x86/x64 CPUID in C#
Related to my other question, please help me debug "An unhandled exception of type 'System.AccessViolationException' occurred in Unknown Module. Additional information: Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt." Stepping through the code, everything works up until the actual call to del() and fails in that line.
This code is based on this article's sample and this python code which works in python. I can't get the code example as-is to work either (same exception), but I'm hopeful that it's just a little outdated or something.
EDIT: See the edit history if you care about how we got here, which is uninteresting.
Finished working version:
public static class CpuID
{
public static byte[] Invoke(int level)
{
IntPtr codePointer = IntPtr.Zero;
try
{
// compile
byte[] codeBytes;
if (IntPtr.Size == 4)
{
codeBytes = x86CodeBytes;
}
else
{
codeBytes = x64CodeBytes;
}
codePointer = VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr.Zero,
new UIntPtr((uint)codeBytes.Length),
AllocationType.COMMIT | AllocationType.RESERVE,
MemoryProtection.EXECUTE_READWRITE
);
Marshal.Copy(codeBytes, 0, codePointer, codeBytes.Length);
CpuIDDelegate cpuIdDelg = (CpuIDDelegate)Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(codePointer, typeof(CpuIDDelegate));
// invoke
GCHandle handle = default(GCHandle);
var buffer = new byte[16];
try
{
handle = GCHandle.Alloc(buffer, GCHandleType.Pinned);
cpuIdDelg(level, buffer);
}
finally
{
if (handle != default(GCHandle))
{
handle.Free();
}
}
return buffer;
}
finally
{
if (codePointer != IntPtr.Zero)
{
VirtualFree(codePointer, 0, 0x8000);
codePointer = IntPtr.Zero;
}
}
}
[UnmanagedFunctionPointerAttribute(CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
private delegate void CpuIDDelegate(int level, byte[] buffer);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr VirtualAlloc(IntPtr lpAddress, UIntPtr dwSize, AllocationType flAllocationType,
MemoryProtection flProtect);
[DllImport("kernel32")]
private static extern bool VirtualFree(IntPtr lpAddress, UInt32 dwSize, UInt32 dwFreeType);
[Flags()]
private enum AllocationType : uint
{
COMMIT = 0x1000,
RESERVE = 0x2000,
RESET = 0x80000,
LARGE_PAGES = 0x20000000,
PHYSICAL = 0x400000,
TOP_DOWN = 0x100000,
WRITE_WATCH = 0x200000
}
[Flags()]
private enum MemoryProtection : uint
{
EXECUTE = 0x10,
EXECUTE_READ = 0x20,
EXECUTE_READWRITE = 0x40,
EXECUTE_WRITECOPY = 0x80,
NOACCESS = 0x01,
READONLY = 0x02,
READWRITE = 0x04,
WRITECOPY = 0x08,
GUARD_Modifierflag = 0x100,
NOCACHE_Modifierflag = 0x200,
WRITECOMBINE_Modifierflag = 0x400
}
// Basic ASM strategy --
// void x86CpuId(int level, byte* buffer)
// {
// eax = level
// cpuid
// buffer[0] = eax
// buffer[4] = ebx
// buffer[8] = ecx
// buffer[12] = edx
// }
private readonly static byte[] x86CodeBytes = {
0x55, // push ebp
0x8B, 0xEC, // mov ebp,esp
0x53, // push ebx
0x57, // push edi
0x8B, 0x45, 0x08, // mov eax, dword ptr [ebp+8] (move level into eax)
0x0F, 0xA2, // cpuid
0x8B, 0x7D, 0x0C, // mov edi, dword ptr [ebp+12] (move address of buffer into edi)
0x89, 0x07, // mov dword ptr [edi+0], eax (write eax, ... to buffer)
0x89, 0x5F, 0x04, // mov dword ptr [edi+4], ebx
0x89, 0x4F, 0x08, // mov dword ptr [edi+8], ecx
0x89, 0x57, 0x0C, // mov dword ptr [edi+12],edx
0x5F, // pop edi
0x5B, // pop ebx
0x8B, 0xE5, // mov esp,ebp
0x5D, // pop ebp
0xc3 // ret
};
private readonly static byte[] x64CodeBytes = {
0x53, // push rbx this gets clobbered by cpuid
// rcx is level
// rdx is buffer.
