what are correctable errors in DIMM and what causes them? How to avoid them?

Question

I could see some correctable errors in DIMM. What are these correctable errors in DIMM and what causes them? How to avoid them?

Solution

Correctable errors mean you are using ECC RAM, the server detected that one of the bits in the memory it tried to read was wrong, and it was able to use ECC to figure out what it was supposed to be.

Usually seeing this means one of your memory modules is going bad. Most servers will tell you exactly which stick of RAM is having the trouble, either with an error light or a slot specific error code.

One thing you can try before replacing the DIMM is to reseat it, just pull it out and put it back in (with the server off of course). If it continues to have errors, it needs to be replaced.

Comments

[ewwhite]

What type of server hardware are you using?

[xrkr]

It is Cisco UCS

[xrkr]

Thanks Grant. One more query, Is correctable errors are caused by any software program?

[Grant]

@pradeep8985 No, it's a hardware problem. Though it's quite possible for only certain programs to trigger the errors just by being the only program on the computer that happens to access that particular section of memory on a regular basis. But it's not the program's fault.