Motherboard Identifier Help

I need help finding my motherboard type.

There is no definitive of motherboard identifying, but there are a number of ways that will enable us to find a motherboard make and type.

BIOS
The first of these is by looking in the BIOS, normally this can be accessed by hitting the Delete or F2 keys on system start-up, but this really depends on your system, if the Delete or F2 keys do not work simply let your computer start-up, as it does look on the POST or Power on Self Test screen, for a few seconds it will tell you to press a key to access setup, once in the bios look for the chipset type, it’s not always possible to find the manufacturer, but the chipset will identify the specification of the motherboard itself.



Manufacturer
Certain manufacturers such as Dell provide all on the information you need online, if you have a Dell simply enter the Tag number of your system into the Support part of the Dell website this then gives you system information relating to your system, together with drivers, warranty information.

Software
A good auditing package will provide you with just about any information you require about your system, companies such as Belarc (belarc.com) provide a quick auditing solution which is free for home users.

Not only this but also information including RAM, how many RAM sockets your pc has, how many are occupied, which hard drive it has, even the serial numbers of installed software, it’s a real little gem of a product, which is very easy to use, run the application you’ve downloaded and it does the rest for you, all in a browser window.

Manually checking Most motherboards come with identifying labels such as part numbers and manufacturers names, so this is a good way to check.

Make sure you remove any power to your system before proceeding, simply powering off is not sufficient as modern systems still have a trickle current running through them when switched off, so either remove the power cord from the back of the pc or remove the plug from the mains supply.

Once you’ve done this remove the cover and have a good look around the motherboard, normally any identifying characters can be found on the edge of the motherboard, it’s a good idea to use a magnifying glass and small torch if needed, once you’ve found any such markings, don’t despair if they mean nothing, just write them all down, put your pc’s case back in place, replacing the power cord.

Now just enter the markings into a search engine, if anyone can find it generally either Google, Yahoo or MSN can.

You can also use this procedure for finding out part numbers of items such as modems or graphic cards which can be very hard to find.

NOTE..Remember to take anti static precautions when removing the case to your computer, might sound silly, but ESD or Electro Static Discharge can destroy electronic components.

Read our article (enter the esd page here)

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