How to know manufacturing date of laptop

Whether you’re wondering how old your computer/laptop is because you think it might be time for an upgrade, or you want to check if your system is still under warranty, there are a few easy ways to tell how old your system is.

In this guide, we’ve outlined four different ways that you can tell how old your computer is.

1. Check Your Computer or Laptop’s Serial Number (If Available)

If you bought a pre-built system from a company like Dell or HP, or you have a laptop, the chances are that there is a sticker somewhere on your computer that has a serial number on it. On a desktop computer, the serial number will likely be found on the back of the computer. For a laptop, the serial number will likely be found on the underside of the chassis.

One you’ve found your system’s serial number, simply type it into Google and the manufacturer’s website should show up and they should have information about your computer—including an approximate manufacturing date.

2. Check Your BIOS Version via Command Prompt: systeminfo.exe

Running the systeminfo.exe commmand prompt will pull up a bunch of information on your computer and that can be used to help estimate how old your system is.

This prompt will also tell you the ‘Original Install Date’ of Windows, but this date can be misleading since Windows resets the install date listed every time there is a big Windows update released. For instance, I know that my computer was build in December of 2017, however, the ‘Original Install Date’ in the systeminfo.exe prompt shows ‘8/13/2019’.

So, the better way to check via systeminfo.exe is to look at the ‘BIOS Version’ listed. For mine, it says American Megatrends Inc. 0408, 8/31/2017. That is pretty close to the date that I built my computer and is close enough to give a good idea of how old the computer is.

Here’s the step-by-step process to pulling up your system’s info via command prompt:

1. In the Windows search box in the taskbar, type cmd and hit enter.
2. Once the Command Prompt window has opened, type systeminfo.exe and hit enter.
3. Scroll down until you see ‘BIOSVersion:”
4. Check the date listed

If you have updated your BIOS since you have purchased your computer, though, that might not give an accurate date. And, if you bought your computer used, there’s no guarantee that the BIOS was not updated by the previous owner. So, even after you check the date that is displayed after ‘BIOS Version’ it is a good idea to cross-check the date with some of the other methods listed here.

3. Check Your CPU’s Release Date

Another way that can give you a rough estimate of how old your computer is is to check what CPU you have and then see when that CPU was first manufactured.

This method won’t give you a super accurate date of how old your computer is. New CPUs come out every year or so, but some computer manufacturers do use older generation processors in their budget-oriented systems and there is the possibility that the system you bought sat on a shelf (or—if you bought it online—in stock) for any given amount of time.

But, generally, checking your CPUs original release date can at least give you a ballpark range of how old your computer is—especially if you cross-check it with the methods listed in this guide.

Here’s how to check your CPUs original release date:

1. In the Windows search box in the taskbar, type sysinfo and hit enter.
2. Your CPU will be listed next to ‘Processor’
3. Take your processor name and search for it in Google
4. Click on the manufacturer’s website (either Intel or AMD)
5. Somewhere on that page, there should be an initial release date of your processor

For my processor (Intel Core i7-8700K), Intel lists an original release date of Q4’17, which falls right in line with when I built my computer.

Again, this method isn’t perfect, but it can help you narrow down hold old your system is.

4. Check the ‘Date modified’ Dates of the Folders in Your (C:) Drive

Another way that you can use to help you tell how old your computer or laptop is, is to check the ‘Date modified’ dates of the folders in your computer’s (C:) drive.

This is another method that isn’t full-proof and it is possible that you will see items in your (C:) drive that are actually older than what your computer is. But, again, this can be a good method to cross-check the information you’ve found using the methods listed above.

Here’s how to check you (C:) drive’s folders:

1. In the Windows search box in the taskbard, type file explore and hit enter.
2. In the File Explorer on the left-hand sidem click on ‘This PC’
3. Then, double-click on ‘Local Disk (C:)’
4. Check the ‘Date modified’ dates listed after the folders
5. You can also hit the ‘Date modified’ tab twice to sort by the oldest items

For me, the folder for my processor (Intel) lists a date of 12/19/2017, and there is a text file called ‘audio’ that lists the same date. If I go into the ‘Windows’ folder and sort by the oldest items, the oldest folder there has a date of 12/19/2017.

However, in the main (C:) drive, there is an item ‘msdia80.dll’ (it’s a part of the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package and is a necessary file) that has a ‘Date modified’ date of 12/1/2006. Obviously, I know my computer isn’t that old. So, beware of taking the oldest file in your (C:) drive and assuming that was the date your system was manufactured.

Ultimately, finding out how old your computer is can be as simple as checking the serial code of the system, punching it into Google, and seeing approximately when it was manufactured. Or, it can be as difficult as using the other three methods listed above and cross-checking them to get a general idea of when your system was built.

When you use your laptop for a longtime, there are times you may become eager to find out when your laptop was made.

Typically, you may need to find out the date your PC was born because you want to claim its warranty; you are buying a used or new laptop after 3 – 5 years of using or just out of curiosity.

Whatever your case may be; varying from brand to brand, there are various methods that you can use to determine the manufacture date of your laptop.

how to check laptop manufacturing date

Laptop manufacturing date can be found by check System Information via Start menu, or via About this Mac if you are using a MacBook. You can also perform a search on the model if you know what it is.

