Method and system for indicating computer status
First Claim
1. A method of indicating the status of computer equipment undergoing testing, said computer equipment having an internal memory, comprising:
- determining whether the computer equipment has passed or failed a test by monitoring at least one address within the internal memory of said computer equipment;
determining whether the computer equipment has failed to respond to the test prior to conclusion of the test by periodically calculating a value derived from data stored in at least one address within said internal memory;
storing information indicative of at least one condition of the computer equipment into a storage element when the computer equipment has failed to respond to the test based on said periodically calculated value;
producing a status signal in response to a pass condition, a fail condition, or a test in progress condition; and
visually displaying a representation of the status of the computer equipment in response to said status signal.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A monitor system for computer equipment under test comprising a system monitor in communication with a storage element and a status indicator. The system monitor scans video memory for values indicative of a pass, fail or test in progress condition. The system monitor also determines if the computer equipment has failed to respond to testing resulting in a locked up "frozen" condition. The status indicator communicates with an external port of the computer equipment to receive and display signals from the system monitor indicative of the test status. In addition, when the computer equipment fails to respond to testing, the system monitor communicates with a storage element to capture detailed information related to the condition of the computer equipment. The storage element may reside within the computer equipment under test or may be distributed across a local or wide area network in communication with the computer equipment under test.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of indicating the status of computer equipment undergoing testing, said computer equipment having an internal memory, comprising:
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determining whether the computer equipment has passed or failed a test by monitoring at least one address within the internal memory of said computer equipment; determining whether the computer equipment has failed to respond to the test prior to conclusion of the test by periodically calculating a value derived from data stored in at least one address within said internal memory; storing information indicative of at least one condition of the computer equipment into a storage element when the computer equipment has failed to respond to the test based on said periodically calculated value; producing a status signal in response to a pass condition, a fail condition, or a test in progress condition; and visually displaying a representation of the status of the computer equipment in response to said status signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of indicating the test status of computer equipment having a memory, comprising:
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comparing a value selected from a memory with a predetermined hexadecimal value to determine the status of a test of the computer equipment, said value selected from a memory being obtained from an address within said memory where display data indicative of the status of said test is stored; determining whether a checksum calculated from the bits stored in at least one predetermined memory location has changed; storing information indicative of at least one condition of the computer equipment into a storage element when the computer equipment has failed to respond as indicated by the checksum not changing; producing a status signal in response to said status of the test; and visually displaying a representation of the status of the test of the computer equipment in response to said status signal. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A method of indicating the burn-in test status of computer equipment having an internal video memory, comprising:
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initiating a test algorithm resident on said computer equipment; comparing a value selected from a memory to predetermined hexadecimal values to determine whether said burn-in test of the computer equipment is in progress or whether the computer equipment has concluded said test by passing or failing the test, said value selected from a memory being obtained from an address within said internal video memory where display data indicative of the status of said burn-in test is stored by said test algorithm; incrementing a counter to indicate a period of time corresponding to burn-in test operation; determining whether the counter value has reached a target value indicating that the computer equipment has completed the test; determining whether a checksum calculated from the bits stored in at least one predetermined video memory location has changed when the counter value exceeds the target value; storing information indicative of the condition of the computer equipment into a storage element when the computer equipment has failed to respond as indicated by the checksum not changing; producing a status signal in response to a pass condition, a fail condition, or a test in progress condition; and visually displaying a representation of the status of the computer equipment in response to said status signal. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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Specification