The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 07, 1997
Filed:
Jun. 07, 1995
Richard W Finch, Austin, TX (US);
Stephen R Cooper, Cedar Park, TX (US);
Dell USA, LP, Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
In connection with a computer system, a method for performing efficient memory testing of large memory arrays in a single contiguous block is disclosed. Memory test code normally residing in ROM or flash memory is copied to a processor's primary (L1) cache via the processor's test registers. Once contained in the processor's L1 cache, the memory test code is executed to test all of system memory in a single, contiguous block, allowing a more complete test for memory-related faults. The method results in greatly improved performance because the only accesses external to the processor are memory test accesses, and because cache memory is typically high-speed as compared to RAM, ROM or flash memory.