System and method for the delivery, retrieval and display of content prior to operating system loading

• US 20020073305A1
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clean Slate Limited
• Original Assignee: Insyde Technology, Inc. (Insyde Software Corp)
• Inventors: Flynn, Rex A., Huntington, Keith J., Joseph, Jonathan L.
• Granted Patent: US 6,993,645 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4401 Bootstrapping security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A system and method for the delivery, retrieval and display of content to a user during the initial boot sequence of a computer or electronic device and/or after the completion of the initial boot sequence but prior to the loading of an operating system is disclosed. The illustrative embodiment of the present invention also includes a non-intrusive method of updating the content is provided that minimizes the disruption to other processes running on the computer or electronic device. The method enables the content to be updated automatically following the loading of the operating system or in response to a user request, depending upon the implementation of the invention. Additional embodiments of the present invention vary the display of content according to user responses to queries posed during the boot sequence and enable the tailoring of content to an individual user based upon a user profile.

Claims

1. In a computer system, said system including a Basic Input Output System (BIOS), said BIOS including a Power On Self Test (POST), a method for displaying selected content to a user of said system during said Power On Self Test, said method comprising the steps of:

initiating said Power On Self Test;

retrieving selected content from a designated persistent storage medium location during said Power On Self Test;

displaying said selected content to said user during the remainder of said Power On Self Test;

updating the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location subsequent to the completion of said Power On Self Test; and

displaying the updated selected content to a user during the next execution of said Power On Self Test.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by automatically transferring said selected content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by transferring said selected content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location in response to a request from said user.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by automatically transferring said selected content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by transferring said selected content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location in response to a request from said user.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

providing a process on said computer system to poll a remote location for updated content;

transferring a portion of said updated content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location over an established network connection, said transfer occurring in response to polling from said process, said polling occurring based on past polling history from said process to said remote location;

determining the effective bandwidth available to said transfer, and

predicting the effective bandwidth available to future transfers of said updated content based on the history of transfers from said remote location to said persistent storage medium and the results of the transfer of said portion of said updated content;

computing the time interval to wait until the transfer of the next portion of said updated content to said designated persistent storage medium location based on said predicted future bandwidth; and

transferring said next portion of said updated content from said remote location to said designated persistent storage medium, the size of said next portion based on said predicted future bandwidth.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system; and

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter prior to determining the available bandwidth of said network connection.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system;

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter;

establishing a connection between said computer system and a remote location containing updated content when said CPU usage is below said parameter; and

transferring said updated content from said remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location using said connection.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system;

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter; and

transferring said updated content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the content displayed to said user is retrieved based upon a user profile containing information about the individual user.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

replacing a splash screen of an operating system for said computer system with said selected content prior to the loading of said operating system; and

displaying said selected content to said user during the loading of said operating system instead of said splash screen.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising the steps of:

querying said user during said Power On Self Test; and

replacing said splash screen for said operating system based upon the response from said user to said queries.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

querying said user during said Power On Self Test; and

displaying content to said user based upon the responses from said user to said queries.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by automatically transferring said selected content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by transferring said selected content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location in response to a request from said user.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by automatically transferring said selected content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by transferring said selected content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location in response to a request from said user.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

providing a process on said computer system to poll a remote location for updated content;

transferring a portion of said updated content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location over an established network connection, said transfer occurring in response to polling from said process, said polling occurring based on past polling history from said process to said remote location;

determining the effective bandwidth available to said transfer, and

predicting the effective bandwidth available to future transfers of said updated content based on the history of transfers from said remote location to said persistent storage medium and the results of the transfer of said portion of said updated content;

computing the time interval to wait until the transfer of the next portion of said updated content to said designated persistent storage medium location based on said predicted future bandwidth; and

transferring said next portion of said updated content from said remote location to said designated persistent storage medium, the size of said next portion based on said predicted future bandwidth.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system; and

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter prior to determining the available bandwidth of said network connection.

21. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system;

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter;

establishing a connection between said computer system and a remote location containing updated content when said CPU usage is below said parameter; and

transferring said updated content from said remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location using said connection.

22. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system;

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a predetermined parameter; and

transferring said updated content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location.

23. The method of claim 14 wherein the content displayed to said user is retrieved based upon a user profile containing information about the individual user.

24. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

replacing a splash screen of an operating system for said computer system with said selected content prior to the loading of said operating system; and

displaying said selected content to said user during the loading of said operating system instead of said splash screen.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising the steps of:

querying said user during said Power On Self Test; and

replacing said splash screen for said operating system based upon the response from said user to said queries.

26. The method of claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

querying said user during said Power On Self Test; and

displaying content to said user based upon the responses from said user to said queries.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by automatically transferring said selected content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by transferring said selected content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location in response to a request from said user.

30. The method of claim 27 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by automatically transferring said selected content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein said updating of the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location occurs by transferring said selected content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location in response to a request from said user.

32. The method of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:

providing a process on said electronic device to poll a remote location for updated content;

transferring a portion of said updated content from a remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location over an established network connection, said transfer occurring in response to polling from said process, said polling occurring based on past polling history from said process to said remote location;

determining the effective bandwidth available to said transfer, and

predicting the effective bandwidth available to future transfers of said updated content based on the history of transfers from said remote location to said persistent storage medium and the results of the transfer of said portion of said updated content;

computing the time interval to wait until the transfer of the next portion of said updated content to said designated persistent storage medium location based on said predicted future bandwidth; and

transferring said next portion of said updated content from said remote location to said designated persistent storage medium, the size of said next portion based on said predicted future bandwidth.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system; and

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter prior to determining the available bandwidth of said network connection.

34. The method of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system;

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter;

establishing a connection between said computer system and a remote location containing updated content when said CPU usage is below said parameter; and

transferring said updated content from said remote location to said designated persistent storage medium location using said connection.

35. The method of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:

determining the central processing unit (CPU) usage of said computer system;

comparing said CPU usage of said computer system against a pre-determined parameter; and

transferring said updated content from a second persistent storage medium to said designated persistent storage medium location.

36. The method of claim 27 wherein the content displayed to said user is retrieved based upon a user profile containing information about the individual user.

37. The method of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:

replacing a splash screen of an operating system for said electronic device with said selected content prior to the loading of said operating system; and

displaying said selected content to said user during the loading of said operating system instead of said splash screen.

38. The method of claim 37 further comprising the steps of:

querying said user during said Power On Self Test; and

replacing said splash screen for said operating system based upon the response from said user to said queries.

39. The method of claim 27 further comprising the steps of:

querying said user prior to loading said operating system; and

displaying content to said user based upon the responses from said user to said queries.

14. In a computer system, said system including a Basic Input Output System (BIOS), said BIOS including a Power On Self Test (POST), a method for displaying selected content to a user of said system, said method comprising the steps of:

executing said Power On Self Test;

retrieving selected content from a designated persistent storage medium location subsequent to the completion of said Power On Self Test and prior to loading an operating system for said computer system into memory;

displaying said selected content to said user in an interval following the completion of said Power On Self Test and prior to loading an operating system for said computer system into memory;

updating the selected content stored in said designated persistent storage medium location subsequent to the completion of loading said operating system into memory; and

displaying the updated selected content to a user during an interval between the next execution of said Power On Self Test and next loading of an operating system for said computer system into memory.

27. In an electronic device, a method for displaying selected content to a user of said electronic device, said method comprising the steps of:

retrieving selected content from a selected persistent storage medium location prior to loading an operating system for said electronic device into memory;

displaying said selected content to said user prior to loading an operating system for said electronic device into memory;

updating the selected content stored in said selected persistent storage medium location subsequent to the completion of loading said operating system into memory; and

displaying the updated selected content to a user prior to the next loading of an operating system for said electronic device into memory.