Dell Vostro 5401 Statement of Volatility
Summary
Essential guide detailing data persistence and component functionality for the Vostro 5401 system. This technical manual explains which memory, firmware, and storage components are non-volatile (retaining data without power) versus volatile (losing data instantly). Users will learn critical procedures regarding power loss management, ensuring data integrity—from SSD content to BIOS settings—and maintaining optimal performance when dealing with volatile hardware and stored configurations.
Page 1 Text Content
Statement of Volatility – Vostro 5401 CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. The Vostro 5401 contains both volatile and non-volatile components. Volatile components lose their data immediately after power is removed from the component. Non-volatile components continue to retain their data even after power is removed from the component. The following Non-volatile components are present on the Vostro 5401 system board. Table 1. List of Non-Volatile Components on System Board
Remedial Action Description Reference (Action necessary to
Designator Volatility Description User Accessible for external data
prevent loss of data)
SSD drive(s) SSD1, SSD2 Non-Volatile magnetic media, various sizes in YES Low level format
GB. SSD (solid state flash drive).
System U2501 (8 MB) Non-Volatile memory, Video BIOS for basic No NA BIOS/EC boot operation, PSA (on board diags),
U2503 (16 MB) PXE diags.
Thunderbolt NA Non-Volatile memory, 8 Mbit (1 MB) No NA EEPROM (Thunderbolt FW)
USB-Type C U7201 Non-Volatile memory, 8 Mbit (1 MB) No NA PD for USB type-C PD F/W
LCD Panel Part of panel Non-Volatile memory, Stores panel No NA EEDID assembly manufacturing information, display EEPROM configuration data
System Two DIMM on Volatile memory in OFF state (see state Yes Power off system Memory – board DDR4 definitions later in text) DDR4 memory memory:
DM1/DM2
RTC CMOS RTC1 Non-Volatile memory 256 bytes No NA
Stores CMOS information
Video memory For UMA Volatile memory in off state. No Power off system – frame buffer platform: Using
system memory UMA uses main system memory size allocated
out of main memory.
VRAM1, VRAM2
Intel ME Combine on Non-Volatile memory, Intel ME firmware for No N/A Firmware BIOS ROM system configuration, security and protection
Security U2 (up-sell USH Non-Volatile memory, 128 Mbit No N/A Controller
daughter board) (16 Mbyte)
Serial Flash
Memory
TPM U9101 Non-Volatile memory, 192K bits (24K bytes) No N/A Controller ROM
ISH Combine on
BIOS ROM No N/A
Touch N/A Non-Volatile memory No N/A screen
May 2020
Page Summary Contents For Dell Vostro 5401 Statement of Volatility
Manual Details
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Pages | 2 |
| File Size | 164.41 KB |
| Published | June 23, 2026 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which components retain data after power removal?
Non-volatile components like SSD drives, CMOS RTC1, and system BIOS chips retain data.
What must I do to prevent loss of external data from the SSDs?
Since the SSD drives are listed as Non-Volatile with the 'YES' flag, they are designed to maintain data retention.
What happens if I only remove the coin-cell battery (secondary power loss)?
Secondary power loss destroys system data on the system configuration and time-of-day information.