Question

Motherboard Identification

Asked by: pjedmond

I've got a generic Packard Bell PC, part numberP700404601. Unfortunately, the hard drive went to silicon heaven, and I'm now reinstalling XP Pro on it for a friend. Unfortunately, no recovery disc is availabe, and examination of the motherboard appears to be devoid of any useful information. The Packard Bell site (against the above product number) has a driver download for a modem (an Aztech CNR), and not a lot else:(

Under system devices, I still have yellow warning triangles for the video, and also the multimedia audio controller, and I am unable to find what drivers I should be using for them:( Also note that the friend concerned does not have an internet connection, so I will be taking around the drivers on a USB stick...no problems...but, I want to be able to get this working in 1 more trip as it's a long round trip (on an island with helicopter access only - he watches birds!)

I have run PCIInfo, and have the following VIDs and DIDs:
VID         DID
1039       6325
1039       7012
1039       7013
1039       0650
1106       3044  VIA Technologies
Board is SiS with a VIA Technology video chip

I have worked out that the driver I am after is probably a 7012 Audio, and 7013 SIS, but I'd be greatful for assistance in finding the correct driver for the video, and a site that identifies the VID and DIDs against the hardware concerned. Any other assistance welcome.

Additional points offered for *really* useful links for dealing with type of horrible hardware identification.

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2006-11-09 at 14:48:33ID22055482
Tags

motherboard

,

identification

,

sis

Topics

Miscellaneous Hardware

,

Hardware Components

Participating Experts
6
Points
250
Comments
24

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Pentium chips and AT motherboards
    What was the last Pentium chip supplied on an AT motherboard?
  2. Motherboard identification and configuration
    I am trying to fix up an old computer for someone I know, and, in the process of working on it, I managed to disconnect the Power, HD, and Turbo LEDs, the "Mode" plug (?) and the reset switch. I do not know the make of the motherboard, and I can't really hook it up ...
  3. Identification of unlabeled motherboard
    I'm working on a PC with a mother board I can't identify. I need to download drivers for this motherboard but I,m not having any luck figuring it out which one it is. I opened the case and excamined this board for some time. Using the Everest hardware inventory utility i c...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-09 at 15:00:12ID: 17910332

As an aside VIA offers a list of drivers :

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2&OSID=1&CatID=1160

but no way to match aDID with them as far as I can make out:(

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-09 at 15:03:15ID: 17910352

Ooooppps - looks like the VIA item is a an IEEE-1394 Firewire card....best start checking the other SIS DIDs:(

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-09 at 15:04:06ID: 17910359

DID 0650 - Host bridge chipset.

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-09 at 15:04:53ID: 17910365

"Note that there is no SiS 6325. 0x6325 is the PCI ID of the graphics part of the SiS 650, 651, M650 and 740"....

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-09 at 15:06:00ID: 17910376

http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/GRAPHICS-BOARD/SIS/SiS-740-65x-Onboard-VGA-Driver-211-for-Win2K-XP.shtml





NB - Would still like a site to cross reference these horrible DIDs.

 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-09 at 15:50:48ID: 17910614

Do you have the serial number for that computer.

 

by: dlangrPosted on 2006-11-09 at 16:17:47ID: 17910782

try the hardware identify utility at http://www.idhw.com/textual/guide/inst_type_known_no.html

 

by: achcheePosted on 2006-11-09 at 17:59:53ID: 17911146

try using Everest Free Edition for hardware identification:    http://www.majorgeeks.com/search.php

 

by: AZ-AdministratorPosted on 2006-11-09 at 19:22:43ID: 17911470

Hi pjedmond,
the following was the accepted answer in this question: Q_10140577
"tho the above possibilites allow you to find it... i have a way for you to without a doubt find who manufactured the motherboard. Open up your computer case and search the motherboard for a FCC ID# all electronic components in the United States have such ID #'s...

then go to: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/
enter the ID# and you will get the manufacturer information and model that was submitted to the FCC for approval. At that point if you need more information contact the manufacturer at the contact information on the search."

AZ-Administrator

 

by: AZ-AdministratorPosted on 2006-11-09 at 19:38:58ID: 17911566

pjedmond,
are there any bios identification numbers on the bottom of the screen right after you startup/reboot? may look something like this: 4/2/2003-KT400-8235-6A6LYA1AC-DN
these identify the motherboard manufacturer

AZ-Administrator

 

by: drawlinPosted on 2006-11-09 at 22:34:00ID: 17912235

This post won't be helpfull....:-)   I would rather mail a check to your friend to buy a new computer than spend the time it would take to explain how to identify and download all the driver software necessary to restore that PackardBell to working order.  hahah.  Seriously though, Microsoft has a hardware compatibily list and I seriously doubt that the motherboard and system devices on it are on that list.  Addiditonally, I doubt that the hardware manufacturers of the devices on that mother board have created drivers compatible with WIndows XP, since PB has been out of business 5 years prior to XP.  

 

by: denistyPosted on 2006-11-10 at 03:02:44ID: 17913253

have you tried EVEREST Home Edition? Although it is discontinued you can still find the old version and install it.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/Everest-Home-Edition.shtml
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

it should be able to tell you what motherboard you have and might even tell you what those PCI devices are.
you can search for generic drives by searching for "chipname drivers" ex. "sis7012 drivers".

If I were you, i would borrow the computer and fix it, then return it.  These days I will rarely do a major repair on a computer without having internet access. I will borrow it, bring to my house, fix it before returning it.

Your video and audio also might have IRQ conflicts with other devices installed, so better remove them and just return after you get your video and audio working properly.

