Testing NVRAM and FLASH-Need a test strategy

Dear gurus, Can you advice me how to test FLASH and NVRAM Memory using C language?I am not aware what should be the methodology I must be using.Further,for testing the flash,do i need flash programmer?Or what hardware setup is required to test NVRAM and FLASH?Typically My h/w has got a NVRAM and a flash and I am asked to develop some software based on C language to test these Mem chips.Need some ideas or links where I can find some info regarding this.Also please advice me on the h/w and s/w environment required to test these mem chips. Advanced thanks to all your replys. Regards, s.subbarayan

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s.subbarayan
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On 7 Dec 2004 04:04:44 -0800, s snipped-for-privacy@rediffmail.com (s.subbarayan) wrote in comp.arch.embedded:

That depends on the kind of test you need to do. The only real way to test these sorts of devices is to write different patterns into them, then read them back. The test patterns overwrite the original data in the devices. If you need to preserve that data, you have to read it first and store it somewhere else while you are testing the device, then write it back into the device at the end.

As for what sort of hardware and software you need to do the testing, that depends on what type of system you are testing. Where are these devices? On what kind of board, with what kind of processor? Do you need to run the test code on the board's processor? Does the board have enough memory to store the data from blocks or sectors of these devices while you test them?

I would suggest you start with the chip maker's data sheet for the particular devices. They usually include detailed lists of the steps to erase, program, and verify them. In some cases, they might even provide sample software, but that is rather rare.

By the way, 'NVRAM' is a term used for so many different things that by itself it is meaningless. Some people even use it for devices like EEPROMs, where there is no actual RAM involved. You need to be more specific.

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Jack Klein
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Jack Klein

try this article

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There are some NVRAMS that consist of regular SRAM _and_ EEPROM cells. When power drops, it quickly copies data from SRAM to EEPROM (an external capacitor provides the energy for that) and at power up it copies the data from EE back to the SRAM.

Jeroen

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Jeroen

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