", look up the appropriate 
  translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text

# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "Win32_BIOS" 
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$SoftwareElementState_map = @{
      0 = 'Deployable'
      1 = 'Installable'
      2 = 'Executable'
      3 = 'Running'
}

#endregion define hashtable

# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -First 1

<#
  IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to illustrate
  the number-to-text translation. To process all instances, replace
  "Select-Object -First 1" with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use
  the iterator variable $_ instead of $instance
#>

# query the property
$rawValue = $instance.SoftwareElementState  

# translate raw value to friendly text:
$friendlyName = $SoftwareElementState_map[[int]$rawValue]

# output value
$friendlyName

Use a switch statement inside a calculated property for Select-Object

<# 
  this example uses a switch clause to translate raw numeric 
  values for property "SoftwareElementState" to friendly text. The switch
  clause is embedded into a calculated property so there is
  no need to refer to external variables for translation.

  Note: to use other properties than "SoftwareElementState", look up the appropriate 
  translation switch clause for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)

<#
  a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
  "Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "SoftwareElementState", but you can rename it to anything else)
  "Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
  in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
  value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
 
$SoftwareElementState = @{
  Name = 'SoftwareElementState'
  Expression = {
    # property is an array, so process all values
    $value = $_.SoftwareElementState
    
    switch([int]$value)
      {
        0          {'Deployable'}
        1          {'Installable'}
        2          {'Executable'}
        3          {'Running'}
        default    {"$value"}
      }
      
  }  
}
#endregion define calculated property

# retrieve all instances...
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | 
  # ...and output properties "Caption" and "SoftwareElementState". The latter is defined
  # by the hashtable in $SoftwareElementState:
  Select-Object -Property Caption, $SoftwareElementState

Use the Enum from above to auto-translate the code values

<# 
  this example translates raw values by means of type conversion
  the friendly names are defined as enumeration using the
  keyword "enum" (PowerShell 5 or better)
  
  The raw value(s) are translated to friendly text by 
  simply converting them into the enum type.
  
  Note: to use other properties than "Win32_BIOS", look up the appropriate 
  enum definition for the property you would like to use instead.
#>


#region define enum with value-to-text translation:
Enum EnumSoftwareElementState
{
  Deployable    = 0
  Installable   = 1
  Executable    = 2
  Running       = 3
}

#endregion define enum

# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -First 1

<#
  IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to focus on
  the number-to-text type conversion. 
  
  To process all instances, replace   "Select-Object -First 1" 
  with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use the iterator variable 
  $_ instead of $instance
#>

# query the property:
$rawValue = $instance.SoftwareElementState

#region using strict type conversion

<#
  Note: strict type conversion fails if the raw value is 
  not defined by the enum. So if the list of allowable values
  was extended and the enum does not match the value,
  an exception is thrown
#>

# convert the property to the enum **SoftwareElementState** 
[EnumSoftwareElementState]$rawValue 

# get a comma-separated string:
[EnumSoftwareElementState]$rawValue -join ',' 
#endregion

#region using operator "-as"

<#
  Note: the operator "-as" accepts values not defined
  by the enum and returns $null instead of throwing
  an exception
#>

$rawValue -as [EnumSoftwareElementState]
#endregion

Enums must cover all possible values. If SoftwareElementState returns a value that is not defined in the enum, an exception occurs. The exception reports the value that was missing in the enum. To fix, add the missing value to the enum.

Status

STRING MAX 10 CHAR

Current status of an object. Various operational and nonoperational statuses can be defined. Available values:

$values = 'Degraded','Error','Lost Comm','No Contact','NonRecover','OK','Pred Fail','Service','Starting','Stopping','Stressed','Unknown'

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, Status

SystemBiosMajorVersion

The major release of the System BIOS.

This value comes from the System BIOS Major Release member of the BIOS Information structure in the SMBIOS information.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, SystemBiosMajorVersion

SystemBiosMinorVersion

The minor release of the System BIOS.

This value comes from the System BIOS Minor Release member of the BIOS Information structure in the SMBIOS information.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Name, SoftwareElementID, SoftwareElementState, TargetOperatingSystem, SystemBiosMinorVersion

TargetOperatingSystem

KEY PROPERTY UINT16

Target operating system of the owning software element.

TargetOperatingSystem returns a numeric value. To translate it into a meaningful text, use any of the following approaches:

Use a PowerShell Hashtable

$TargetOperatingSystem_map = @{
= 'Unknown'
= 'Other'
= 'MACOS'
= 'ATTUNIX'
= 'DGUX'
= 'DECNT'
= 'Digital Unix'
= 'OpenVMS'
= 'HPUX'
= 'AIX'
= 'MVS'
= 'OS400'
= 'OS/2'
= 'JavaVM'
= 'MSDOS'
= 'WIN3x'
= 'WIN95'
= 'WIN98'
= 'WINNT'
= 'WINCE'
= 'NCR3000'
= 'NetWare'
= 'OSF'
= 'DC/OS'
= 'Reliant UNIX'
= 'SCO UnixWare'
= 'SCO OpenServer'
= 'Sequent'
= 'IRIX'
= 'Solaris'
= 'SunOS'
= 'U6000'
= 'ASERIES'
= 'TandemNSK'
= 'TandemNT'
= 'BS2000'
= 'LINUX'
= 'Lynx'
= 'XENIX'
= 'VM/ESA'
= 'Interactive UNIX'
= 'BSDUNIX'
= 'FreeBSD'
= 'NetBSD'
= 'GNU Hurd'
= 'OS9'
= 'MACH Kernel'
= 'Inferno'
= 'QNX'
= 'EPOC'
= 'IxWorks'
= 'VxWorks'
= 'MiNT'
= 'BeOS'
= 'HP MPE'
= 'NextStep'
= 'PalmPilot'
= 'Rhapsody'
= 'Windows 2000'
= 'Dedicated'
= 'VSE'
= 'TPF'
}

Use a switch statement

switch([int]$value)
{
        {'Unknown'}
        {'Other'}
        {'MACOS'}
        {'ATTUNIX'}
        {'DGUX'}
        {'DECNT'}
        {'Digital Unix'}
        {'OpenVMS'}
        {'HPUX'}
        {'AIX'}
       {'MVS'}
       {'OS400'}
       {'OS/2'}
       {'JavaVM'}
       {'MSDOS'}
       {'WIN3x'}
       {'WIN95'}
       {'WIN98'}
       {'WINNT'}
       {'WINCE'}
       {'NCR3000'}
       {'NetWare'}
       {'OSF'}
       {'DC/OS'}
       {'Reliant UNIX'}
       {'SCO UnixWare'}
       {'SCO OpenServer'}
       {'Sequent'}
       {'IRIX'}
       {'Solaris'}
       {'SunOS'}
       {'U6000'}
       {'ASERIES'}
       {'TandemNSK'}
       {'TandemNT'}
       {'BS2000'}
       {'LINUX'}
       {'Lynx'}
       {'XENIX'}
       {'VM/ESA'}
       {'Interactive UNIX'}
       {'BSDUNIX'}
       {'FreeBSD'}
       {'NetBSD'}
       {'GNU Hurd'}
       {'OS9'}
       {'MACH Kernel'}
       {'Inferno'}
       {'QNX'}
       {'EPOC'}
       {'IxWorks'}
       {'VxWorks'}
       {'MiNT'}
       {'BeOS'}
       {'HP MPE'}
       {'NextStep'}
       {'PalmPilot'}
       {'Rhapsody'}
       {'Windows 2000'}
       {'Dedicated'}
       {'VSE'}
       {'TPF'}
  default    {"$value"}
}

Use Enum structure

Enum EnumTargetOperatingSystem
{
  Unknown            = 0
  Other              = 1
  MACOS              = 2
  ATTUNIX            = 3
  DGUX               = 4
  DECNT              = 5
  Digital_Unix       = 6
  OpenVMS            = 7
  HPUX               = 8
  AIX                = 9
  MVS                = 10
  OS400              = 11
  OS2                = 12
  JavaVM             = 13
  MSDOS              = 14
  WIN3x              = 15
  WIN95              = 16
  WIN98              = 17
  WINNT              = 18
  WINCE              = 19
  NCR3000            = 20
  NetWare            = 21
  OSF                = 22
  DCOS               = 23
  Reliant_UNIX       = 24
  SCO_UnixWare       = 25
  SCO_OpenServer     = 26
  Sequent            = 27
  IRIX               = 28
  Solaris            = 29
  SunOS              = 30
  U6000              = 31
  ASERIES            = 32
  TandemNSK          = 33
  TandemNT           = 34
  BS2000             = 35
  LINUX              = 36
  Lynx               = 37
  XENIX              = 38
  VMESA              = 39
  Interactive_UNIX   = 40
  BSDUNIX            = 41
  FreeBSD            = 42
  NetBSD             = 43
  GNU_Hurd           = 44
  OS9                = 45
  MACH_Kernel        = 46
  Inferno            = 47
  QNX                = 48
  EPOC               = 49
  IxWorks            = 50
  VxWorks            = 51
  MiNT               = 52
  BeOS               = 53
  HP_MPE             = 54
  NextStep           = 55
  PalmPilot          = 56
  Rhapsody           = 57
  Windows_2000       = 58
  Dedicated          = 59
  VSE                = 60
  TPF                = 61
}

Examples

Use $TargetOperatingSystem_map in a calculated property for Select-Object

<# 
  this example uses a hashtable to translate raw numeric values for 
  property "TargetOperatingSystem" to friendly text

  Note: to use other properties than "TargetOperatingSystem", look up the appropriate 
  translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text

# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "TargetOperatingSystem" 
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$TargetOperatingSystem_map = @{
      0 = 'Unknown'
      1 = 'Other'
      2 = 'MACOS'
      3 = 'ATTUNIX'
      4 = 'DGUX'
      5 = 'DECNT'
      6 = 'Digital Unix'
      7 = 'OpenVMS'
      8 = 'HPUX'
      9 = 'AIX'
     10 = 'MVS'
     11 = 'OS400'
     12 = 'OS/2'
     13 = 'JavaVM'
     14 = 'MSDOS'
     15 = 'WIN3x'
     16 = 'WIN95'
     17 = 'WIN98'
     18 = 'WINNT'
     19 = 'WINCE'
     20 = 'NCR3000'
     21 = 'NetWare'
     22 = 'OSF'
     23 = 'DC/OS'
     24 = 'Reliant UNIX'
     25 = 'SCO UnixWare'
     26 = 'SCO OpenServer'
     27 = 'Sequent'
     28 = 'IRIX'
     29 = 'Solaris'
     30 = 'SunOS'
     31 = 'U6000'
     32 = 'ASERIES'
     33 = 'TandemNSK'
     34 = 'TandemNT'
     35 = 'BS2000'
     36 = 'LINUX'
     37 = 'Lynx'
     38 = 'XENIX'
     39 = 'VM/ESA'
     40 = 'Interactive UNIX'
     41 = 'BSDUNIX'
     42 = 'FreeBSD'
     43 = 'NetBSD'
     44 = 'GNU Hurd'
     45 = 'OS9'
     46 = 'MACH Kernel'
     47 = 'Inferno'
     48 = 'QNX'
     49 = 'EPOC'
     50 = 'IxWorks'
     51 = 'VxWorks'
     52 = 'MiNT'
     53 = 'BeOS'
     54 = 'HP MPE'
     55 = 'NextStep'
     56 = 'PalmPilot'
     57 = 'Rhapsody'
     58 = 'Windows 2000'
     59 = 'Dedicated'
     60 = 'VSE'
     61 = 'TPF'
}

#endregion define hashtable

#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)

<#
  a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
  "Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "TargetOperatingSystem", but you can rename it to anything else)
  "Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
  in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
  value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
 
$TargetOperatingSystem = @{
  Name = 'TargetOperatingSystem'
  Expression = {
    # property is an array, so process all values
    $value = $_.TargetOperatingSystem
    $TargetOperatingSystem_map[[int]$value]
  }  
}
#endregion define calculated property

# retrieve the instances, and output the properties "Caption" and "TargetOperatingSystem". The latter
# is defined by the hashtable in $TargetOperatingSystem: 
Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -Property Caption, $TargetOperatingSystem

# ...or dump content of property TargetOperatingSystem:
$friendlyValues = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | 
    Select-Object -Property $TargetOperatingSystem |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty TargetOperatingSystem

# output values
$friendlyValues

# output values as comma separated list
$friendlyValues -join ', '

# output values as bullet list
$friendlyValues | ForEach-Object { "- $_" }

Use $TargetOperatingSystem_map to directly translate raw values from an instance

<# 
  this example uses a hashtable to manually translate raw numeric values 
  for property "Win32_BIOS" to friendly text. This approach is ideal when
  there is just one instance to work with.

