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

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.

This section is not applicable to this article.

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

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 or Bing and in the Microsoft Technet site.

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

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.

   

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

   

4. The diagnostics run and gather the data.

   

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

   

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

   

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

   

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

   

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.)

    

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.

See these Dell Knowledge Base articles for related information:

• A Basic Guide to Identifying the Major Components of a Laptop
• How to Find the Unique Identifier for Dell Monitors using Network Management Software