Reading or writing the ECA information
Information on Engineering Change Announcements (ECA) are stored in the EEPROM of the system board. The electronic storage of this information simplifies the procedure to check if the ECA has been previously applied to a machine. The machine does not need to be disassembled to check for the ECA application.
To check what ECAs have been previously applied to the machine, use the ECA Information Read/Write function on the ThinkPad Hardware Maintenance Diskette Version 1.73 or later.
1.Insert the ThinkPad Hardware Maintenance Diskette Version 1.73 or later, and restart the computer.
2.From the main menu, select 6. Set ECA Information.
3.To read ECA information, select 2. Read ECA/rework number from EEPROM and follow the instruction.
4.To read box build date, select 5. Read box build date from EEPROM, and follow the instruction on the screen.
After an ECA has been applied to the machine, the EEPROM must be updated to reflect the ECA’s application. Use the ThinkPad Hardware Maintenance Diskette Version 1.73 or later to update the EEPROM.
Note: Only the ECA number is stored in the EEPROM. The machine type of the ECA is assumed be the same as the machine type of the machine that had the ECA applied to it.
1.Insert the ThinkPad Hardware Maintenance Diskette Version 1.73 or later, and restart the computer.
2.From the main menu, select 6. Set ECA Information.
3.To write ECA information, select 1. Write ECA/rework number from EEPROM, and follow the instruction.
4.To write box build date, select 4. Write box build date from EEPROM, and follow the instruction on the screen.
If the system board is being replaced, try to read the ECA information from the old system board and transfer the information to the new system. If the system board is inoperable, this will not be possible.