  Note: to use other properties than "Win32_BIOS", look up the appropriate 
  translation hashtable for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define hashtable to translate raw values to friendly text

# Please note: this hashtable is specific for property "Win32_BIOS" 
# to translate other properties, use their translation table instead
$TargetOperatingSystem_map = @{
      0 = 'Unknown'
      1 = 'Other'
      2 = 'MACOS'
      3 = 'ATTUNIX'
      4 = 'DGUX'
      5 = 'DECNT'
      6 = 'Digital Unix'
      7 = 'OpenVMS'
      8 = 'HPUX'
      9 = 'AIX'
     10 = 'MVS'
     11 = 'OS400'
     12 = 'OS/2'
     13 = 'JavaVM'
     14 = 'MSDOS'
     15 = 'WIN3x'
     16 = 'WIN95'
     17 = 'WIN98'
     18 = 'WINNT'
     19 = 'WINCE'
     20 = 'NCR3000'
     21 = 'NetWare'
     22 = 'OSF'
     23 = 'DC/OS'
     24 = 'Reliant UNIX'
     25 = 'SCO UnixWare'
     26 = 'SCO OpenServer'
     27 = 'Sequent'
     28 = 'IRIX'
     29 = 'Solaris'
     30 = 'SunOS'
     31 = 'U6000'
     32 = 'ASERIES'
     33 = 'TandemNSK'
     34 = 'TandemNT'
     35 = 'BS2000'
     36 = 'LINUX'
     37 = 'Lynx'
     38 = 'XENIX'
     39 = 'VM/ESA'
     40 = 'Interactive UNIX'
     41 = 'BSDUNIX'
     42 = 'FreeBSD'
     43 = 'NetBSD'
     44 = 'GNU Hurd'
     45 = 'OS9'
     46 = 'MACH Kernel'
     47 = 'Inferno'
     48 = 'QNX'
     49 = 'EPOC'
     50 = 'IxWorks'
     51 = 'VxWorks'
     52 = 'MiNT'
     53 = 'BeOS'
     54 = 'HP MPE'
     55 = 'NextStep'
     56 = 'PalmPilot'
     57 = 'Rhapsody'
     58 = 'Windows 2000'
     59 = 'Dedicated'
     60 = 'VSE'
     61 = 'TPF'
}

#endregion define hashtable

# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -First 1

<#
  IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to illustrate
  the number-to-text translation. To process all instances, replace
  "Select-Object -First 1" with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use
  the iterator variable $_ instead of $instance
#>

# query the property
$rawValue = $instance.TargetOperatingSystem  

# translate raw value to friendly text:
$friendlyName = $TargetOperatingSystem_map[[int]$rawValue]

# output value
$friendlyName

Use a switch statement inside a calculated property for Select-Object

<# 
  this example uses a switch clause to translate raw numeric 
  values for property "TargetOperatingSystem" to friendly text. The switch
  clause is embedded into a calculated property so there is
  no need to refer to external variables for translation.

  Note: to use other properties than "TargetOperatingSystem", look up the appropriate 
  translation switch clause for the property you would like to use instead.
#>

#region define calculated property (to be used with Select-Object)

<#
  a calculated property is defined by a hashtable with keys "Name" and "Expression"
  "Name" defines the name of the property (in this example, it is "TargetOperatingSystem", but you can rename it to anything else)
  "Expression" defines a scriptblock that calculates the content of this property
  in this example, the scriptblock uses the hashtable defined earlier to translate each numeric
  value to its friendly text counterpart:
#>
 
$TargetOperatingSystem = @{
  Name = 'TargetOperatingSystem'
  Expression = {
    # property is an array, so process all values
    $value = $_.TargetOperatingSystem
    
    switch([int]$value)
      {
        0          {'Unknown'}
        1          {'Other'}
        2          {'MACOS'}
        3          {'ATTUNIX'}
        4          {'DGUX'}
        5          {'DECNT'}
        6          {'Digital Unix'}
        7          {'OpenVMS'}
        8          {'HPUX'}
        9          {'AIX'}
        10         {'MVS'}
        11         {'OS400'}
        12         {'OS/2'}
        13         {'JavaVM'}
        14         {'MSDOS'}
        15         {'WIN3x'}
        16         {'WIN95'}
        17         {'WIN98'}
        18         {'WINNT'}
        19         {'WINCE'}
        20         {'NCR3000'}
        21         {'NetWare'}
        22         {'OSF'}
        23         {'DC/OS'}
        24         {'Reliant UNIX'}
        25         {'SCO UnixWare'}
        26         {'SCO OpenServer'}
        27         {'Sequent'}
        28         {'IRIX'}
        29         {'Solaris'}
        30         {'SunOS'}
        31         {'U6000'}
        32         {'ASERIES'}
        33         {'TandemNSK'}
        34         {'TandemNT'}
        35         {'BS2000'}
        36         {'LINUX'}
        37         {'Lynx'}
        38         {'XENIX'}
        39         {'VM/ESA'}
        40         {'Interactive UNIX'}
        41         {'BSDUNIX'}
        42         {'FreeBSD'}
        43         {'NetBSD'}
        44         {'GNU Hurd'}
        45         {'OS9'}
        46         {'MACH Kernel'}
        47         {'Inferno'}
        48         {'QNX'}
        49         {'EPOC'}
        50         {'IxWorks'}
        51         {'VxWorks'}
        52         {'MiNT'}
        53         {'BeOS'}
        54         {'HP MPE'}
        55         {'NextStep'}
        56         {'PalmPilot'}
        57         {'Rhapsody'}
        58         {'Windows 2000'}
        59         {'Dedicated'}
        60         {'VSE'}
        61         {'TPF'}
        default    {"$value"}
      }
      