// Need to save buffer elsewhere, cpuid overwrites rdx
// Put buffer in r8, use r8 to reference buffer later.
// Save rdx (buffer addy) to r8
0x49, 0x89, 0xd0, // mov r8, rdx
// Move ecx (level) to eax to call cpuid, call cpuid
0x89, 0xc8, // mov eax, ecx
0x0F, 0xA2, // cpuid
// Write eax et al to buffer
0x41, 0x89, 0x40, 0x00, // mov dword ptr [r8+0], eax
0x41, 0x89, 0x58, 0x04, // mov dword ptr [r8+4], ebx
0x41, 0x89, 0x48, 0x08, // mov dword ptr [r8+8], ecx
0x41, 0x89, 0x50, 0x0c, // mov dword ptr [r8+12], edx
0x5b, // pop rbx
0xc3 // ret
};
}
Note that CPUID0 needs to be read in the right order:
//a twelve character ASCII string stored in EBX, EDX, ECX - in that order
var cpuid0s = new string(ASCIIEncoding.ASCII.GetChars(
cpuid0.Skip(4).Take(4).Concat(
cpuid0.Skip(12).Take(4)).Concat(
cpuid0.Skip(8).Take(4)).ToArray()));
I'm fairly certain you're being blocked by DEP. The x_CPUIDy_INSNS byte arrays are in a segment of memory marked as data and non-executable.
EDIT:
That being said, I've gotten a version that compiles and runs, but I don't think gets the right values. Perhaps this will get you along your way.
EDIT 2:
I think I have the right values coming back now. Feel free to validate.
namespace CPUID
{
using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Linq;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Text;
internal static class Program
{
[Flags]
private enum AllocationTypes : uint
{
Commit = 0x1000,
Reserve = 0x2000,
Reset = 0x80000,
LargePages = 0x20000000,
Physical = 0x400000,
TopDown = 0x100000,
WriteWatch = 0x200000
}
[Flags]
private enum MemoryProtections : uint
{
Execute = 0x10,
ExecuteRead = 0x20,
ExecuteReadWrite = 0x40,
ExecuteWriteCopy = 0x80,
NoAccess = 0x01,
ReadOnly = 0x02,
ReadWrite = 0x04,
WriteCopy = 0x08,
GuartModifierflag = 0x100,
NoCacheModifierflag = 0x200,
WriteCombineModifierflag = 0x400
}
[Flags]
private enum FreeTypes : uint
{
Decommit = 0x4000,
Release = 0x8000
}
[UnmanagedFunctionPointerAttribute(CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
private unsafe delegate void CPUID0Delegate(byte* buffer);
[UnmanagedFunctionPointerAttribute(CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
private unsafe delegate void CPUID1Delegate(byte* buffer);
private static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("CPUID0: {0}", string.Join(", ", CPUID0().Select(x => x.ToString("X2", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture))));
Console.WriteLine("CPUID0: {0}", new string(ASCIIEncoding.ASCII.GetChars(CPUID0())));
Console.WriteLine("CPUID1: {0}", string.Join(", ", CPUID1().Select(x => x.ToString("X2", CultureInfo.InvariantCulture))));
Console.ReadLine();
}
private static unsafe byte[] CPUID0()
{
byte[] buffer = new byte[12];
if (IntPtr.Size == 4)
{
IntPtr p = NativeMethods.VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr.Zero,
new UIntPtr((uint)x86_CPUID0_INSNS.Length),
AllocationTypes.Commit | AllocationTypes.Reserve,
MemoryProtections.ExecuteReadWrite);
try
{
Marshal.Copy(x86_CPUID0_INSNS, 0, p, x86_CPUID0_INSNS.Length);
CPUID0Delegate del = (CPUID0Delegate)Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(p, typeof(CPUID0Delegate));
fixed (byte* newBuffer = &buffer[0])
{
del(newBuffer);
}
}
finally
{
NativeMethods.VirtualFree(p, 0, FreeTypes.Release);
}
}
else if (IntPtr.Size == 8)
{
IntPtr p = NativeMethods.VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr.Zero,
new UIntPtr((uint)x64_CPUID0_INSNS.Length),
