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How to Get the PPID Number of the Motherboard on a Dell Computer

Summary: This article provides information about how to find the Piece Part Identification (PPID) number of the motherboard. Getting the motherboard serial number on a Dell Computer without physically removing any parts. ...

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.

Symptoms

There are various reasons why you might require the serial number or PPID of the motherboard. From checking that you have the correct part in the computer to finding the specifications of the part, and finding a replacement or upgrade for it.

This article shows two methods to get this information without removing any parts or reading the label on the component.

The first method works from within the Windows operating system environment. 

The second method is used in both Windows and Linux-based computers as it operates outside of the operating system in the preboot environment.

Cause

This section is not applicable to this article.

Resolution

Method One - Get the serial number or PPID of the motherboard using the Windows PowerShell application (Command-Line Interface (CLI))

Note: You do not require administrator rights to run the following commands.
  1. Tap or click the Start button and type PowerShell in the start menu search.
  2. Tap or click the Windows PowerShell application to open a CLI window.
  3. Type the following command and then press the Enter key:

    (Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BaseBoard).SerialNumber.Split('/')[2].Substring(0,2)+(Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BaseBoard).Product+(Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_BaseBoard).SerialNumber.Split('/')[2].Substring(2)

    (The value returned is the PPID number.)

Note: If you get an error or exception returned instead. Check the error in a search engine such as Google This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies. or Bing This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies. and in the Microsoft Technet This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies. site.

Method Two - Get the serial number or PPID of the motherboard using the Dell ePSA log file

Caution: This method requires that you have one of the newer versions of the preboot diagnostics on your computer. This feature is not available on all Dell computers. It is also dependent on whether the BIOS and UEFI protocols can interface with the USB flash drive. You may check this by running the preboot diagnostics with a USB flash drive connected to the computer. If the diagnostic test does not prompt you to save the results and instead prompts you to finish and reboot, these instructions do not work.

 

Note: This method is especially useful for those of you who have a Linux-based operating system on the Dell computer. This method runs outside of the operating system environment - before the computer boots.

 

  1. Connect a USB drive formatted with File Allocation Table (FAT) 32, (Do Not use the New Technology File System (NTFS).)
  2. Boot your device and press the F12 key during the Power-On Self-Test (POST) to go to the boot once menu.

    BIOS Loading Screen

  3. Select diagnostics (From the Top Middle of the screen.)

    Diagnostics Screen

  4. The diagnostics run and gather the data.

    Diagnostics Quick Test

  5. Click Advanced (From the Bottom Left of the screen.)

    Diagnostics Passed Successfully

  6. Click System Info (From the menu on the left of the screen.)

    Diagnostics Advanced Tests

  7. The Motherboard ePPID is the first value listed under the Cables list.

    Diagnostics System Information

  8. You are prompted to save the results file to the USB drive when you exit the diagnostics.

    Diagnostics Save Results Screen

  9. You can send on the results file from the USB drive.

  10. The serial number or PPID of the motherboard is shown under the [cables] list. (The last three characters often A0x which represents the revision level of the motherboard. It can be safely ignored as it is not part of the PPID.)

    Screenshot of the cables section in the psa.txt file

  11. The serial number or PPID of other devices such as the hard disk drive (hard drive) or optical disc drive (ODD) is available in the same file.

Additional Information

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Affected Products

Alienware, Inspiron, Legacy Desktop Models, OptiPlex, Vostro, XPS, G Series, G Series, Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Vostro, XPS, Legacy Laptop Models, Fixed Workstations, Mobile Workstations
Article Properties
Article Number: 000125347
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 11 Dec 2024
Version:  10
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