Operating system-firmware interface update recovery

• US 8,132,055 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2009
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Anderson, Paul L., Atherton, William E., Dang, Tu T., Elles, Michael C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Yolanda L
• Application Number:
  US12/622,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20110126043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 714/36, 713/1, 713/2
• US Class Current: 714/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1433 during software upgrading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2284 by power-on test, e.g. power-on self test [POST]

Abstract

Operating system (‘OS’)-firmware interface update recovery including determining, for each of a plurality of available OS-firmware interface images for booting a computer, whether each available OS-firmware interface image is corrupted or uncorrupted; setting, for each corrupted OS-firmware interface image, a predictive failure analysis (‘PFA’) bit in nonvolatile memory available to the OS-firmware interface update recovery module; selecting an uncorrupted OS-firmware interface image; initiating a boot for the computer with the selected OS-firmware interface image; determining whether a previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images was interrupted; and notifying a user that the previous update was interrupted if the previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images interrupted.

Claims

1. A method of operating system (‘

OS’

)-firmware interface update recovery, the method comprising;

determining, by an OS-firmware interface update recovery module for each of a plurality of available OS-firmware interface images for booting a computer, whether each available OS-firmware interface image is corrupted or uncorrupted, wherein the OS-firmware interface update recovery module comprises a module of automated computing machinery;

setting, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module for each corrupted OS-firmware interface image, a predictive failure analysis (‘

PFA’

) bit in nonvolatile memory available to the OS-firmware interface update recovery module;

selecting, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, an uncorrupted OS-firmware interface image;

initiating, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, a boot for the computer with the selected OS-firmware interface image;

determining, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module during the POST function of booting the computer in dependence upon a flash-in-progress bit set in nonvolatile memory available to the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, whether a previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images was interrupted;

notifying, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, a user that the previous update was interrupted if the previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images interrupted;

notifying a user of all of the corrupted OS-firmware interface images if the previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images was not interrupted; and

clearing all the PFA bits after notifying the user of all the corrupted OS-firmware interface images.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting from one or more uncorrupted OS-firmware interface images from a plurality of available OS-firmware interface images a OS-firmware interface image further comprises selecting an uncorrupted OS-firmware interface image that is predetermined to be preferred.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving an instruction to update the OS-firmware interface image whose update was previously interrupted.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the OS-firmware interface image whose update was previously interrupted.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the OS-firmware interface comprises Basic Input/Output System (‘

BIOS’

).

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the OS-firmware interface comprises Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (‘

UEFI’

).

7. Apparatus for operating system (‘

OS’

)-firmware interface update recovery, the apparatus comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of;

determining, by an OS-firmware interface update recovery module for each of a plurality of available OS-firmware interface images for booting a computer, whether each available OS-firmware interface image is corrupted or uncorrupted, wherein the OS-firmware interface update recovery module comprises a module of automated computing machinery;

setting, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module for each corrupted OS-firmware interface image, a predictive failure analysis (‘

PFA’

) bit in nonvolatile memory available to the OS-firmware interface update recovery module;

selecting, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, an uncorrupted OS-firmware interface image;

initiating, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, a boot for the computer with the selected OS-firmware interface image;

determining, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module during the POST function of booting the computer in dependence upon a flash-in-progress bit set in nonvolatile memory available to the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, whether a previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images was interrupted;

notifying, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, a user that the previous update was interrupted if the previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images interrupted;

notifying a user of all of the corrupted OS-firmware interface images if the previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images was not interrupted; and

clearing all the PFA bits after notifying the user of all the corrupted OS-firmware interface images.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein computer program instructions capable of selecting from one or more uncorrupted OS-firmware interface images from a plurality of available OS-firmware interface images a OS-firmware interface image further comprises computer program instructions capable of selecting an uncorrupted OS-firmware interface image that is predetermined to be preferred.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the OS-firmware interface comprises Basic Input/Output System (‘

BIOS’

).

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the OS-firmware interface comprises Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (‘

UEFI’

).

11. A computer program product for operating system (‘

OS’

)-firmware interface update recovery, the computer program product disposed in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions capable of;

determining, by an OS-firmware interface update recovery module for each of a plurality of available OS-firmware interface images for booting a computer, whether each available OS-firmware interface image is corrupted or uncorrupted, wherein the OS-firmware interface update recovery module comprises a module of automated computing machinery;

setting, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module for each corrupted OS-firmware interface image, a predictive failure analysis (‘

PFA’

) bit in nonvolatile memory available to the OS-firmware interface update recovery module;

selecting, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, an uncorrupted OS-firmware interface image;

initiating, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, a boot for the computer with the selected OS-firmware interface image;

determining, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module during the POST function of booting the computer in dependence upon a flash-in-progress bit set in nonvolatile memory available to the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, whether a previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images was interrupted;

notifying, by the OS-firmware interface update recovery module, a user that the previous update was interrupted if the previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images interrupted;

notifying a user of all of the corrupted OS-firmware interface images if the previous update to one of the available OS-firmware interface images was not interrupted; and

clearing all the PFA bits after notifying the user of all the corrupted OS-firmware interface images.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein computer program instructions capable of selecting from one or more uncorrupted OS-firmware interface images from a plurality of available OS-firmware interface images a OS-firmware interface image further comprise computer program instructions capable of selecting an uncorrupted OS-firmware interface image that is predetermined to be preferred.

13. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising computer program instructions capable of receiving an instruction to update the OS-firmware interface image whose update was previously interrupted.

14. The computer program product of claim 11 further comprising computer program instructions capable of updating the OS-firmware interface image whose update was previously interrupted.

15. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the OS-firmware interface comprises Basic Input/Output System (‘

BIOS’

).

16. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein the OS-firmware interface comprises Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (‘

UEFI’

).