Memory error

RAM parity checking is the storing of a redundant parity bit representing the parity (odd or even) of a small amount of computer data (typically one byte) stored in random access memory, and the subsequent comparison of the stored and the computed parity to detect whether a data error has occurred.

The parity bit was originally stored in additional individual memory chips; with the introduction of plug-in DIMM, SIMM, etc. modules, they became available in non-parity and parity (with an extra bit per byte, storing 9 bits for every 8 bits of actual data) versions.

Early computers sometimes required the use of parity RAM, and parity-checking could not be disabled. A parity error typically caused the machine to halt, with loss of unsaved data; this is usually a better option than saving corrupt data. Logic parity RAM, also known as fake parity RAM, is non-parity RAM that can be used in computers that require parity RAM. Logic parity RAM recalculates an always-valid parity bit each time a byte is read from memory, instead of storing the parity bit when the memory is written to; the calculated parity bit, which will not reveal if the data has been corrupted (hence the name "fake parity"), is presented to the parity-checking logic. It is a means of using cheaper 8-bit RAM in a system designed to use only 9-bit parity RAM.

In the 1970s-80s, RAM reliability was often less-than-perfect; in particular, the 4116 DRAMs which were an industry standard from 1975 to 1983 had a considerable failure rate as they used triple voltages (-5, +5, and +12) which resulted in high operating temperatures. By the mid-1980s, these had given way to single voltage DRAM such as the 4164 and 41256 with the result of improved reliability. However, RAM did not achieve modern standards of reliability until the 1990s. Since then errors have become less visible as simple parity RAM has fallen out of use; either they are invisible as they are not detected, or they are corrected invisibly with ECC RAM. Modern RAM is believed, with much justification, to be reliable, and error-detecting RAM has largely fallen out of use for non-critical applications. By the mid-1990s, most DRAM had dropped parity checking as manufacturers felt confident that it was no longer necessary. Some machines that support parity or ECC allow checking to be enabled or disabled in the BIOS, permitting cheaper non-parity RAM to be used. If parity RAM is used the chipset will usually use it to implement error correction, rather than halting the machine on a single-bit parity error.

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