How to determine the type of motherboard in the computer.

Below is a short listing of each of the different methods of determining the type of motherboard in your computer.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. If you only need to determine the chipset and not the motherboard manufacturer or model see document CH000634 for additional information.
4. 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.
5. 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.