  }  
}
#endregion define calculated property

# retrieve all instances...
Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BIOS | 
  # ...and output properties "Caption" and "TargetOperatingSystem". The latter is defined
  # by the hashtable in $TargetOperatingSystem:
  Select-Object -Property Caption, $TargetOperatingSystem

Use the Enum from above to auto-translate the code values

<# 
  this example translates raw values by means of type conversion
  the friendly names are defined as enumeration using the
  keyword "enum" (PowerShell 5 or better)
  
  The raw value(s) are translated to friendly text by 
  simply converting them into the enum type.
  
  Note: to use other properties than "Win32_BIOS", look up the appropriate 
  enum definition for the property you would like to use instead.
#>


#region define enum with value-to-text translation:
Enum EnumTargetOperatingSystem
{
  Unknown            = 0
  Other              = 1
  MACOS              = 2
  ATTUNIX            = 3
  DGUX               = 4
  DECNT              = 5
  Digital_Unix       = 6
  OpenVMS            = 7
  HPUX               = 8
  AIX                = 9
  MVS                = 10
  OS400              = 11
  OS2                = 12
  JavaVM             = 13
  MSDOS              = 14
  WIN3x              = 15
  WIN95              = 16
  WIN98              = 17
  WINNT              = 18
  WINCE              = 19
  NCR3000            = 20
  NetWare            = 21
  OSF                = 22
  DCOS               = 23
  Reliant_UNIX       = 24
  SCO_UnixWare       = 25
  SCO_OpenServer     = 26
  Sequent            = 27
  IRIX               = 28
  Solaris            = 29
  SunOS              = 30
  U6000              = 31
  ASERIES            = 32
  TandemNSK          = 33
  TandemNT           = 34
  BS2000             = 35
  LINUX              = 36
  Lynx               = 37
  XENIX              = 38
  VMESA              = 39
  Interactive_UNIX   = 40
  BSDUNIX            = 41
  FreeBSD            = 42
  NetBSD             = 43
  GNU_Hurd           = 44
  OS9                = 45
  MACH_Kernel        = 46
  Inferno            = 47
  QNX                = 48
  EPOC               = 49
  IxWorks            = 50
  VxWorks            = 51
  MiNT               = 52
  BeOS               = 53
  HP_MPE             = 54
  NextStep           = 55
  PalmPilot          = 56
  Rhapsody           = 57
  Windows_2000       = 58
  Dedicated          = 59
  VSE                = 60
  TPF                = 61
}

#endregion define enum

# get one instance:
$instance = Get-CimInstance -Class Win32_BIOS | Select-Object -First 1

<#
  IMPORTANT: this example processes only one instance to focus on
  the number-to-text type conversion. 
  
  To process all instances, replace   "Select-Object -First 1" 
  with a "Foreach-Object" loop, and use the iterator variable 
  $_ instead of $instance
#>

# query the property:
$rawValue = $instance.TargetOperatingSystem

#region using strict type conversion

<#
  Note: strict type conversion fails if the raw value is 
  not defined by the enum. So if the list of allowable values
  was extended and the enum does not match the value,
  an exception is thrown
#>

# convert the property to the enum **TargetOperatingSystem** 
[EnumTargetOperatingSystem]$rawValue 

# get a comma-separated string:
[EnumTargetOperatingSystem]$rawValue -join ',' 
#endregion

#region using operator "-as"

<#
  Note: the operator "-as" accepts values not defined
  by the enum and returns $null instead of throwing
  an exception
#>

$rawValue -as [EnumTargetOperatingSystem]
#endregion

Enums must cover all possible values. If TargetOperatingSystem returns a value that is not defined in the enum, an exception occurs. The exception reports the value that was missing in the enum. To fix, add the missing value to the enum.

Version