How Old My Computer/Laptop Is?

How to Tell How Old My Computer/Laptop Is?

Is your computer/laptop old enough to tell you? Here are some methods that you can use to find out.

In a world where consumer electronics and software are constantly improving, it can be of great value to keep an eye on how old your computer is in order to ensure it meets current standards. Although it can be difficult to prove when a computer was made, a variety of options are available to discover the age of your hardware, whether you’re checking the warranty status or wondering whether you should purchase a new one.

If you want to know how old your computer/laptop is to see if you need to upgrade or to find out whether your warranty is still valid, you can use a couple of easy tests to determine how old your computer/laptop is.

In this guide, we provide different methods for telling the age of your computer.

Methods – How Old My Computer/Laptop Is

Methods – How Old My Computer/Laptop Is?

When running a computer, you may wonder “How old is my computer?” Simply put, you can easily know the age of your computer. Just watch this post from MiniTool Solution and it will show you methods to find out your computer’s age. In addition, a suggestion is provided.

1. Check the serial numbers of your PC or Laptop

A sticker placed somewhere on the computer typically has the serial number of your computer, especially if you built it yourself or bought a pre-built system from companies like HP or Dell. The serial number for a desktop computer is likely to be found on the back. On a laptop, the serial number is likely to be located on the underside of the chassis.

The serial number of your system should appear on the manufacturer’s website, and they should include details about your computer—including the approximate date of manufacture—when you enter it into Google.

2. Use SystemInfo.exe to check your BIOS version.

Systeminfo.exe will tell you how old your computer is by pulling up a bunch of information from it.

The ‘Original Install Date’ of Windows is also shown on this prompt, however, it is not always accurate due to the fact that Windows resets the install date when there is a big Windows update that is released. In my case, I know that my computer was built in December 2017, yet the SystemInfo.exe prompt indicates that the ‘Original Install Date’ was 12/12/2019.

It is much easier to figure out via systeminfo.exe by looking at the ‘BIOS Version’ listed. On my computer, the firmware version is 0408, 12/12/2017. That matches well with the date I built my computer and is close enough to give a good idea of its age.

The following steps will guide you through pulling up your system’s information via the command prompt:

1. To run the command prompt from the taskbar, type cmd and press enter.
2. Enter systeminfo.exe into the Command Prompt once it has opened.
3. See ‘BIOSVersion:’ at the bottom of the page.
4. Please check the date listed.

Since the BIOS may have been updated since you purchased your computer, the date may not be accurate. Additionally, if you purchased it used, it’s not guaranteed that it was not modified. Even after you have checked the date displayed after “BIOS Version” it is a good idea to use some other methods to cross-check the data.

3. Check the release date of your CPU

Check what CPU you have and when it was first manufactured to get an overall idea of how old your computer is.

Using this method, you will not get a super precise date of when your computer was built. New computing devices come out every two years or so, but some manufacturers still use older processors in their systems, and you never know how long the original computer sat in inventory.

You can get a ballpark idea of just how old your PC is by checking its original release date, as well as using the methods mentioned in this guide.

These are the steps you can take to find out when the CPU was originally released:

1. Typing sysinfo in the Windows search box in the taskbar should do the trick.
2. ‘Processor’ will list your CPU if you have one.
3. Google your processor’s name to find out where it is
4. Go to the manufacturer’s website for more information.
5. You should find the initial release date on that page.

Again, this method will not help you narrow down just how old your system is, but it will help you narrow down its age.

4. Look up the dates on the folders in your (C:) drive

The other way you can get an age estimate for your computer or laptop is to look at the ‘Date modified’ dates of the folders on the computer’s (C:) drive.

This is another method that isn’t 100% foolproof; you could still find items that were on your hard drive earlier than your computer. However, this can also be a great way to cross-check the information you have obtained using other methods as mentioned.

Follow these steps to check your (C:) drive’s folders:

1. File explore can be found in the Windows search box on the taskbar.
2. Click on ‘This PC’ in the File Explorer’s left-hand sidebar.
3. Next, double-click on the Local Disk (C:) icon.
4. The folders are listed after the ‘Date modified’.
5. To sort by the oldest items, you can also click the date modified box twice.

Conclusion

Have you been wondering about how old your computer/laptop is? If you have, continue reading this post to find out just how old it is. Follow the methods listed above.

When your laptop or desktop is older than 3 years and it is slow and has many problems, you should consider purchasing a new computer. To have the same settings, programs, and files as the old PC, disk cloning is a good option.

Checking the serial number and typing it into Google to see its approximate manufacture time may be an easy way to determine how old your computer is, but it can also be as complicated as using all four methods to work out when it was built.