AllocationTypes.Commit | AllocationTypes.Reserve,
MemoryProtections.ExecuteReadWrite);
try
{
Marshal.Copy(x64_CPUID0_INSNS, 0, p, x64_CPUID0_INSNS.Length);
CPUID0Delegate del = (CPUID0Delegate)Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(p, typeof(CPUID0Delegate));
fixed (byte* newBuffer = &buffer[0])
{
del(newBuffer);
}
}
finally
{
NativeMethods.VirtualFree(p, 0, FreeTypes.Release);
}
}
return buffer;
}
private static unsafe byte[] CPUID1()
{
byte[] buffer = new byte[12];
if (IntPtr.Size == 4)
{
IntPtr p = NativeMethods.VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr.Zero,
new UIntPtr((uint)x86_CPUID1_INSNS.Length),
AllocationTypes.Commit | AllocationTypes.Reserve,
MemoryProtections.ExecuteReadWrite);
try
{
Marshal.Copy(x86_CPUID1_INSNS, 0, p, x86_CPUID1_INSNS.Length);
CPUID1Delegate del = (CPUID1Delegate)Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(p, typeof(CPUID1Delegate));
fixed (byte* newBuffer = &buffer[0])
{
del(newBuffer);
}
}
finally
{
NativeMethods.VirtualFree(p, 0, FreeTypes.Release);
}
}
else if (IntPtr.Size == 8)
{
IntPtr p = NativeMethods.VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr.Zero,
new UIntPtr((uint)x64_CPUID1_INSNS.Length),
AllocationTypes.Commit | AllocationTypes.Reserve,
MemoryProtections.ExecuteReadWrite);
try
{
Marshal.Copy(x64_CPUID1_INSNS, 0, p, x64_CPUID1_INSNS.Length);
CPUID1Delegate del = (CPUID1Delegate)Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(p, typeof(CPUID1Delegate));
fixed (byte* newBuffer = &buffer[0])
{
del(newBuffer);
}
}
finally
{
NativeMethods.VirtualFree(p, 0, FreeTypes.Release);
}
}
return buffer;
}
private static class NativeMethods
{
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
internal static extern IntPtr VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr lpAddress,
UIntPtr dwSize,
AllocationTypes flAllocationType,
MemoryProtections flProtect);
[DllImport("kernel32")]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
internal static extern bool VirtualFree(
IntPtr lpAddress,
uint dwSize,
FreeTypes flFreeType);
}
#region ASM
private static readonly byte[] x86_CPUID0_INSNS = new byte[]
{
0x53, // push %ebx
0x31, 0xc0, // xor %eax,%eax
0x0f, 0xa2, // cpuid
0x8b, 0x44, 0x24, 0x08, // mov 0x8(%esp),%eax
0x89, 0x18, // mov %ebx,0x0(%eax)
0x89, 0x50, 0x04, // mov %edx,0x4(%eax)
0x89, 0x48, 0x08, // mov %ecx,0x8(%eax)
0x5b, // pop %ebx
0xc3 // ret
};
private static readonly byte[] x86_CPUID1_INSNS = new byte[]
{
0x53, // push %ebx
0x31, 0xc0, // xor %eax,%eax
0x40, // inc %eax
0x0f, 0xa2, // cpuid
0x5b, // pop %ebx
0xc3 // ret
};
private static readonly byte[] x64_CPUID0_INSNS = new byte[]
{
0x49, 0x89, 0xd8, // mov %rbx,%r8
0x49, 0x89, 0xc9, // mov %rcx,%r9
0x48, 0x31, 0xc0, // xor %rax,%rax
0x0f, 0xa2, // cpuid
0x4c, 0x89, 0xc8, // mov %r9,%rax
0x89, 0x18, // mov %ebx,0x0(%rax)
0x89, 0x50, 0x04, // mov %edx,0x4(%rax)
0x89, 0x48, 0x08, // mov %ecx,0x8(%rax)
0x4c, 0x89, 0xc3, // mov %r8,%rbx
0xc3 // retq
};
private static readonly byte[] x64_CPUID1_INSNS = new byte[]
{
0x53, // push %rbx
0x48, 0x31, 0xc0, // xor %rax,%rax
0x48, 0xff, 0xc0, // inc %rax
0x0f, 0xa2, // cpuid
0x5b, // pop %rbx
0xc3 // retq
};
#endregion
}
}
I decided to improve your answer. It does not need unsafe to compile anymore, and it only needs two assembly blocks in order to be able to read out any and all cpuid blocks, because it just writes eax/ebx/ecx/edx to a 16-byte byte array.
