Motherboard unknown 1

[ascikey]

I have installed ME on an old computer (PIII 350mhz dell) but the usb has not been installed. My question is do I need to find out the make of the motherboard and get an update for the usb driver, if so where do I found the make/ID number as I have looked but cannot see any ID number

 

[franklin97355]

If it's a Dell start at the Dell site.

 

[YellowOnline]

When you boot and the RAM is being tested, you can see a string of characters on the left-bottom of the screen. if you press the PAUSE button you can write it down at ease.

Let's show you an example of an Award BIOS id:
2A59IZ1DC-00

The first 5 characters identify the chipset. 2A59I stands for the Intel Triton TX chipset. You can find an extensive list of chipsets if you scroll down a bit.

The sixth & seventh character identify the manufacturer: in this case it's Z1. If you look at the Award Hardware Vendors list (see below) you'll find that the manufacturer is Zida/Tomato

The 8th character (most of the times, not always!) identifies the model. I say 'most of the times' because the manufacturer can use the same 8th character for all models based on a particular chipset!.

The C-00 at the end doesn't mean much.

Next step is looking it up. A good site is

http://www.wimsbios.com,

where I got the explanation for the code.

Peace,

Yellow

 

[ascikey]

thanks for that, it will be very helpful. i will get back and let u know how i get on in a day or so

 

[MIKEFLorida]

Since it's a dell, you can look on the back of the tower and find the Service Tag Number. Enter it here

https://support.dell.com/productselection.aspx

and you are in business.

 

[ascikey]

thanks all, i have managed 2 sort it with ur help