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How to verify the checksum of a downloaded file in Windows
Here is a way of verifying the checksum, for example, of a BIOS update file that would be downloaded from Dell Support website for the purpose of updating the BIOS on the motherboard of a particular model Dell PowerEdge T110 II Server.
Dell's recommendation with respect to the downloaded file:
To ensure the integrity of your download, please verify the checksum value.
MD5: 7c68c361de9a3b38fa5aa2cb6e70e1d2
SHA1: 6e58d7caccb6a626d5ffc8f702bb444358ea5c5d
SHA-256: f1ec6eea936a0fffed580e6c301149054cd4918113d0aea3b800945c607027bf
Steps to verify the checksum.
1. In Windows, open a command prompt; that is, right click the Windows Start button and left click to select “Run” from the list and type/enter “cmd.exe” (without the quotes) and click OK, or, next to the Start button, type/search for “cmd” or “cmd.exe” or “command prompt” (without the quotes) and open the top search results for cmd.exe or command prompt. A black command prompt window should open and display something like the following.
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.3803] (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. C:\Users\Username>
1. Change to the subdirectory path where the downloaded file is located
C:\Users\Username> cd c:\users\pc\downloads\T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01\
2. Run the CertUtil -hashfile command and insert the filename of the downloaded file and append either SHA256 or MD5 or SHA1
c:\Users\Username\Downloads\T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01> certUtil -hashfile T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01.EXE SHA256 SHA256 hash of T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01.EXE: f1ec6eea936a0fffed580e6c301149054cd4918113d0aea3b800945c607027bf CertUtil: -hashfile command completed successfully. c:\Users\Username\Downloads\T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01>
3. Visually compare the generated hash checksum value in the above example to the expected given SHA-256 checksum value. If they match, then you have verified the integrity of the downloaded file.
Generated SHA256: f1ec6eea936a0fffed580e6c301149054cd4918113d0aea3b800945c607027bf Expected SHA-256: f1ec6eea936a0fffed580e6c301149054cd4918113d0aea3b800945c607027bf
Here is another example, this time generating an MD5 checksum.
c:\Users\Username\Downloads\T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01> certUtil -hashfile T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01.EXE MD5 MD5 hash of T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01.EXE: 7c68c361de9a3b38fa5aa2cb6e70e1d2 CertUtil: -hashfile command completed successfully. c:\Users\Username\Downloads\T110-II_BIOS_5R0T5_WN64_2.10.0_01>
Visually compare the expected MD5 checksum value with the generated MD5 checksum value:
Expected MD5: 7c68c361de9a3b38fa5aa2cb6e70e1d2 Generated MD5: 7c68c361de9a3b38fa5aa2cb6e70e1d2