1. In Windows, check System Information

If you are operating a laptop using a WINDOWS OS, the date of manufacture of your laptop can be determined using the steps that follow:

Step 1: Press the windows button and type in ‘system information’; then press ‘Enter’ Button.

Step 2: From the system summary window that opens up; check for BIOS DATE/VERSION from items in the table listed, it provides with the name of the manufacturer and the date the laptop was made.

Another simple way to access this information from windows is to press Windows + R Buttons and head straight to the screen with the system information.

By chance if your laptop still has its original operating system from the manufacturer, its installation date will give you the answer to when your laptop was manufactured.

To find this date out, use the steps below:

Step 1: Type CMD in the windows startup menu.

Step 2: From the command prompt, type in ‘systeminfo’. Usually a lot of information about your laptop will be displayed and among this is the original installation date of your laptop.

To pre-filter this information so that you arise to the original installation date only, type in instead: ‘systeminfo|find /i “Original Install Date”’.

2. Computer History

Your may have come across an old laptop and out of curiosity, you want to determine the date it was made.

However on contacting the manufacturer, it happens you are not helped. The easiest way to determine its date of manufacture may be to check your search engine.

With the rapid advancement in technology, there are so many ways to get at information nowadays, including your laptop’s manufacture date.

You can easily get the manufacture date of your laptop by searching over search engines such as Yahoo, Google or Bing.

However if the information you get is not conclusive enough, it’s better to contact a computer history organization.

They typically have library resources that have plenty of information about these computer models, including your laptop’s manufacture date.

3. Contact the Manufacturer with your Laptop’s Serial Number

To use this method, you need to be equipped with your laptop’s serial number. This is the number by which your manufacturer will identify your laptop.

It can help you claim support, warranties and even date of manufacture and here is how to get:

Method 1:

Check the bottom of your laptop, typically there is a label that has a serial number.

Method 2:

Check inside the battery compartment. Your serial number label may be placed just below the battery.

Once you have the serial number with you, go to the manufacturer’s website.

Manufacturers provide a tool over their websites that users can use to enter their laptop’s serial numbers and determine the laptop manufacture date.

Without that tool on the manufacturer’s website, the other option can be to contact the manufacturer over the phone.

When you provide them with a serial number, they will be able to determine the date your laptop was manufactured and then give you feedback.

4. Date of BIOS Installation

If at all the methods above don’t give you the serial number, worry not. You can still dig deeper and get it from the Basic input and output system (BIOS).

BIOS controls information flow between hardware and software. Its installed during the laptop/computer manufacture and their its date of installation is or close to the date of manufacture of your machine.

From the BIOS screen, usually black; you can get the product number, serial number including the date of manufacture which is our point of focus in this post.

Here is how you are steps you are going to use to get it:

Step 1: First, you need to turn off your laptop by going to shut down menu and click shutdown..

Step 2: Press the power button to turn on your laptop again; and press the ESC/F2 to enter into the startup menu.

Step 3: Press F1 or select system information from the menu. The information below will be displayed:

5. Checking the motherboard type

Determining the date a Windows Laptop was made is not usually an exact science. Usually, windows laptops are easily upgradeable. So you may find a laptop is much older than you think.

So how do you determine the exact/ date close to manufacture?

The most accurate trick may be to check the serial sticker on the motherboard by opening up your laptop.

Feed the serial number you get into any search engine and this will give the dates that kind of motherboard was on sale which is usually close to the date of manufacture.

6. For MAC laptops, check in the ‘About this MAC’

Everything to do with MAC laptops; is luxurious, classy and uniqueness and so is all its functionalities including getting its manufacture date.

Do you want to determine the manufacture date of a MAC laptop?

Worry not. It is as simple as going to the ‘About this Mac’. Here is how to do this:

Step 1: Close down all running programs, and expose the finder menu.

Step 2: Locate and click the ‘Apple’ icon. Choose the About This MAC

Step 3: Double click on the version number that’s just below the Mac OS X

Step 4: It’s serial number will appear. Copy down the serial number and log onto coverage page for apple products.

Once you feed in your serial number, you will be able to get your service status information including the date of manufacture of your MAC.

In some Mac Os, when you go to the About This Mac window, the model name will appear together with your laptop’s year of manufacture. The serial number will be at the bottom of the list.

But maybe you want to go a step further and find the month and probably date.

Another alternative is to check for the serial number by going to the utilities folder and look for system profiler.

Click on it and on the left choose hardware.

The serial number will be displayed as the second item from the bottom.

Once you have a serial number, there is a third party website that you can feed in your serial number and it will give you its model name, date, month, year of introduction.

This can give you a better approximation for the date of manufacture of a Mac laptop.

What Year Was My Laptop Made?

While reading this post, you may have wondered why you need to know the manufacturing date of your laptop.

But wait a minute. Did you know you can be asked to produce your laptop serial number when you take it to the service center for repairs?

In some not so common instances, manufacturer may produce a model of laptops which have a common fault and may want to know if your machine is affected. The only way they can determine this is usually the date of manufacture.

Sometimes you may be purchasing an old laptop and want to determine its age from date of manufacture.

Once you have any of the tips I have given above by your fingertips, you can be good to go.

How did find out your laptop’s date of manufacture?

Share with us in the comments.