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
namespace CpuID
{
public class CpuID : IDisposable
{
[UnmanagedFunctionPointerAttribute(CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
public delegate void CpuIDDelegate(int level, byte[] buffer);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr lpAddress,
UIntPtr dwSize,
AllocationType flAllocationType,
MemoryProtection flProtect
);
[DllImport("kernel32")]
private static extern bool VirtualFree(
IntPtr lpAddress,
UInt32 dwSize,
UInt32 dwFreeType
);
[Flags()]
public enum AllocationType : uint
{
COMMIT = 0x1000,
RESERVE = 0x2000,
RESET = 0x80000,
LARGE_PAGES = 0x20000000,
PHYSICAL = 0x400000,
TOP_DOWN = 0x100000,
WRITE_WATCH = 0x200000
}
[Flags()]
public enum MemoryProtection : uint
{
EXECUTE = 0x10,
EXECUTE_READ = 0x20,
EXECUTE_READWRITE = 0x40,
EXECUTE_WRITECOPY = 0x80,
NOACCESS = 0x01,
READONLY = 0x02,
READWRITE = 0x04,
WRITECOPY = 0x08,
GUARD_Modifierflag = 0x100,
NOCACHE_Modifierflag = 0x200,
WRITECOMBINE_Modifierflag = 0x400
}
private CpuIDDelegate cpuIdDelg;
private IntPtr codePointer;
// void x86CpuId(int level, byte* buffer)
// {
// eax = level
// cpuid
// buffer[0] = eax
// buffer[4] = ebx
// buffer[8] = ecx
// buffer[12] = edx
// }
private byte[] x86CodeBytes =
{
0x55, // push ebp
0x8B, 0xEC, // mov ebp,esp
0x53, // push ebx
0x57, // push edi
0x8B, 0x45, 0x08, // mov eax, dword ptr [ebp+8] (move level into eax)
0x0F, 0xA2, // cpuid
0x8B, 0x7D, 0x0C, // mov edi, dword ptr [ebp+12] (move address of buffer into edi)
0x89, 0x07, // mov dword ptr [edi+0], eax (write eax, ... to buffer)
0x89, 0x5F, 0x04, // mov dword ptr [edi+4], ebx
0x89, 0x4F, 0x08, // mov dword ptr [edi+8], ecx
0x89, 0x57, 0x0C, // mov dword ptr [edi+12],edx
0x5F, // pop edi
0x5B, // pop ebx
0x8B, 0xE5, // mov esp,ebp
0x5D, // pop ebp
0xc3 // ret
};
private byte[] x64CodeBytes =
{
0x53, // push rbx this gets clobbered by cpuid
// rcx is level
// rdx is buffer.
// Need to save buffer elsewhere, cpuid overwrites rdx
// Put buffer in r8, use r8 to reference buffer later.
