VPDDECODE(8)							  VPDDECODE(8)



NAME
       vpddecode - VPD structure decoder

SYNOPSIS
       vpddecode [OPTIONS]


DESCRIPTION
       vpddecode prints the "vital product data" information that can be found
       in almost all IBM and Lenovo computers. Available items are:

	BIOS Build ID

	Box Serial Number

	Motherboard Serial Number

	Machine Type/Model


       Some systems have these additional items:

	BIOS Release Date

	Default Flash Image File Name


       Note that these additional items are not documented by IBM, so this  is
       guess  work,  and as such should not be blindly trusted. Feedback about
       the accuracy of these labels is welcome.


OPTIONS
       -d, --dev-mem FILE
	      Read memory from device FILE (default: /dev/mem)

       -s, --string KEYWORD
	      Only display the value of the VPD string identified by  KEYWORD.
	      KEYWORD  must  be a keyword from the following list: bios-build-
	      id, box-serial-number, motherboard-serial-number,  machine-type-
	      model, bios-release-date.  Each keyword corresponds to an offset
	      and a length within the VPD record.   Not  all  strings  may  be
	      defined  on all VPD-enabled systems.  If KEYWORD is not provided
	      or not valid, a list of all valid keywords is printed and vpdde
	      code  exits with an error.  This option cannot be used more than
	      once.  Mutually exclusive with --dump.

       -u, --dump
	      Do not decode the VPD records, dump their contents as  hexadeci
	      mal  instead.   Note that this is still a text output, no binary
	      data will be thrown upon you. ASCII equivalent is displayed when
	      possible.  This option is mainly useful for debugging.  Mutually
	      exclusive with --string.

       -h, --help
	      Display usage information and exit

       -V, --version
	      Display the version and exit


FILES
       /dev/mem

AUTHOR
       Jean Delvare

SEE ALSO
       biosdecode(8), dmidecode(8), mem(4), ownership(8)



dmidecode			 February 2007			  VPDDECODE(8)