Method and system for changing software access level within or outside a host protected area

• US 7,134,006 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2003
• Issued: 11/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gateway Incorporated (Acer, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Gateway Incorporated (Acer, Inc.)
• Inventors: Flanigan, Edward P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): WEINMAN, SEAN M
• Application Number:
  US10/453,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20040250055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,253 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100
• US Class Current: 713/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/80 in storage media based on magnetic or optical technology, e.g. disks with sectors preventing unauthorised reproduction or copying of disc-type recordable media G11B20/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0623 in relation to content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0638 Organizing or formatting or addressing of data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0674 Disk device

Abstract

A method and system divides a media space, such as found in a hard drive or other mass storage device, into a portion directly accessible by all software and a portion inaccessible by all software except host Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code. A special procedure to access media space may include a special instruction or instruction set with or without a password to allow hard drive support for READ ONLY partitions, READ ONLY CD-ROM emulation, and other READ ONLY hard drive access requirements. The special procedure may user an expanded ATA command set, an expanded BIOS command set with System Management Mode, or code to temporarily unprotect at least a portion of the portion normally inaccessible by the software other than host BIOS code.

Claims

1. An information handling system having media partitioned into different access levels by host BIOS code, the information handling system comprising:

a host bus;

a central processing unit coupled to the host bus;

a host BIOS device having a host BIOS code that provides an interface with an operating system, other software applications, and hardware in the information handling system, the host BIOS code including an interrupt handler;

mass storage device control logic communicatively coupled to the interrupt handler; and

a mass storage device media coupled to and controlled by the mass storage device control logic,

wherein a first portion of the mass storage device media is not directly accessible by the software other than the host BIOS code and a second portion of the mass storage device media is directly accessible by all software, at least one of the first and second portions being further partitioned to establish two or more areas of different accessibility levels for the software other than the host BIOS code, the host BIOS code creating said first portion of the mass storage device media which is not directly accessible by the software other than the host BIOS code, said first portion of the mass storage media being created with an internal password set by the host BIOS code.

2. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the mass storage device control logic and the mass storage device media form a hard drive.

3. The information handling system of claim 2, wherein the hard drive is an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) hard drive.

4. The information handling system of claim 1, further comprising an external controller that serves as an intermediary between the host bus and the mass storage device control logic.

5. The information handling system of claim 4, wherein the external controller is an Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) controller.

6. The information handling system of claim 2, wherein the hard drive is a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) hard drive.

7. The information handling system of claim 2, wherein input/output transfers to and from the hard drive are formatted according to an Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) specification.

16. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the internal password is a 128-bit value which is randomly generated by the BIOS code.

8. A disk drive communicatively coupled to a host computer, said disk drive having a maximum addressable logical block address, and having a reserve area for storing information unavailable to software other than host BIOS code, said disk drive comprising:

an interface between the disk drive and a host computer;

a first apparatus recognizing a command sent over the interface by said host computer to reduce the maximum addressable logical block address to allow and increases in the size of the reserve area, the reserve area being created by the host BIOS code, said reserve area being created with an internal password set by the host BIOS code;

a second apparatus for increasing the amount of disk space devoted to a reserve area for storing information unavailable to the software other than host BIOS code of the host computer and for inputting non-software other than host BIOS code accessible information to the added reserve area; and

a third apparatus for checking some disk parameters to determine the amount of software other than host BIOS code accessible area on the disk convertible to reserve area on the disk and vice versa,

wherein two or more levels of accessibility are established within either an unreserved area or within the added reserve area.

9. The disk drive of claim 8, wherein the first apparatus complies with the Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) standard.

10. The disk drive of claim 8, wherein the first apparatus supports an Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) interface.

11. The disk drive of claim 8, wherein the first apparatus is a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) device.

17. The disk drive of claim 8, wherein the internal password is a 128-bit value which is randomly generated by the BIOS code.

12. A computer system comprising:

a bus for passing commands and data to components communicatively attached to the bus;

a microcontroller communicatively attached to the bus;

a host BIOS device having a host BIOS code that provides an interface with an operating system, other software applications, and hardware in the computer system, the host BIOS code including an interrupt handler;

a memory communicatively attached to the bus;

an input/output controller communicatively attached to the bus; and

a disk drive attached to the input/output controller, wherein the host BIOS code creates a host BIOS code only accessible area on a disk drive, said host BIOS code only accessible area on a disk drive being created with an internal password set by the host BIOS code, said microcontroller capable of sending commands over said bus via said input/output controller to change an amount of host BIOS code only accessible area on a disk drive, wherein the microcontroller is capable of sending a password to the disk drive, wherein the command to change the amount of host BIOS code only accessible area on a disk drive is executed when the password is correct and wherein host BIOS code only accessible information is added after the size of the host BIOS code only accessible area is changed.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the microcontroller uses a System Management Mode to send the commands to the input/output controller.

14. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the microcontroller uses an expanded Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) command set.

15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein a part of the area inaccessible to software other than the host BIOS code is made temporarily accessible to the software other than the host BIOS code.

18. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the internal password is a 128-bit value which is randomly generated by the BIOS code.