Identifying my motherboard so I can find which CPU upgrade will work for me.

[NJTH]

I want to see if I can upgrade my CPU to meet W11 standards. I know I need to update my BIOS to v3.08 from v02.83, for TPM2.0. I purchased this PC refurbished for a non-profit, and it already had W10 on it - so I don't know which version of W8 it had originally.

I am unclear what MB I have. Here's what I've found on the HP Partsurfer page under PC board:

https://partsurfer.hp.com/Search.aspx?searchText=E7Z34UA

	-N/A-		657096-001	System board (motherboard) assembly (Maho Bay) - For Convertable Microtower PCs (Carver)	C	Not Assigned
	-N/A-		657096-501	System board (motherboard) assembly (Maho Bay) - For Convertable Microtower PCs (Carver) - For Windows 8 Standard	C	COMPLY_2.08
	-N/A-		657096-601	System board (motherboard) assembly (Maho Bay) - For Convertable Microtower PCs (Carver) - For Windows 8 Professional	C	Not Assigned

For one thing, I have a minitower. For another, even if this info is right, how do I determine which of these three I have, and what CPU will fit it?

Thanks so much!

NJTH

[itsmyname]

@NJTH -- try accessing http://support.HP.com and click "detect my PC". It will download software that will try to detect your hardware.  This assumes that you still have an HP motherboard.

[NJTH]

thanks so much for your reply,. I really appreciate the forum and community.

I actually tried that - didn't work. I  solved the problem by installing Speccy. That enabled me to figure out everything about the hardware, including the motherboard, and which processors would fit in the socket. None of them are beyond 3rd Gen, so there's no way to upgrade the processor to meet MS' "8th Gen or above for W11" requirement without also upgrading the motherboard.

I think I'll just stick with what I've got - it works well. When W10 gets grandfathered I'll have to buy a new desktop and switch over the 3 HDDs, either in a tower or put them in an external housing.

[itsmyname]

@NJTH -- When W10 gets grandfathered

Not "grandfathered", but Microsoft will "orphan" Windows 10 after October 2025 -- ending all support for it.

> I'll have to buy a new desktop and switch over the 3 HDDs, either in a tower or put them in an external housing.

By October 2025, how old will those disk-drives be? Probably, those "antiques" should be proactively "retired" when you purchase a new computer.