Bios Graphical Setup Engine

• US 20100277487A1
• Filed: 01/23/2008
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Gillespie, Kurt D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,489,209 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/520
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4401 Bootstrapping security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/001 Arbitration of resources in a display system, e.g. control of access to frame buffer by video controller and/or main processor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/06 using colour palettes, e.g. look-up tables
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/363 Graphics controllers

Abstract

A system and method for rendering a graphical setup display. A computer system comprises a first non-volatile storage device and a second non-volatile storage device. The first non-volatile storage device comprises a Basic Input/Output System (“BIOS”). The BIOS further comprises a BIOS graphical setup engine. The second non-volatile storage device comprises a setup image file containing a non-critical graphical setup image. The BIOS graphical setup engine selectively renders a basic graphical setup display omitting the non-critical image by using a set of pre-defined parameters stored in the first non-volatile storage device in place of the non-critical image if the non-critical image is not available, and renders an enhanced graphical setup display comprising the non-critical image contained in the setup image file stored in the second non-volatile storage device if the non-critical image is available.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a first non-volatile storage device, the first non-volatile storage device comprising a Basic Input/Output System (“

BIOS”

), the BIOS further comprising a BIOS graphical setup engine;

a second non-volatile storage device, the second non-volatile storage device comprising a setup image file containing a non-critical graphical setup image; and

wherein the BIOS graphical setup engine selectively renders a basic graphical setup display omitting the non-critical image by using a set of pre-defined parameters stored in the first non-volatile storage device in place of the non-critical image if the non-critical image is not available, and renders an enhanced graphical setup display comprising the non-critical image contained in the setup image file stored in the second non-volatile storage device if the non-critical image is available.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the graphical setup engine renders the basic graphical setup display if the BIOS fails to locate the second non-volatile storage device.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the graphical setup engine renders the basic graphical setup display if the BIOS fails to locate the setup image file on the second non-volatile storage device.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the graphical setup engine renders the basic graphical setup display if the setup image file of the second non-volatile storage device is invalid.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the graphical setup engine searches the second non-volatile storage device to determine whether a setup image file is stored therein.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the second non-volatile storage device is selected from a group consisting of a hard disk drive and a FLASH memory.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the BIOS is based on the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (“

UEFI”

).

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the set of pre-defined parameters for rendering the basic graphical setup display comprise at least one of the parameters selected from a group consisting of an object shape, an object size, a background color, a border thickness, a border color, and an object transparency.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the graphical setup image comprises at least one image selected from a group consisting of a logo, an overlay image, a background image and a border image.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the graphical setup engine generates the same display layout and object movement for the basic graphical setup display and the enhanced graphical setup display.

11. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the BIOS does not comprise a textual setup engine.

12. A method, comprising:

executing a BIOS graphical setup engine stored as firmware;

searching for an external storage device;

searching for a setup image file on the external storage device if an external storage device is found, the setup image file containing a non-critical image for use in a BIOS graphical setup display;

rendering the image contained in the setup image file to generate a BIOS graphical setup display if a valid setup image file is found on the external storage device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating a BIOS graphical setup display based on a set of pre-defined parameters if the external storage device is not found.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising installing an image file comprising images for generating a BIOS graphical setup display on the external storage device, the image file is installed using an operating system to access the external storage device.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating a graphical setup display based on a set of pre-defined parameters if the setup image file is not found on the external storage device.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating a graphical setup display based on a set of pre-defined parameters if an invalid setup image file is found on the external storage device.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising defining a set of parameters for generating a graphical setup display if the setup image file is unavailable, the graphical setup engine applies the parameters to replace elements of the graphic setup display otherwise supplied by the setup image file.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising means for non-volatilely storing a BIOS graphical setup engine, the BIOS graphical setup engine program storage means comprising a different device than the setup image file storage means.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprising means for detecting the setup image file storage means, for detecting the setup image file and for validating the setup image file to ascertain setup image file availability.

18. A system, comprising:

means for generating a Basic Input/Output System (“

BIOS”

) graphical setup display from a setup image file; and

means for generating a BIOS graphical setup display from a set of default parameters if the setup image file is unavailable.