Method for booting a personal digital assistant

• US 6,032,255 A
• Filed: 04/03/1998
• Issued: 02/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kansai Electric Power Company Incorporated, Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Shim, Hyo-sun, Oh, Jae-sung, Won, Chae-hee
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Dennis M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mai, Rijue
• Application Number:
  US09/054,406
• Time in Patent Office: 697 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100, 712/10, 712/34, 710/129, 710/100, 710/3, 710/5, 710/13, 710/101, 710/102, 710/103, 710/104, 341/67, 364/521, 364/200, 714/36, 714/38, 395/430, 235/380
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4406 Loading of operating system

Abstract

A method for booting a personal digital assistant (PDA) using an external memory card is provided. The method includes the steps of (a) preparing an external memory card in which a program for selecting a start-up command is stored, (b) executing a specific start-up command by booting the PDA, (c) executing a program for selecting other start-up commands by inserting the external memory card of the step (a) into the PDA when the step (b) is completed, and (d) executing jobs according to the start-up command selected in the step (c). The hardware switch function is replaced by software by executing a specific start-up command in advance and executing other start-up commands through the application program stored in the memory card of the personal computer during the booting of the PDA. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce fabrication expenses of the PDA, to minimize the PDA, and to flexibly cope with the change of the PDA system.

Claims

1. A method for booting a personal digital assistant (PDA), comprising the steps of:

(a) preparing an external memory card in which a program for selecting a start-up command is stored;

(b) executing a specific start-up command by booting the PDA;

(c) executing a program for selecting other start-up commands by inserting the external memory card of the step (a) into the PDA when the step (b) is completed; and

(d) executing jobs according to a start-up command from the program execution of the step (c).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (c) comprises the steps of:

(c1) displaying a list of the start-up commands on a screen;

(c2) selecting an item corresponding to a start-up command from the displayed list of step (c1); and

(c3) reading a starting address value of the selected start-up command from a booting table when an item is selected in the step (c2),

wherein said step (d) comprises executing a start-up program at the starting address determined in step (c3), said start-up program corresponding to the selected start-up command.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a message indicating there is no start-up command select program is displayed on a screen when the external memory card is not inserted into the PDA.

4. A software-based method for booting a personal digital assistant (PDA), which does not require operation of switches for selecting a start-up command, said method comprising the steps of:

preparing an external memory card with a selection program, said selection program being operative to select a start-up command;

executing initial start-up instructions by booting the PDA;

executing the selection program by inserting the external memory card into the PDA;

selecting a start up command from the executed selection program; and

executing jobs according to the selected start-up command.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said selection program execution step further comprises:

displaying a list of start-up commands on a screen;

selecting an item corresponding to a start-up command from the displayed list; and

reading a starting address value of the selected start-up command from a booting table stored in the PDA,

wherein said job execution step comprises executing a start-up program stored at the starting address value of the PDA, said start-up program corresponding to the selected start-up command.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein a start-up program for the selected start-up command is copied to a memory in the PDA.