 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-10 at 07:48:51ID: 17915030

In order to facilitate finding the right motherboard, could you give me some more info on these components
CPU- AMD or Intel and speed
bios string from the post message

Your part #P700404601 as you have found is for the Imedia VL model 5067, but there were 2 different boards for this model. One was AMD based socket 462 with VIA KM133A, including the VIA VT8365A Northbridge controller. VIA VT 686B Southbridge controller
and the other was an intel based socket MPGA 478B with SiS 650 IGUI HMAC 3D Graphic SDR/DDR, SiS 961 MuTIOL Media I/O
They also supported different type rams from one board to the other.
One thing they seem to have in comman is the sound chip. It was the Sigmatel STAC9756T


 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-10 at 07:50:56ID: 17915047

I forhot to mention, we need to find out which board as there are 2 different drivers and are board specific.

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-10 at 08:48:33ID: 17915689

There is no serial number on the outside of the case. Just above the part number, there is the text "Ser No:" with a blank space after it.

I cannot access the box again until I next fly out to visit, and I'd ideally like to fix it on that occassion.

Based on the VID / DID information, this is an SIS based motherboard, which I guess makes it closer to the:

"intel based socket MPGA 478B with SiS 650 IGUI HMAC 3D Graphic SDR/DDR, SiS 961 MuTIOL Media I/O"

**BUT** this motherboard **DOES NOT** match the PCI information provided. Therefore it is some wierd revision or a completely different board.

I agree that ideally I would always take the PC away, however this is a remote island, with no scheduled flights, and trying to get me (or anyone else on the resupply flight) is difficult enough!...and I'm not sure that they'd be happy with the PC not being available for a month!...plus, I've no intention of waiting between flights (2 weeks+)! I ideally want to be able to install the correct drivers whilst the helicopter pilot has a coffee and biscuits and then return same day. This gives me about a 1 hour window.

Sparkmaker - looks closer to:

http://support.packardbell.com/uk/item/index.php?i=spec_columbia&pi=platform_clipper_imediaVL

...but the DIDs do not seem to match.

Problem I've had with the software packages that 'auto identify' parts is that they require an internet connection in order to identify the part concerned, hence getting the VID/DID numbers which uniquely identify each chipset. There is no telephone, and communication is by radio, so no ability to 'easily' do that.

As for contacting the 'manufacturer', I've emailed SiS, but got no response, and Packard Bell was pathetic, providign me with a link to the PB drivers web site. Entering the known part number gives enough details to get certain devices working, but not the ones I was after. The ommission of sound and video drivers on their website does suggest to me that there may have been variations in the board used which require different drivers despite having the same part number - as has already been noted by sparkmaker highlighting 2 different motherboards.

drawlin - The PC concerned was shipped with XP Home (for shipping with a Packard Bell PC only) stamped on the XP home disc and licence, so PB existed at least until the start of XP.

I guess what I'm really after is the ability to confirm that I've got all the necessary drivers by being able to cross reference the VID/DID values from the values I obtained on my last visit.

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-10 at 08:55:15ID: 17915763

AZ-Administrator - There are no BIOS identification numbers during the boot - It comes up with a PB splash screen, or even if that is disabled, you still get a PB banner, followed by checks being done. Nothing that looks directly helpful other than identifying it as a 1.8GHz Intel P4, and SiS chipset - the SiS chipset being apparent from the DIDs, and the System devices information in the control panel.

 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-10 at 12:23:44ID: 17917395

 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-10 at 12:30:14ID: 17917438

 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-10 at 12:46:27ID: 17917576

Sometimes the problem with using PCI info and getting DID information is that it will tell you the manufacturer of the chip in question but they may have sold that chip to a secondary manufacturer such as sigmatel, or even the motherboard manufacturer, in this case GIGABYTE http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=1335

But the story seldom ends there as the computer manufacturer may make amendments to the motherboard components as well. Packard Bell models of late have been notoriously hard to research.
If you are sure this is the Columbia board then you should be OK with those drivers I posted.

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-10 at 13:47:17ID: 17918068

Thankyou sparkmaster - Those links look extremely promising. I'm not sure that it is the 'Columbia' board, hence, I'm taking as many 'possible' drivers with me. As those links are the 'official' PB driver links, I think that the chances of them being correct are extremely high, and probably deserve a significant proportion of the points, as they are the primary drivers that are causing problems.

With respect to the DID information, that information is used by windows XP to determine the correctness of the drivers, so it seems sensible to use it when locating an appropriate driver.

Due to the unusual access situation, I still wish to be able to generally confirm the identity of the various PCI chip sets and drivers against DID information, so I can be certain that all the necessary drivers are present.

 

by: pjedmondPosted on 2006-11-10 at 13:53:19ID: 17918114

Looks like I'm comfortable with this now - Thankyou for your input.
Majority of points to sparkmaker for his pointers to the official PB driver links, and remainder for dlangr for the link to the unknown hardware identification website.

Many thanks.

 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-10 at 16:26:43ID: 17918997

Just to be sure here is the download page for all the versions of the IMedia VL that were available ( there are actually 5 versions of the columbia board) Fill your boots with the drivers so you won't have to make the second trip.
http://support.packardbell.com/uk/item/index.php?i=platform_clipper_imediaVL&t=2007

 

by: sparkmakerPosted on 2006-11-10 at 16:32:02ID: 17919011

If you want a simple program that can find lots of info on the board when you get there, try CPUz  http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
It will identify CPU, mainboard, memory brands and timings. The EVEREST that was linked earlier by achchee is stand alone and you can burn it to a disk to take with you. Run it, for a more in depth look at the hardware.
Good Luck.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...