METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENABLING A SIDESHOW DEVICE TO RETRIEVE SYSTEM INFORMATION FROM A COMPUTING DEVICE

• US 20090172205A1
• Filed: 12/27/2007
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Lin, Chia-Ching, CHIU, Ming-Lung, Huang, Chung-Yuan, Toorians, Arman, Yeh, Chien-Ting, Frid, Aleksandr
• Granted Patent: US 8,051,279 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/328 Computer systems status display G06F11/327 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and system for enabling an auxiliary system to retrieve the system information from a computing device are disclosed. Specifically, one embodiment of the present invention sets forth a method, which includes the steps of requesting for the system information from an embedded controller of the computing device through a first bi-directional data bus if the computing device is shut down, requesting for the system information from the computing device through the first bidirectional bus during the boot-up sequence of the computing device, and requesting for the system information from the computing device through a general purpose input/output (GPIO) after the computing device completes the boot-up sequence.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a computing device configured with a feature-rich operating system, wherein the computing device further includes a plurality of components capable of obtaining system information; and

an auxiliary system configured with a built-in gadget that requests for the system information from the computing device through a first bi-directional data bus irrespective of the operating state of the feature-rich operating system, wherein the plurality of components are also coupled to the first bi-directional data bus.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the built-in gadget sends a command to the computing device for execution through the first bidirectional data bus.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the built-in gadget communicates with an embedded controller in the computing device to retrieve the system information even if the feature-rich operating system of the computing device fails to operate normally.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the built-in gadget communicates with an embedded controller in the computing device to retrieve the system information even if the computing device is shut down.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computing device initiates the communication with the built-in gadget by sending a power-on self-test (POST) data to the built-in gadget through the first bidirectional data bus during a boot-up sequence of the computing device.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the built-in gadget is capable of suspending the boot-up sequence if an error is detected during the boot-up sequence.

7. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the built-in gadget communicates with the computing device by asserting a signal through a general purpose input/output (GPIO) after the computing device completes the boot-up sequence.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computing device further connects to the auxiliary system through a second data bus.

9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the built-in gadget retrieves the system information from the computing device regardless of whether a connection between the computing device and the auxiliary system is established through the second data bus.

10. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the first bidirectional data bus is a Standard Management Bus (SMB).

11. An auxiliary system, comprising:

a processing unit; and

a display device, wherein the processing unit is configured to execute the instructions for a built-in gadget, which when executed, causes the processing unit to request for system information of a computing device coupled to the auxiliary system via a first bidirectional data bus irrespective of the operating state of feature-rich operating system running on the computing device.

12. The auxiliary system of claim 11, wherein when the instructions for the built-in gadget are executed, causes the processing unit to send a command to the computing device through the first bidirectional data bus for execution.

13. The auxiliary system of claim 11, wherein when the instructions for the built-in gadget are executed, causes the processing unit to communicate with an embedded controller in the computing device to retrieve the system information even if the feature-rich operating system of the computing device fails to operate normally.

14. The auxiliary system of claim 11, wherein when the instructions for the built-in gadget are executed, causes the processing unit to communicate with an embedded controller in the computing device to retrieve the system information even if the computing device is shut down.

15. The auxiliary system of claim 11, wherein the auxiliary system receives a power-on self-test (POST) data through the first bidirectional data bus from the computing device during a boot-up sequence of the computing device.

16. The auxiliary system of claim 15, wherein when the instructions for the built-in gadget are executed, causes the POST data to be displayed on the display device and offers a choice to suspend the boot-up sequence if an error is detected during the boot-up sequence.

17. The auxiliary system of claim 15, wherein when the instructions for the built-in gadget are executed, causes the processing unit to communicate with the computing device by asserting a signal through a general purpose input/output (GPIO) after the computing device completes the boot-up sequence.

18. The auxiliary system of claim 11, wherein the auxiliary system further connects to the computing device through a second data bus.

19. The auxiliary system of claim 18, wherein the auxiliary system can be configured to retrieve the system information from the computing device regardless of whether a connection between the computing device and the auxiliary system is established through the second data bus.

20. A method for enabling a auxiliary system to retrieve system information from a computing device, comprising:

requesting for the system information from an embedded controller of the computing device through a first bidirectional data bus if the computing device is shut down;

requesting for the system information from the computing device through the first bidirectional bus during the boot-up sequence of the computing device; and

requesting for the system information from the computing device through a general purpose input/output (GPIO) after the computing device completes the boot-up sequence.