PROm EPROM

[bob323]

I see it all over the place, but have yet to find a good explaination What is PROM & EPROM?

[fullmoons]

Someone can correct me but I believe that PROM is "programmable read only memory" and EPROM is "erasable programmable read only memory." Basically a prom can only be written to once. An eprom on the other hand can be erased using a special machine and then rewritten.

Hope that helps,
Paul

[bob323]

That makes sense... I always hear the term being mentioned in terms of being burned though (to be "burned" into a PROM or EPROM). Any idea what that means in this context?

[Warmaster199]

Actually, an EPROM's special erase machine is nothing more than an Ultra-Violet light blub. It erases them in 15-20 minutes.

EPROMs are "burned" or Programmed... As I was saying, Burning an EPROM means putting the data from your PC onto the EPROM chip. The BIOS chip inside your computer is probably an EPROM chip of some sort.


Those are pictures of EPROMs so you know what they look like.