Method for quickly booting a computer system

Abstract

A method for quickly booting a personal computer system using boot configuration information on memory and the attached devices that was created and saved in a hard disk at the preceding boot process. The method for a quick boot process includes the steps of performing a power-on self test POST) operation when a personal computer system is powered on or a reset button is pressed; performing a normal boot process after the POST operation; saving the contents of memory and the status of the attached devices to a hard disk; checking if a reboot is requested; restoring the saved boot configuration information from the hard disk, after POST is completed during the reboot process; checking whether or not an initial device configuration file and/or an automatic batch file were changed; and executing commands in the two files and saving a newly created boot configuration information to the hard disk for future boot. The personal computer system, may reboot quickly because of omission of execution of the initial device configuration filed and the automatic batch file.

1. A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of:
 A. performing a power on self test (POST) of basic input output system (BIOS) when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;  
 B. checking whether a boot configuration information including a system booting state which was  created while executing a previous normal booting process exists or not, wherein the boot configuration information comprises selected portions of main memory contents and information indicative of a status of hardware;  
 C. storing the boot configuration information from execution of the POST operation before loading a graphic interface (GUI) program, based on the checking result; and  
 D. loading the graphic user interface (GUI) program.  
 
     
     
       2. A  The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said step C stores the boot configuration information into a disk storage medium. 
     
     
       3. A  The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said step C stores the boot configuration information after execution of the POST operation is completed and before an extended memory becomes in use. 
     
     
       4. A  The method according to  claim 1 , wherein said step C comprises the steps of:
 checking contents of a memory block of a predetermined size;  
 storing the contents of the memory block into a disc storage medium based on the checking result; and  
 storing the address of the stored memory block in the disc storage medium.  
 
     
     
       5. A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the boot configuration information in which system booting state is included comprises states of memory and hardware. 
     
     
       6. A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of:
 A. performing a power on self test (POST) of basic input output system (BIOS) when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;  
 B. resuming a boot configuration information including a system booting state  by using the boot configuration information which was  stored while executing a previous normal boot process, wherein the boot configuration information comprises selected portions of main memory contents; and  
 C. loading a graphic user interface (GUI) program.  
 
     
     
       7. A  The method according to  claim 6 , wherein said step B further comprises the steps of:
 checking if a designated boot configuration information is different from the resuming boot configuration information;  
 executing an initial driving program based on a modified configuration information; and  
 updating the boot configuration information after said execution.  
 
     
     
       8. A  The method according to  claim 6 , wherein said step B comprises the steps of:
 determining whether to resume said stored boot configuration information;  
 resuming the contents of memory blocks, addresses of which have been stored while executing a previous normal booting process; and  
 writing zeros into other memory blocks than the resumed memory blocks.  
 
     
     
       9. A  The method according to  claim 6 , wherein said step B restores said stored boot configuration information before an extended memory becomes in use. 
     
     
       10. A method for quickly booting a computer system in which Windows operating system is installed, comprising the steps of:
 A. performing a power on self test (POST) of basic input output system (BIOS) when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;  
 B. checking whether a boot configuration information including a system booting state which was  created while executing a previous normal boot process exists or not, wherein the boot configuration information comprises selected portions of main memory contents and information indicative of a status of hardware;  
 C. storing the  a current boot configuration information, if there is no stored boot configuration information;  
 D. performing the POST operation when the computer system is rebooted;  
 E. resuming the stored boot configuration information; and  
 F. updating the boot configuration information before a graphic user interface (GUI) program is loaded, if a designated boot configuration information is different from the boot configuration information.  
 
     
     
       11. A  The method according to  claim 10 , wherein said step B calls an interrupt for bootstrap loader to check if the boot configuration information which was created while executing a previous normal booting process. 
     
     
       12. A  The method according to  claim 10 , wherein said step F determines whether or not the designated boot configuration information is different from the resumed boot configuration information based on changes of CONFIG.SYS file and/or AUTOEXEC.BAT file. 
     
     
       13. A method for supporting fast booting a computer system through storing/resuming a memory status  state of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
 checking whether to store a memory contents status  state;  
 checking memory contents of a certain unit  plurality of units of the main memory;  
 selectively storing on a unit by unit basis portions of the main memory contents written in an area necessary for system operation based on a result of the memory contents checking result ; and  
 resuming the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents for fast booting.  
 
     
     
       14. A  The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the  a certain unit is composed of a segment having 64 bytes. 
     
     
       15. A  The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the storing step stores the contents if a value in a memory block is not ‘0’, and does not store the contents if the value is ‘0’. 
     
     
       16. A  The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the storing step stores an address of a memory block  unit if value of a  the memory block  unit is not ‘0’, and does not store the address if the value is ‘0’. 
     
     
       17. The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the resuming step resumes pre-stored memory contents of the certain  a memory unit while writing ‘0’ in a remainder of the certain  memory unit. 
     
     
       18. A  The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the resuming step resumes the stored contents belonging to a corresponding segment if the system is resumed from a hibernation state to a normal state, and does not resume a remaining portion of the segment. 
     
     
       19. A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of:
   A. performing a power on self test  ( POST )  of basic input output system  ( BIOS )  functions when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;        B. checking whether a previous boot configuration information created while executing a previous normal booting process exists or not, wherein the previous boot configuration information comprises selectively stored portions of main memory contents and information indicative of a status of hardware;        C. storing a current boot configuration information after execution of the POST operation based on the checking result; and        D. loading a graphic user interface  ( GUI )  program.     
     
     
       20. A method for quickly booting a computer system in which a Windows operating system is installed, comprising the steps of:
   A. performing a power on self test  ( POST )  of basic input output system  ( BIOS )  functions when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;        B. checking whether a boot configuration information created while executing a previous normal boot process is stored or not, wherein the boot configuration information comprises selectively stored portions of main memory contents and information indicative of a status of hardware;        C. storing a current boot configuration information, if there is no stored boot configuration information;        D. performing the POST operation when the computer system is rebooted; and        E. restoring the stored boot configuration information.     
     
     
       21. A method for supporting fast booting of a computer system through storing/restoring main memory contents of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
   checking whether to store the main memory contents;        checking the main memory contents on a block - by - block basis;        selectively storing a portion of the main memory contents based on the result of the main memory contents checking; and        restoring the selectively stored portion of the main memory contents for fast booting.     
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 21 , wherein the stored main memory contents portion is stored in uncompressed form. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 21 , wherein the block- by - block basis involves a predetermined block size.   
     
     
       24. A method for supporting fast booting of a computer system through storing/restoring main memory contents of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
   checking whether to store main memory contents;        checking memory contents of a main memory on a segment - by - segment basis;        selectively storing portions of the main memory contents based on the result of the checking of the main memory contents; and        restoring the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents for fast booting.     
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents are stored in uncompressed form. 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the segment- by - segment basis involves a consistent segment size.   
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 24 , wherein the fast booting continues after the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents are restored. 
     
     
       28. A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of:
   A. performing a power on self test  ( POST )  of basic input output system  ( BIOS )  functions when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;        B. restoring boot configuration information comprised of selectively stored portions of main memory contents and status of attached devices, which was previously stored while executing a previous boot process;        C. loading a graphic user interface  ( GUI )  program.     
     
     
       29. The method of  claim 28 , wherein the restored boot configuration information is restored prior to the use of extended memory by the graphical user interface ( GUI )  program.   
     
     
       30. A method for quick booting a computer system, comprising the steps of:
   a )  performing a power on self test  ( POST )  when the computer system is powered on or reset;        b )  executing any further instructions not included in the POST to further initialize hardware in the computer system to a known state and to place the computer system in a low level configuration for a boot operation to proceed;        c )  storing a current state of the computer system in a configuration information file;        d )  allowing the boot operation to continue;        e )  checking during a subsequent boot operation to detect any changes to the computer system that would affect the low level configuration relative to the configuration information file;        f )  skipping at least the execution of instructions previously executed in step b if no changes are detected that would affect the low level configuration relative to the configuration information file;        g )  reloading the configuration information file and allowing the subsequent boot operation to proceed from that point if no changes are detected that would affect the low level configuration relative to the configuration information file.     
     
     
       31. A method for quickly booting a personal computer system using boot configuration information related to attached devices and a computer memory that was created and saved in a storage medium during a preceding boot process, wherein the method comprises:
   a )  performing an initial process operation to diagnose devices attached to the personal computer system when the personal computer system is powered on or a reset button is pressed;        b )  referencing files specifying one or more of the attached devices and executing software to load device drivers into the computer memory and to initialize one or more of the attached devices;        c )  loading additional files and software to identify and execute any additional programs to be executed prior to initiating normal user operations;        d )  saving to the storage medium information reflecting a status of the attached devices, the computer memory and/or the additional programs;        e )  in a subsequent restart operation, checking if the information requires updating; and        f )  if no updating is necessary, loading the saved information into the computer memory and resuming normal personal computer system operations, thereby bypassing execution of steps  ( b )  through  ( d )  above, resulting in a quick booting operation.     
     
