Semi-persistent relocatable ram-based virtual floppy disk method
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- storing operating system drivers on a read only memory (ROM) within a computer system; and
copying at least one of the operating system drivers from a virtual disk drive of the computer system during the operating system installation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is a method and related structure for providing operating system drivers during installation of the operating system, where those operating system drivers are provided by way of a virtual disk drive. Basic input/output system (BIOS) routines are adapted to support showing these operating system drivers as residing on a virtual disk drive within the system. The operating system drivers are stored in the unreserved ROM space of the computer. Further, multiple floppy images are stored in the ROM, and the BIOS is adapted to show only the floppy image appropriate for the operating system to be installed. The virtual drive contents may be those operating system drivers stored in the unreserved ROM, but also may be physically stored in RAM.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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storing operating system drivers on a read only memory (ROM) within a computer system; and copying at least one of the operating system drivers from a virtual disk drive of the computer system during the operating system installation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method comprising:
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storing on a read only memory (ROM) within a computer system a first set of operating system drivers operative with a first operating system; storing on the ROM a second set of operating system drivers operative with a second operating system; making only operating system drivers operative with the operating system to be installed available for copying from the virtual disk drive; and providing at least one of the operating system drivers from a virtual disk drive of the computer system during the operating system installation.
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5. A computer system comprising:
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a CPU; a main memory array coupled to the CPU; an expansion bus coupled to the CPU; a read only memory (ROM) array coupled to the expansion bus, the ROM array stores operating system drivers; and the computer system is configured to make the operating system drivers appear to reside on a virtual floppy drive for copying during loading of an operating system for the computer system. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A computer system comprising a CPU;
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a main memory array coupled to the CPU; an expansion bus coupled to the CPU; a read only memory (ROM) array coupled to the expansion bus comprising; a first set of operating system drivers for a first operating system; a second set of operating system drivers for a second operating system; and the computer system is configured to make only one of the first and second set of operating system drivers available for copying from a virtual floppy drive during loading of the operating system for the computer system.
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9. A method comprising:
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storing operating system drivers on a read only memory (ROM); informing a basic input output system (BIOS) of an operating system type to be installed; making available during the loading of the operating system the operating system drivers stored on the ROM appropriate for the operating system type to be installed; installing the operating system; and copying at the appropriate time during the installing of the operating system at least one of the operating system drivers from a virtual floppy drive. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method comprising:
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storing operating system drivers on a read only memory (ROM); informing a basic input output system (BIOS) of an operating system type to be installed by; providing a BIOS setup screen where the type of operating system to be installed is selected; and setting an environment variable in a non-volatile random access memory (RAM) based on the selecting step that indicates the operating system type to be installed, making available during the loading of the operating system the operating system drivers stored on the ROM appropriate for the operating system type to be installed by; using BIOS programs to access the operating system drivers stored on the ROM; referring, by the BIOS programs, to the environment variable in non-volatile RAM; and making one of the first and second set of operating system drivers available on a virtual floppy drive by the BIOS program based on a state of the environment variable in non-volatile RAM; providing at the appropriate time during the installing of the operating system at least on one of the operating system drivers from the virtual floppy drive.
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13. A method of providing operating system drivers during an operating system installation on a computer system, the method comprising:
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storing a first set of operating system drivers operable with a first operating system in a read only memory (ROM) of the computer system; storing a second set operating system drivers operative with a second operating system in the ROM; and copying at least one of the operating system drivers from a virtual disk drive of the computer system during the operating system installation.
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14. A method of providing operating system drivers during an operating system installation on a computer system, the method comprising:
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storing a first set of operating system drivers operative with a first operating system in a read only memory (ROM) of the computer system; storing a second set operating system drivers operative with a second operating system in the ROM; providing a basic input output system (BIOS) setup screen on which one of the first and second sets of operating systems is selectable as the operating system to be installed on the computer system; and having only operating system drivers operative with selected system, selected drivers, available for copying from the virtual drive; providing at least one of the operating system drivers from a virtual disk drive of the computer system during the operating system installation. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method of providing operating system drivers during an operating system installation on a computer system, the method comprising:
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storing a first floppy image having a first set of operating system drivers operative with a first operating system, the first floppy image stored in a read only memory (ROM) of the computer system; storing a second floppy image having a second set of operating system drivers operative with a second operating system, the second floppy image stored in the ROM; and providing one of the first and second floppy images as a virtual floppy drive during the operating system installation.
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17. A method of providing operating system drivers during an operating system installation on a computer system, the method comprising:
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storing a first floppy image having a first set of operating system drivers operative with a first operating system, the first floppy image stored in a read only memory (ROM) of the computer system; storing a second floppy image having a second set of operating system drivers operative with a second operating system, the second floppy image stored in the ROM; providing a basic input output system (BIOS) setup screen on which one of the first and second sets of operating systems is selectable as the operating system to be installed on the computer system; having only the floppy image having operating system drivers operative with selected system, a selected floppy image, available on the virtual floppy drive; and providing one of the first and second floppy images as a virtual floppy drive during the operating system installation. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification