Answer: Below is a short listing of each of the different methods of determining the type of motherboard in your computer.
If the motherboard is in a working computer there are several different software programs capable of determining the type of motherboard in the computer. See document CH000017 under third-party programs for a complete listing of these programs.
Unfortunately, without any documentation, determining the manufacturer or model of a motherboard can be cumbersome if the above software solutions do not work.
If you have lost your documentation and/or your computer did not included any documentation, you can open the computer and visually inspect the motherboard for a manufacturer and model. In many cases, computer hardware, expansion cards, and/or cables may need to be disconnected or removed before you can inspect all portions of the motherboard.
When looking at the motherboard, the model number and/or manufacturer is usually on a white sticker or a silk screen on the very edge of the motherboard that will have a manufacturer, model, and/or part number that can be searched for additional information about the motherboard.
If you only need to determine the chipset and not the motherboard manufacturer or model see document CH000634 for additional information.
If you are looking for additional information about the type or form factor of the motherboard, please see our motherboard help page and/or form factor definition for additional information about each of the motherboard form factors and information on how to distinguish the type of form factor.
If you are unable to locate a manufacturer or model number of the motherboard, but are able to locate a FCC identification number, it is recommended that you perform a FCC search using that number. Additional information about FCC numbers and how to search for information about a FCC number can be found on our FCC dictionary definition page.
Reasoning:
Chipset
or
driver
update
Trying
to
determine
chipset
or
motherboard
information
to
update
the
computer
motherboard
drivers
and/or
BIOS.
See
our
motherboard
driver
section
for
additional
information
on
BIOS
updates,
chipset
updates,
and
other
software
updates.
Additional
information
and
help
with
BIOS
updates
can
be
found
on
document
CH000236.
Additional
information
about
determining
the
motherboard's
chipset
can
be
found
on
document
CH000634.
Product listing or specifications
If
you
are
trying
to
list
all
the
specific
information
about
your
computer
motherboard,
specifying
the
manufacturer,
form
factor,
and
specifications
of
the
motherboard
is
sufficient.
Below
is
an
example
of
how
a
motherboard
could
be
listed
in
your
system
specifications.
Intel
D815EGEW
ATX
using
a
1.1GHz
processor
and
512MB
of
memory
Replacement or repair
If you are trying to determine the type of motherboard because it needs to be replaced or repaired, it is recommended that the motherboard be replaced. Because of the complexity of today's motherboards, it can be very difficult and costly to repair a motherboard and it will likely be easier and cheaper to simply replace the motherboard