Apparatus, method and program product for selectively starting one of a plurality of operating systems and secondary storage according to whether or not a predetermined peripheral is connected to the system
First Claim
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1. A portable computing device, comprising:
- computer data storage elements in the portable computing device which store a BIOS and a plurality of operating systems; and
a CPU operatively communicating with said storage elements;
said storage elements and said CPU cooperating in execution of the BIOS in such a manner that, upon starting the apparatus, said CPU under the control of the BIOS recognizes the configuration of any associated hardware selects a first operating system in the plurality of operating systems and powers a secondary storage on when the portable computing device is recognized as being coupled to a docking station and selects a second operating system in the plurality of operating systems without powering said secondary storage on when the portable computing device is recognized as being used as a stand-alone device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer system which includes a CPU for performing various processes by program control and storage elements which store at least one operating system and a BIOS, wherein upon starting a system, the CPU recognizes the system'"'"'s own hardware configuration, and starts a selected one operating system stored in the storage elements in accordance with the recognized hardware configuration under the control of the BIOS.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A portable computing device, comprising:
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computer data storage elements in the portable computing device which store a BIOS and a plurality of operating systems; and a CPU operatively communicating with said storage elements;
said storage elements and said CPU cooperating in execution of the BIOS in such a manner that, upon starting the apparatus, said CPU under the control of the BIOS recognizes the configuration of any associated hardware selects a first operating system in the plurality of operating systems and powers a secondary storage on when the portable computing device is recognized as being coupled to a docking station and selects a second operating system in the plurality of operating systems without powering said secondary storage on when the portable computing device is recognized as being used as a stand-alone device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of controlling a computer comprising the steps of:
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recognizing the hardware configuration of the computer as the computer starts up; and starting a first operating system of a plurality of operating systems stored the computer and powering a secondary storage on when the computer is recognized as being coupled to a clocking station or starting a second operating system in the plurality of operating systems without powering said secondary storage on when the computer is recognized as being used as a stand-alone device, and wherein said step of recognizing a hardware configuration comprises a step of acquiring a device ID from a predetermined peripheral device, and said step of starting first or second operating system comprises a step of determining which operating system to start in accordance with said acquired device ID. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A program product comprising:
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a computer readable medium; and program instructions stored on said medium and effective when executing to control the startup of a portable computer, said program instructions causing the portable computer to perform the processes of; recognizing the portable computer'"'"'s hardware configuration as the portable computer starts up; and selectively starting a first operating system of a plurality of operating systems stored in the portable computer and powering a secondary storage on when the portable computing device is coupled to a docking station or a second operating system in the plurality of operating systems without powering said secondary storage on when the portable computing device is used as a stand-alone device.
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8. A program product comprising:
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a computer readable medium; and program instructions stored on said medium and effective when executing to control the startup of a computer system, said program instructions causing the computer to perform the processes of; recognizing a system'"'"'s hardware configuration as the system starts up; and selectively starting one of a plurality of operating systems in accordance with the recognized hardware configuration, and wherein said process of starting up an operating system comprises the processes of; determining which operating system should be started according to whether a predetermined peripheral device is connected to its own system; if said peripheral device is connected, powering a secondary storage on and starting the determined operating system; if said peripheral device is not connected, starting the determined operating system without powering said storage on.
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9. A computing device, comprising:
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computer data storage elements in the computing device which store a BIOS and a plurality of operating systems; and a CPU operatively communicating with said storage elements;
said storage elements and said CPU cooperating in execution of the BIOS in such a maimer that, upon starting the apparatus, said CPU under the control of the BIOS performs the following operations;recognizes a hardware configuration of the computing device as the computing device starts up; selectively starts one of the plurality of operating systems in accordance with the recognized hardware configuration and wherein said process of starting up an operating system comprises the acts of; determining which operating system should be started according to whether a predetermined peripheral device is connected to its own system; if said peripheral device is connected, powering a secondary storage on and starling, the determined operating system; if said peripheral device is now connected, starting the determined operating system without powering said storage on.
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Specification