man > vpddecode(8)

VPDDECODE(8)                           System Manager's Manual                          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.  It 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 sys‐
              tems.  If KEYWORD is not provided or not valid, a list of all valid keywords is print‐
              ed and vpddecode exits with an error.  This option cannot be used more than once.  Mu‐
              tually exclusive with --dump.

       -u, --dump
              Do not decode the VPD records, dump their contents as hexadecimal 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  ex‐
              clusive 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)