// Save rdx (buffer addy) to r8
0x49, 0x89, 0xd0, // mov r8, rdx
// Move ecx (level) to eax to call cpuid, call cpuid
0x89, 0xc8, // mov eax, ecx
0x0F, 0xA2, // cpuid
// Write eax et al to buffer
0x41, 0x89, 0x40, 0x00, // mov dword ptr [r8+0], eax
0x41, 0x89, 0x58, 0x04, // mov dword ptr [r8+4], ebx
0x41, 0x89, 0x48, 0x08, // mov dword ptr [r8+8], ecx
0x41, 0x89, 0x50, 0x0c, // mov dword ptr [r8+12], edx
0x5b, // pop rbx
0xc3 // ret
};
public CpuID()
{
Compile();
}
~CpuID()
{
Dispose(false);
}
private void Compile()
{
byte[] codeBytes;
if (IntPtr.Size == 4)
{
codeBytes = x86CodeBytes;
}
else
{
codeBytes = x64CodeBytes;
}
this.codePointer = VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr.Zero,
new UIntPtr((uint)codeBytes.Length),
AllocationType.COMMIT | AllocationType.RESERVE,
MemoryProtection.EXECUTE_READWRITE
);
Marshal.Copy(codeBytes, 0, this.codePointer, codeBytes.Length);
this.cpuIdDelg = (CpuIDDelegate)Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(this.codePointer, typeof(CpuIDDelegate));
}
public void Invoke(int level, byte[] buffer)
{
GCHandle handle = default(GCHandle);
if (buffer.Length < 16)
{
throw new ArgumentException("buffer must be at least 16 bytes long");
}
try
{
handle = GCHandle.Alloc(buffer, GCHandleType.Pinned);
this.cpuIdDelg(level, buffer);
}
finally
{
if (handle != default(GCHandle))
{
handle.Free();
}
}
}
public void Dispose()
{
Dispose(true);
}
public void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (this.codePointer != IntPtr.Zero)
{
VirtualFree(this.codePointer, 0, 0x8000);
this.codePointer = IntPtr.Zero;
}
}
}
}
I took @antiduh's code and refactored it into a static method, so there is no object lifecycle to manage. This is slower because the ASM code isn't reused between calls to Invoke(), but the tradeoff of speed for simplicity makes sense for my use case. This new version can call CPUID 1000 times in 15 milliseconds on my machine.
Thanks for the wonderful code guys!
public static class CpuID {
public static byte[] Invoke(int level) {
IntPtr codePointer = IntPtr.Zero;
try {
// compile
byte[] codeBytes;
if (IntPtr.Size == 4) {
codeBytes = x86CodeBytes;
} else {
codeBytes = x64CodeBytes;
}
codePointer = VirtualAlloc(
IntPtr.Zero,
new UIntPtr((uint)codeBytes.Length),
AllocationType.COMMIT | AllocationType.RESERVE,
MemoryProtection.EXECUTE_READWRITE
);
Marshal.Copy(codeBytes, 0, codePointer, codeBytes.Length);
CpuIDDelegate cpuIdDelg = (CpuIDDelegate)Marshal.GetDelegateForFunctionPointer(codePointer, typeof(CpuIDDelegate));
// invoke
GCHandle handle = default(GCHandle);
var buffer = new byte[16];
try {
handle = GCHandle.Alloc(buffer, GCHandleType.Pinned);
cpuIdDelg(level, buffer);
} finally {
if (handle != default(GCHandle)) {
handle.Free();
}
}
return buffer;
} finally {
if (codePointer != IntPtr.Zero) {
VirtualFree(codePointer, 0, 0x8000);
codePointer = IntPtr.Zero;
}
}
}
[UnmanagedFunctionPointerAttribute(CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
private delegate void CpuIDDelegate(int level, byte[] buffer);
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern IntPtr VirtualAlloc(IntPtr lpAddress, UIntPtr dwSize, AllocationType flAllocationType,
MemoryProtection flProtect);
[DllImport("kernel32")]
private static extern bool VirtualFree(IntPtr lpAddress, UInt32 dwSize, UInt32 dwFreeType);
[Flags()]
private enum AllocationType : uint {