     
       32. The method of  claim 31 , wherein the storage medium comprises a disk drive. 
     
     
       33. A method for operating a computer system comprised of:
   a )  performing a Power on Self Test  ( POST )  operation;        b )  executing a bootstrap loader program which prepares the computer system for execution of a graphical operating system;        c )  writing selected portions of memory contents from a main memory to a storage medium location;        d )  executing the graphical operating system;        e )  checking during a subsequent boot operation to detect any changes to the computer system that would affect the execution of the bootstrap loader program;        f )  skipping at least a portion of the execution of the bootstrap loader program during the subsequent boot operation if no changes are detected;        g )  writing the selected portions of main memory contents from the storage medium to the main memory and allowing the subsequent boot operation to proceed from that point if no changes are detected that would affect the execution of the bootstrap loader program.     
     
     
       34. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the selected portions of main memory contents written from the main memory to the storage medium location in step ( c )  are selected on a segment - by - segment basis based in part on the presence of actual data.   
     
     
       35. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the selected portions of main memory contents are written prior to the use of extended memory in the computer system. 
     
     
       36. The method of  claim 33 , wherein the storage medium comprises a disk drive. 
     
     
       37. A method for supporting an operation of a computer system through storing/restoring main memory contents of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
   checking whether to store main memory contents;        checking main memory contents of the main memory on a block - by - block basis;        selectively storing portions of the main memory contents based on a result of the checking main memory contents; and        restoring the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents for the operation of the computer system.     
     
     
       38. The method of  claim 37 , wherein the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents are stored in uncompressed form. 
     
     
       39. The method of  claim 37 , wherein the block- by - block basis involves a predetermined block size.   
     
     
       40. The method of  claim 37 , wherein the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents are restored during a boot operation prior to the use of extended memory by an operating system. 
     
     
       41. A method for supporting an operation of a computer system through storing/restoring main memory contents of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
   checking whether to store main memory contents;        checking main memory contents of the main memory on a segment - by - segment basis;        selectively storing portions of the main memory contents based on a result of the checking main memory contents; and        restoring the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents for the operation of the computer system.     
     
     
       42. The method of  claim 41 , wherein the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents are stored in uncompressed form. 
     
     
       43. The method of  claim 41 , wherein the segment- by - segment basis involves a consistent segment size.   
     
     
       44. The method of  claim 41 , wherein the selectively stored portions of the main memory contents are restored during a boot operation prior to the use of extended memory by an operating system. 
     
     
       45. A method for operating a computing system comprising the steps of:
   carrying out a first boot up process for the computing system, wherein as a result of the first boot up process the computing system is brought to a state of operation in which application software may be executed, wherein during the first boot up process device configuration programming statements are executed, wherein based on the device configuration programming statements boot configuration data is written to a main memory in the computing system, wherein the boot configuration data is selectively stored in a storage medium in the computing system, wherein the boot configuration data comprises selectively stored portions of main memory contents;        carrying out a second boot up process for the computing system at a point in time subsequent to the first boot up process, wherein as a result of the second boot up process the boot configuration data is retrieved from the storage medium and is written to the main memory, wherein device configuration programming statements that were executed during the first boot up process are not executed during the second boot up process, wherein the second boot up process is faster than the first boot up process.     
     
     
       46. The method of  claim 45 , wherein data in the main memory is selectively stored in the storage medium based on whether the data in the main memory was altered from a predetermined value during the first boot up process. 
     
     
       47. The method of  claim 46 , wherein data in the main memory is selectively stored in the storage medium on a memory block by memory block basis. 
     
     
       48. The method of  claim 46 , wherein data in the main memory is selectively stored in the storage medium on a memory segment by memory segment basis. 
     
     
       49. The method of  claim 45 , further comprising the step of determining changes in the device configuration programming statements, wherein, in the event of changes in the device configuration programming statements, in a boot up process subsequent to the first boot up process the device configuration programming statements are re-executed and second boot configuration data is written to the main memory in the computing system, wherein the second boot configuration data is stored in the storage medium in the computing system and utilized in a further subsequent boot up process. 
     
     
       50. The method of  claim 45 , wherein the storage medium comprises a disk drive. 
     
     
       51. The method of  claim 45 , wherein the boot configuration data is written to the main memory prior to the use of extended memory by an operating system. 
     
