How to determine a Desktop or Laptop Computer's Model Number if the Sticker is missing

If you’ve read my Geezam blog article entitled “How to locate Missing Drivers for Older Laptops and Computers”, you might have realized that there’s a bit of a fly in the ointment that may make you stay at a customer’s house a bit longer.

What if the customer has no idea what brand of model their computer is? Worse, what it the Stickers with the Model Numbers have been removed by a previous technician in an attempt to prevent them from going elsewhere to have it repaired?

 After all, on some of those websites, that’s the information needed to get Drivers! In that case, you’ll have to determine the Model Numbers from the computer or Laptop itself.

The most obvious way is to check the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) when the computer boots up, as it usually has the information listed. The BIOS is usually accessed during boot-up by pressing one of the above Buttons on the keyboard:

1.      F2

2.      F1

3.      Esc

4.      F10

5.      F11

In case you’re finding that it’s booting past the visible option to access the BIOS, then software options exist that can give you that information. One such software program is CPU-Z, which I’ve already mentioned in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to use CPU-Z to Identify Processors”.

However, recently, I was faced with this dilemma with another computer that had its Model Number Stickers removed. Thus in Googleing online, I’ve found a pair of Gems that I thought were worth sharing:

1.      Piriform’s Speccy

2.      SIW (System Information for Windows) 2013

Both work the same way and give the same System Information on all aspects of the Computer in question. The Main difference is that Piriform’s Speccy is free, whereas SIW 2013 is not. To that end, I used Piriform’s Speccy, which first gave me this screen that gives me a quick overview of my computer.

Now for the important information! To get the Model Numbers, you need to click on the Motherboard option, which then lists out the information for the Computer, including the Model number. Armed with that information, you can now locate drivers online.

SIW 2013 is the same thing, except it comes in two (2) versions:

1.      Business

2.      Technician

If you decided to get SIW 2013, get the Technician Version, as it provides more detailed information. Once you have it up and running, click on System Summary to see the Model Number for your Computer.

That’s it folks!

This is possibly the quickest How-to article I’ve ever penned. Hopefully, it’ll help to clear up any loose ends that you may have relating to locating Drivers for your computer, especially when the Model Number Sticker is missing!