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.
Larry
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