     
       52. A method for quickly booting a personal computer system using boot configuration information related to attached devices and to selected areas of computer memory, that was created and saved in a storage medium during a preceding boot process, wherein the method comprises:
   a )  performing an initial process operation to diagnose devices attached to the personal computer system;        b )  referencing files specifying one or more of the attached devices and executing software to load device drivers into the computer memory and to initialize one or more of the attached devices;        c )  loading additional files and software to identify and execute any additional programs to be executed prior to initiating normal user operations;        d )  saving to the storage medium information and selected areas of memory reflecting a status of the attached devices and the additional programs;        e )  in a subsequent restart operation, checking if the selected areas of memory, and saved device and program information requires updating; and        f )  if no updating is necessary, loading the saved information into the computer memory and resuming normal personal computer system operations, thereby bypassing execution of steps  ( b )  through  ( d )  above, resulting in a quick booting operation.     
     
     
       53. The method of  claim 52 , wherein the storage medium comprises a disk drive. 
     
     
       54. The method of  claim 52  wherein the saved information is loaded into the computer memory using up to  1  MB of address space. 
     
     
       55. A method for quickly booting a computer system comprised of:
   a )  performing a Power on Self Test  ( POST )  operation;        b )  executing a bootstrap loader program which prepares the computer system for execution of a graphical operating system;        c )  writing selected portions of main memory contents and status of attached devices from a main memory to a storage medium location;        d )  executing the graphical operating system;        e )  checking during a subsequent boot operation to detect any changes to the computer system that would affect the execution of the bootstrap loader program;        f )  skipping at least a portion of the execution of the bootstrap loader program during the subsequent boot operation if no changes are detected;        g )  writing the selected portions of main memory contents and status of attached devices from the storage medium to the main memory and allowing the subsequent boot operation to proceed from that point if no changes are detected that would affect the execution of the bootstrap loader program.     
     
     
       56. The method of  claim 55 , wherein the storage medium comprises a disk drive. 
     
     
       57. A method for operating a computer system, comprising the steps of:
   A. performing a power on self test  ( POST )  of basic input output system  ( BIOS )  functions when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;        B. restoring boot configuration information comprised of selectively stored portions of main memory contents and status of attached devices, which was previously stored while executing a previous boot process; and        C. loading a graphic user interface  ( GUI )  program.     
     
     
       58. The method of  claim 57 , wherein the restored boot configuration information is restored prior to the use of extended memory by the graphical user interface ( GUI )  program.   
     
     
       59. A method for fast booting a computer system, comprising the steps of:
   A. performing a power on self test  ( POST )  of basic input output system  ( BIOS )  when the computer system is powered on or reset is requested;        B. resuming a boot configuration information including a system booting state by using the boot configuration information which was stored while executing a previous normal boot process;        C. loading a graphic user interface  ( GUI )  program; and      
       
         wherein said step B comprises the steps of:  
         
           determining whether to resume said stored boot configuration information;  
         
         
           resuming contents of memory blocks comprising selected portions of main memory contents, addresses of which have been stored while executing a previous normal booting process; and  
         
         
           writing zeros into other memory blocks than the resumed memory blocks. 
         
       
     
     
       60. A method for supporting fast booting a computer system through storing/resuming a memory status of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
   checking whether to store a main memory contents status;        checking memory contents of a certain unit of the main memory;        selectively storing portions of main memory contents written in an area necessary for system operation based on the main memory contents checking result;        resuming the stored portions of main memory contents for fast booting; and        wherein the storing step stores the contents if a value in a memory block is not ‘ 0 ’, and does not store the contents if the value is ‘ 0 ’.     
     
     
       61. A method for supporting fast booting a computer system through storing/resuming a memory status of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
   checking whether to store a main memory contents status;        checking memory contents of a certain unit of the main memory;        selectively storing portions of main memory contents written in an area necessary for system operation based on the main memory contents checking result;        resuming the stored portions of main memory contents for fast booting; and        wherein the storing step stores an address of a memory block if a value of a memory block is not ‘ 0 ’, and does not store the address if the value is ‘ 0 ’.     
     
     
       62. A method for supporting fast booting a computer system through storing/resuming a memory status of the computer system, comprising the steps of:
   checking whether to store a main memory contents status;        checking memory contents of a certain unit of the main memory;        selectively storing portions of main memory contents written in an area necessary for system operation based on the main memory contents checking result;        resuming the stored portions of the main memory contents for fast booting; and        wherein the resuming step resumes pre - stored memory contents of the certain unit of the main memory while writing ‘ 0 ’ in a remainder of the certain unit of the main memory.