HOW TO IDENTIFY A MOTHERBOARD

Posts : 15 Join date : 2008-03-28

HOW TO IDENTIFY A MOTHERBOARD

The manufacturer of most modern, quality motherboards are fairly easy to identify. Many package their motherboards in retail boxes and include User Manuals (or what is often called "motherboard books"), etc. which clearly display the manufacturer's name and motherboard model, and often include the manufacturer's web site URL, as well. If these are lost, one can usually find the name or an abbreviation thereof silk-screened on the motherboard/on the side of the last expansion board slot to the left of the motherboard. Additionally, the slot will often contain the board version number. Such has not always been the case. In the "old days" motherboards were commonly shipped as OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer - a company that makes computers, etc.) products in "plain wrappers." Some still are. And the motherboard books did not mention the manufacture either--a generic product, indeed. So how does one find-out who made the board?

Watch the computer as it boots. The manufacture's name and motherboard model might be displayed as the BIOS goes through its post routine. Use the Pause Key to freeze the screen (and any key to restart it).
Download and run CT BIOS. This utility may grab the manufacturer's info from the BIOS. In the case of my BIOS, it listed the manufacturer's web site URL among other things.
Visit Wim's Bios Page for help identifying the board with BIOS numbers.
Some boards just may have an FCC ID number on the board/slot, in the motherboard book, or elsewhere on the computer if the same manufacturer made more than just the motherboard. That number can usually be matched to the manufacture's name, etc. using the FCC data base at: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/. Use that info to find the manufacturer with an Internet search engine. This is also useful for finding the manufacturer of expansion boards, etc.
Other motherboards may just have the model number of the board on them. Run this number through some of the Internet search engines.
Take the motherboard or computer to an "old" computer person like myself and see if he or she can help you out. I have file drawers full of old motherboard books.