Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

Home » Computer Hardware » Computer Memory » Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) is a type of memory that is non-volatile. This means that even after disconnecting from a power source, EEPROM can retain the data that has been stored on it. This has advantages over DRAM, which will lose all information when power is lost.

Because “Erasable/Programmable” and “Read Only” seem to contradict each other, a beginner may assume that the name of this type of memory is rather paradoxical or confusing. The thing to keep in mind is that EEPROM can be used like ROM in almost all cases, with one exception. It can be put into a special “WRITE ENABLE” mode, where data can be written to it over a serial or parallel bus.

Because of its ability to act like ROM, which can be re-written under certain circumstances, EEPROM is used for various purposes where updates to the memory are rare but necessary.

Motherboards usually store their BIOS on an EEPROM, allowing low-level boot code to remain on-chip between power cycling. The BIOS can also be updated when bugs need fixing, or when performance improvements become available.

Next Page: Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory

Related Computer Memory Articles

---

• Random Access Memory
• Read Only Memory
• SIMM
• Static Random Access Memory
• Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
• Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
• Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
• Flash Memory
• Motherboards
• PCMCIA
• Computer Memory Introduction
• Double Data Rate
• Dual In-Line Memory Module
• Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)
• EDO Random Access Memory