COMMIT = 0x1000,
RESERVE = 0x2000,
RESET = 0x80000,
LARGE_PAGES = 0x20000000,
PHYSICAL = 0x400000,
TOP_DOWN = 0x100000,
WRITE_WATCH = 0x200000
}
[Flags()]
private enum MemoryProtection : uint {
EXECUTE = 0x10,
EXECUTE_READ = 0x20,
EXECUTE_READWRITE = 0x40,
EXECUTE_WRITECOPY = 0x80,
NOACCESS = 0x01,
READONLY = 0x02,
READWRITE = 0x04,
WRITECOPY = 0x08,
GUARD_Modifierflag = 0x100,
NOCACHE_Modifierflag = 0x200,
WRITECOMBINE_Modifierflag = 0x400
}
// Basic ASM strategy --
// void x86CpuId(int level, byte* buffer)
// {
// eax = level
// cpuid
// buffer[0] = eax
// buffer[4] = ebx
// buffer[8] = ecx
// buffer[12] = edx
// }
private readonly static byte[] x86CodeBytes = {
0x55, // push ebp
0x8B, 0xEC, // mov ebp,esp
0x53, // push ebx
0x57, // push edi
0x8B, 0x45, 0x08, // mov eax, dword ptr [ebp+8] (move level into eax)
0x0F, 0xA2, // cpuid
0x8B, 0x7D, 0x0C, // mov edi, dword ptr [ebp+12] (move address of buffer into edi)
0x89, 0x07, // mov dword ptr [edi+0], eax (write eax, ... to buffer)
0x89, 0x5F, 0x04, // mov dword ptr [edi+4], ebx
0x89, 0x4F, 0x08, // mov dword ptr [edi+8], ecx
0x89, 0x57, 0x0C, // mov dword ptr [edi+12],edx
0x5F, // pop edi
0x5B, // pop ebx
0x8B, 0xE5, // mov esp,ebp
0x5D, // pop ebp
0xc3 // ret
};
private readonly static byte[] x64CodeBytes = {
0x53, // push rbx this gets clobbered by cpuid
// rcx is level
// rdx is buffer.
// Need to save buffer elsewhere, cpuid overwrites rdx
// Put buffer in r8, use r8 to reference buffer later.
// Save rdx (buffer addy) to r8
0x49, 0x89, 0xd0, // mov r8, rdx
// Move ecx (level) to eax to call cpuid, call cpuid
0x89, 0xc8, // mov eax, ecx
0x0F, 0xA2, // cpuid
// Write eax et al to buffer
0x41, 0x89, 0x40, 0x00, // mov dword ptr [r8+0], eax
0x41, 0x89, 0x58, 0x04, // mov dword ptr [r8+4], ebx
0x41, 0x89, 0x48, 0x08, // mov dword ptr [r8+8], ecx
0x41, 0x89, 0x50, 0x0c, // mov dword ptr [r8+12], edx
0x5b, // pop rbx
0xc3 // ret
};
}
i know this thread is old, but i like this thread very much. after coding, I figure out there is problem to get data while "EAX=7,ECX=0" so, I add "mov ecx, 0" in x64CodeBytes.
private readonly static byte[] x64CodeBytes = {
0x53, // push rbx this gets clobbered by cpuid
// rcx is level
// rdx is buffer.
// Need to save buffer elsewhere, cpuid overwrites rdx
// Put buffer in r8, use r8 to reference buffer later.
// Save rdx (buffer addy) to r8
0x49, 0x89, 0xd0, // mov r8, rdx
// Move ecx (level) to eax to call cpuid, call cpuid
0x89, 0xc8, // mov eax, ecx
0xB9, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, // mov ecx, 0
0x0F, 0xA2, // cpuid
// Write eax et al to buffer
0x41, 0x89, 0x40, 0x00, // mov dword ptr [r8+0], eax
0x41, 0x89, 0x58, 0x04, // mov dword ptr [r8+4], ebx
0x41, 0x89, 0x48, 0x08, // mov dword ptr [r8+8], ecx
0x41, 0x89, 0x50, 0x0c, // mov dword ptr [r8+12], edx
0x5b, // pop rbx
0xc3 // ret
};
Can I suggest the following page: http://community.devpinoy.org/blogs/cvega/archive/2006/04/07/2658.aspx
This page will show you the assembly source code for CPUID, how to compile it into a DLL and how to call it from C#.
Also if you need other hardware identification procedures, may I suggest this page: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system/GetHardwareInformation.aspx
This page shows how to get information like motherboard info, hard drive info, cpu info, video card info, etc etc.