SPD Warning Messages

INN-8668-APN9
--Revised 7-29-2005

RAMCHECK provides full support for SPD programming and editing for advanced users, as outlined in our SPD management page. However, even if you do not wish to program the SPD, you may want to know if the SPD in your tested module matches the module's size and structure, as tested by RAMCHECK.

In its default mode since Version 2.17, RAMCHECK provides warning message in the event that the SPD data on a module does not match to the actual size and structure measurements. This alert the user of a potential problem in the module, as many motherboards use the SPD data to access the module.

The warning message on the RAMCHECK display looks as follows:

The tester also records a more specific message in the test log, which can be viewed after the test (by selection F4, F1 from STANDBY). These message explicitly tells you what are the mismatches between the RAMCHECK test and the SPD data. The following two examples indicate which parameters we compare:

This example indicates the following mismatches:

• SPD's byte 6 - module data width - does not match the tested x64 data width.
• SPD's byte 17 - number of banks in a chip - does not match the 4 measured.
• SPD's byte 3 - numbers of rows - does not match the 12 rows measured.

This example indicates the following mismatches:

• SPD's byte 2 - DRAM mode - does not match the tested mode 7 (for DDR devices).
• SPD's byte 5 - number of module's banks - does not match the two banks measured.
• SPD's byte 4 - numbers of columns - does not match the 10 columns measured.

The SPD data include a checksum byte (Byte 63) which is a sum of all bytes 0-62. If RAMCHECK finds that the SPD's checksum is incorrect with the SPD data, it shows the following error:

You can disable the SPD warning mechanism by accessing the following setup menu (F2, F5, F1, F5, F5, F5 from STANDBY):

Press F1 (SPD WARN) to toggle SPD warning on or off.

In order for the SPD warning to work on your RAMCHECK, you must have version 2.17 or higher. Please upgrade the firmware if necessary.

CONTACTING OUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT DEPARTMENT

For more information, please call us at (281) 879-6226 M-F 9:00-5:00 CST, or send your E-mail to support@innoventions.com, or fax your message to (281) 879-6415. Please remember to include your phone and e-mail.