Patent EP0524719A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0524719A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Computer system with alterable bootstrapping software
Assignee: Dell USA LP
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Filing: 1992-05-29
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-05-29
Abstract
Abstract A computer which carries its BIOS in a Flash EPROM. A UV-EPROM carries a redundant BIOS, which can be overlaid onto the BIOS address space by selection with a physical switch. The BIOS contains a small core software program, at the BIOS entry point, which checks BIOS integrity, and provides for reloading the Flash EPROMS's BIOS if needed (from a floppy disk, or by copying the entire contents of the UV-EPROM).
Inventors
- 👤 Wai-Ming Richard Chan
- 👤 Eric W. Schieve
- 👤 Charles P. Zeller
- 👤 Gary W. Abbott
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 15:30
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F9/00; G06F9/06; G06F9/44; G06F9/4401; G06F9/4403; G06F9/22; G06F15/00; G06F15/76; G06F15/78; G06F15/7807; G06F15/7814; G06F11/00; G06F11/07; G06F11/14; G06F11/1402; G06F11/1415; G06F11/1417
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
38 words
A computer system including a rewritable non-volatile memory which holds bootstrapping instructions including instructions capable of effecting the over-writing of instructions held in the rewritable non-volatile memory, from an external source, following a hard reset of the system.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
62 words
A computer system including a rewritable non-volatile memory, a second non-volatile memory which holds bootstrapping instructions including instructions capable of effecting the over-writing of instructions held in the rewritable non-volatile memory from an external source, and means for selecting either the second non-volatile memory or the rewritable non-volatile memory as its source of bootstrapping instructions, following a hard reset of the system.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
A computer system as claimed in claim 2, in which the bootstrapping instructions held in the second nonvolatile memory are such as to effect the over-writing of instructions held in the rewritable non-volatile memory by the bootstrapping instructions held in the second nonvolatile memory, following a hard reset of the system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
52 words
A computer system as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, which includes a user settable switch for selecting the second non-volatile memory initially as its source of bootstrapping instructions and which is capable of reversing the switch setting to select the rewritable non-volatile memory as its source of bootstrapping instructions thereafter.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
A computer system as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the second non-volatile memory is a rewritable memory and includes means for preventing its data from being overwritten.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
A computer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, including manually operable means which has a first setting for preventing the over-writing of instructions held in the rewritable non-volatile memory and a second setting for permitting the over-writing of instructions held in the rewritable non-volatile memory.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
35 words
A computer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, including a multi-element diagnostic display capable of indicating the result of an operation to over-write instructions held in the rewritable non-volatile memory.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
48 words
A method of operating a computer system including the steps of first writing bootstrapping instructions from a second non-volatile memory to a rewritable non-volatile memory following a hard reset of the system and, thereafter, reading the bootstrapping instructions from the rewritable non-volatile memory in bootstrapping the computer system.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method of operating a computer system as claimed in claim 8, including the steps of reading initial bootstrapping instructions from the rewritable non-volatile memory in bootstrapping the computer system and overwriting the remaining bootstrapping instructions in the rewritable non-volatile memory with data from an external source.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
65 words
A method of operating a computer system as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9, including the steps of reading bootstrapping instructions from the rewritable nonvolatile memory, subjecting the bootstrapping instructions to validity checks as they are read and, when a validity check is failed, over-writing the bootstrapping instructions held in the rewritable non-volatile memory with the bootstrapping instructions held in the second non-volatile memory.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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