NAME

mem, kmem − main memory

DESCRIPTION

Mem is a special file that is an image of the main memory of the computer.  It may be used, for example, to examine (and even to patch) the system. 

Byte addresses in mem are interpreted as physical memory addresses.  References to non-existent locations cause errors to be returned. 

Examining and patching device registers is likely to lead to unexpected results when read-only or write-only bits are present. 

The file kmem is the same as mem except that kernel virtual memory rather than physical memory is accessed. 

FILES

/dev/mem, /dev/kmem

BUGS

Memory files are accessed in an inappropriate method for some device registers. 

7th Edition  —  2/9/82