Use of other processors during BIOS boot sequence to minimize boot time

• US 6,336,185 B1
• Filed: 09/24/1998
• Issued: 01/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Phoenix Technologies Limited (Pharaoh Acquisition LLC)
• Original Assignee: Phoenix Technologies Limited (Pharaoh Acquisition LLC)
• Inventors: Sargenti, Jr., William Arthur, French, David Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala, Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Nitin
• Application Number:
  US09/159,610
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4405 Initialisation of multiprocessor systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals

Abstract

A method for use in a multi-processor system, including a boot strap processor and at least a first processor, for booting the system by executing a plurality of boot sequence tasks, comprising the steps of causing the boot strap processor to execute at least one task from the plurality of boot sequence tasks, and causing the first processor to execute a task in the plurality of boot sequence tasks that is different from the task being executed by the boot strap processor and is executed at least partially in parallel with the execution by the boot strap processor.

Claims

1. A method for use in a personal computer system, including a boot strap processor and at least a first peripheral processor, for booting the personal computer system by executing a plurality of boot sequence tasks, comprising the steps of:

causing said boot strap processor to execute at least one task from said plurality of boot sequence tasks;

causing said first peripheral processor to execute a task in said plurality of boot sequence tasks that is different from the task being executed by said boot strap processor and is executed at least partially in parallel with the execution of the at least one task by said boot strap processor.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising a second peripheral processor, and further comprising the step of causing said second peripheral processor to execute another task from said plurality of boot sequence tasks that is different from the tasks being executed by said boot strap processor and said first peripheral processor, which execution is at least partially in parallel with the execution by one of said other processors.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein said first peripheral processor is caused to execute a plurality of boot sequence tasks.

4. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein at least one of said boot sequence tasks of said plurality of boot sequence tasks being executed by said first peripheral processor includes the step of waiting to initiate a task until another of said processors has executed a predetermined boot sequence task, before taking an action.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said boot sequence tasks, after execution is initiated, can be completed without reference to data from any other processor.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said step of causing said boot strap processor to execute includes the step of providing said first peripheral processor with an address to begin execution.

7. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein said step of providing said first peripheral processor with an address comprises the step of providing said first peripheral processor with an address in a BIOS.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein said first peripheral processor is one of an internal peripheral processor and an external peripheral processor.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein each different one of said processors executes boot sequence tasks in accordance with a different POST Table.

10. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein a plurality of said POST Tables are loaded from a BIOS.

11. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of said first peripheral processor executing a final step of going into a sleep mode.

12. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a personal computer system with multiple processors including a boot strap processor and at least a first peripheral processor, to boot the system by executing a plurality of boot sequence tasks in an expedited manner, the computer readable program code in said computer program product comprising:

first computer readable code for causing a boot strap processor to execute at least one boot sequence task; and

second computer readable code for causing said first peripheral processor to execute a boot sequence task that is different from the task being executed by said boot strap processor and is executed at least partially in parallel with execution of the at least one boot sequence task by said boot strap processor.

13. A computer program product as defined in claim 12, further comprising:

third computer readable code for causing a second peripheral processor to execute another task from said plurality of boot sequence tasks that is different from the tasks being executed by said boot strap processor and said first peripheral processor and is executed at least partially in parallel with the execution by one of said other processors.

14. A computer program product as defined in claim 12, comprising:

fourth computer readable program code to cause said first peripheral processor to execute a plurality of said boot sequence tasks, wherein at least one of those tasks to be executed by said first peripheral processor is not executed until a predetermined task at another processor has been completed.

15. A computer program product as defined in claim 12, wherein said first computer readable code includes fifth computer readable code for turning on said first peripheral processor and providing said first peripheral processor with an address to begin executing.

16. A computer program product as defined in claim 13, wherein said computer readable program code comprises a BIOS, and wherein each of said first, second and third computer readable code includes a different POST Table that includes at least one different task from said plurality of boot sequence tasks to be executed.

17. A computer program product as defined in claim 12, where said first and second peripheral processors are one of an internal peripheral processor and an external peripheral processor.

18. A personal computer system designed to boot by executing a plurality of boot sequence tasks, with some of those tasks being executed at least partially in parallel by different processors, comprising:

a boot strap processor programmed to execute at least one task in said plurality of boot sequence tasks; and

a first peripheral processor programmed to execute a task in said plurality of boot sequence tasks that is different from the task being executed by said boot strap processor and is executed at least partially in parallel with the execution of the boot sequence task by said boot strap processor.

19. A personal computer system as defined in claim 18, further comprising a second peripheral processor programmed to execute another task in said plurality of boot sequence tasks that is different from the tasks being executed by said boot strap processor and said first peripheral processor, and which second peripheral processor executes said another task at least partially in parallel with the execution by one of said other processors.

20. A personal computer system as defined in claim 19, wherein said first peripheral processor is programmed to execute a plurality of said boot sequence tasks.

21. A personal computer system as defined in claim 20, wherein said first peripheral processor is programmed to execute one of said plurality of boot sequence tasks only after another processor has executed a predetermined boot sequence task.

22. A personal computer system as defined in claim 20, wherein said processors are programmed to complete execution of any boot sequence task, after the initiation of the boot sequence task, without reference to data or the execution of any other processor.

23. A multi-processor system as defined in claim 18, wherein each of said processors is programmed with a different POST Table that determines the sequence of subroutines that are to be executed by that processor.