PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester User Guide

: October 30, 2023
: PASSMARK SOFTWARE

Table of Contents

Introduction
Device Operation
Cables
Monitoring Software (ECCTest)
Driver Installation
Technical Specification
Software Compatibility
Documents / Resources

ECC Tester
Users Guide
Model PM141 Rev 1 PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester

Introduction

The ECC Tester can be used to verify a computer equipped with ECC RAM responds correctly when a memory transfer is corrupted, as well as monitor the voltages on a RAM stick. With the ECC Tester, you can:

Generate errors in both the error correction and data lines.
Customize errors to be either correctable (single bit) or non-correctable (double bit), as well as create periodically occurring errors or one time errors.
Read the voltage of the VDD, VPP, VREFCA, VTT lines in real-time. This can also be tested with a non-ECC RAM.

Device Operation

This section covers the functions of the ECC Tester and how to use it to diagnose issues related to ECC RAM.
Injecting Memory Errors
Memory errors are injected using either the provided Windows software (command line interface or ECCTest application), or by pressing one of the four buttons located along the edges of the ECC Tester are pressed. Figure 1 shows where these buttons can be found, each of the buttons are also labelled underneath as either S1, S2, S3, or S4. The type of error injected by each button when it is pressed is configured through the provided Windows software, see section Monitoring Software (ECCTest) for more information on how to use the software to perform error injection.

PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester - Memory Errors

Verifying Your ECC RAM Works Correctly
If your ECC RAM is functioning correctly, then the computer will identify and report memory corruptions that have been created from the ECC Tester. The location of where this memory error is reported varies based on your operating system, below it will be explained how to find this information using either MemTest86 or Windows 10. If after injecting an error these reports do not appear or the computer crashes, then the ECC RAM is not working correctly.
Verifying with MemTest86
While running the tests in MemTest86, any errors related to ECC memory will be detected and displayed in red writing as shown in Figure 2. To inject an error into MemTest86 while it is running, press a button on the ECC Tester that has been configured to generate an error. If you see an ECC related error message appear in MemTest86, then your ECC RAM is functioning correctly.

PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester - Memory Errors 1

Verifying with Windows 10
Some operating systems provide information when a memory error is detected and corrected. For Windows 10, this information can be obtained from the Event Viewer program; this program can be found by typing “Event Viewer” into the Windows search bar. In Event Viewer, open the “Windows Logs” dropdown and click on “System” to view the reported memory errors. An example of what will appear when the ECC RAM is working correctly after an error is injected by the ECC Tester is shown in Figure 3.

PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester - Windows 10

Voltage Monitoring
The voltage of the VDD, VPP, VREFCA, VTT lines can be monitored in real-time through either using the command line interface or ECCTest application. Using the ECCTest application, a log of these voltages can also be generated in the background and written to a file for further processing, the process to do this is described in the Log Window section under Monitoring Software (ECCTest).

Cables

The ECC Tester comes with 1 cable that has a USB A (male) connector at one end, and at the other end a custom connector that attaches to the ECC Tester. When using any software that interacts with the ECC Tester (Windows ECCTest application or the command line interface), this cable must be connected to the ECC Tester and a USB port on the computer to allow communication. Refer to Figure 4 for where the cable is connected to on the ECC Tester.

PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester - Cables

Monitoring Software (ECCTest)

The Windows application ECCTest can be used to configure and interact with the ECC Tester from a computer. An image of the main window is shown in Figure 5 and the features and options of this application are described below.

PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester - Monitoring
Software

Device
The device dropdown box will list all the COM ports that a ECC Tester has been detected as being connected to. Selecting an option from the list will connect the application to the corresponding ECC Tester. If “None Connected” is displayed in the box, then no ECC Tester is connected to the application.
Memory Error Injection
This box can be used to send a command to the ECC Tester to corrupt the memory lines without having to press the buttons. The memory lines to be corrupted is selected through the “Data Error” and “Checksum Error” dropdown boxes, and the amount of time the memory line is corrupted is entered in the duration box. Clicking the “Inject Error” button will send the command to the ECC Tester where the error will be injected.
Enable voltage logging
Ticking this box will begin writing the measured voltages to the log window. The rate at which messages are logged can be adjusted by changing the value in the text box.
Log Window
The log window displays information about when ECC testers are detected and connected, as well as contains the voltage log if enabled. This log can be saved to a file by clicking the Save Log button, and the log can be reset by clicking the Clear Log button.
Voltages
The minimum, maximum and average voltage of some RAM lines are monitored from when an ECC Tester is connected. These results are displayed in the table here.
The table can be reset by reconnecting the ECC Tester, and for obtaining real- time voltage values the voltage logging feature should be used instead.
Configuration
Opens the window where the error generated by the buttons can be customized, this window is shown in Figure 6. The Duration is the length of time (in milliseconds) the data lines will stay corrupted, Number of pulses is the number of times the error will
be repeated on a single button press, and Interval is the time (in milliseconds) between errors if more than one is generated. To choose which memory lines are corrupted, the Data error and Checksum error dropdown boxes are used. The button this setting is attached to can be identified by looking for the button on the ECC Tester that has the matching label underneath.

PASSMARK SOFTWARE PM141 ECC Tester - Monitoring Software
1

Driver Installation

Starting from Windows 10, the STSW-STM32102 driver is no longer required, and the usage of the native inbox driver (Microsoft driver) is recommended instead. For other operating systems please follow the below procedure.
Windows Installation (Win7 & Win8) Step1 – connect the device
With the computer turned on and running, connect the ECC Tester to the USB port on the computer to be used with the provided cable.
Step 2 – Install the device driver
Download the latest driver from the following address and extract the package. https://www.passmark.com/products/ecc-tester/download.php
The STSW-STM32102 software package contains four installation files based on the various versions of the Microsoft® operating system. Run the setup file according to the version of your operating system. E.g., run ‘CP_V1.5.0_Setup_W7_x64_64bits.exe’ if you have a 64-bit version of Windows 7 installed on your computer.

Technical Specification

Product Code	PM141
Supported SDRAM Class	DDR4 (unbuffered or fully buffered)
CPU	ARM Cortex MO onboard controller
Memory	6KB RAM, 32K Flash onboard memory
User Interface	4x Programable Buttons
Error Injection	Single bit or double bit error injection on DQO, DQ2, CBO,

The ECC Tester firmware is software upgradeable in the field.

Software Compatibility

The command line interface and ECCTest application are supported on Windows 7, 8, and 10. Error injection can be performed manually with the buttons on any system. Additional Information For more information, please see the ECC Tester FAQ page.
Disclaimer
This product is not warranted nor intended to be used for medical, life support, lifesaving, critical control or safety applications, unless pursuant to an express written agreement with PassMark Software. Furthermore, PassMark Software does not authorize this product for use as critical components in life-support systems where a malfunction or failure may reasonably be expected to result in significant injury to the user. The inclusion of this PassMark Software product in life-support systems application implies that the manufacturer assumes all risk of such use and in doing so indemnifies PassMark Software against all charges.

Document Edition: 1.1
Date: 12 January 2023
Web site:[ www.passmark.com](http://www.passmark.com)