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 systems.  If KEYWORD
	      is not provided or not valid, a list of all valid keywords is
	      printed and vpddecode 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
	      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 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)