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Motherboard Basics
A motherboard is the main circuit board of a personal computer. Located inside the PC, the motherboard typically contains the CPU (central processing unit), BIOS (basic input/output system), memory, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, and all the controllers required to communicate with standard peripheral devices, such as the display screen, mouse, keyboard and disk drive. Collectively, some of the chips which reside on the motherboard are known as the motherboard's chipset.
Intel sells motherboards to various computer manufacturers known as OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). The OEM may customize the motherboard to their own specifications. For this reason, Intel cannot support a motherboard distributed by an OEM. You have to contact that OEM directly or the place where you purchased your system for support. The OEM or the place of purchase will be most familiar with your configuration and its integration of both hardware and software.
Identifying an Intel Motherboard
When you turn on your computer that contains an Intel motherboard, you will see the BIOS identification string near the top left corner of the screen. If your computer displays the Intel logo screen during system boot, you can bypass this screen by pressing the Esc key. This allows the display of the BIOS code.
Recent motherboards manufactured by Intel use only a Phoenix or American Megatrends (AMI) BIOS. If you see another manufacturer's name in the BIOS area, then contact your Data Net account representative for additional information.
Intel BIOS for Recent Motherboards
Recent Intel motherboards use an AMI or Phoenix BIOS pattern that looks like this:
4D4KL0X0.86A.0017.P08
The characters BEFORE the first period indicate what motherboard you have. In this example, the "4D4KL0X0" identifies the standard DK440LX motherboard.
Important: The first TWO sections of the BIOS code you see on your computer must EXACTLY match the BIOS identifier codes for standard Intel motherboards. In this example, the "4D4KL0X0" identifies the motherboard type, and the "86A" indicates it is a standard Intel version (86B, 86C, or 86E are also used on some boards). If the first two sections do not match, then your motherboard was either manufactured by Intel for a specific OEM or it is not an Intel motherboard. Please contact your Data Net account representative for help with your board.
Intel BIOS codes for older motherboards
Older Intel motherboards used a BIOS pattern that looks like this:
1.00.12.CS1
The characters "CS1" identify which Intel motherboard you have. In this example, the "CS1" identifies a standard VS440FX motherboard.
Important: These characters must EXACTLY match the BIOS identifier codes for standard Intel motherboards. Any additional or different characters indicate a motherboard manufactured for a specific OEM. Please contact your Data Net account representative for help with your board.
Alternative identification: PBA and AA numbers
A small barcoded label, similar to the diagram shown above, should be found on the component side of the motherboard. The numbers following the letters "PBA" or "AA" can help identify the type and version of your motherboard.
Note: If you are having difficulty identifying your motherboard, call your Data Net account representative for assistance: (650) 810-1440
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