Boot determining method of electronic device having one or more storage disks in a low temperature environment

• US 9,021,242 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2012
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Getac Technology Company Limited (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Getac Technology Company Limited (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Chiu, Chia-Chang
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): CASSITY, ROBERT A
• Application Number:
  US13/366,195
• Publication Number:
  US 20120216026A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 713/2
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4401 Bootstrapping security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A boot determining method of an electronic device is used to determine whether to boot the electronic device having at least one storage. The boot determining method includes: receiving a start signal; detecting an ambient temperature; detecting whether the at least one storage has a heating module; comparing the ambient temperature with a temperature threshold; reading storage information; determining type(s) of the at least one storage according to the storage information; and determining whether to boot the electronic device after receiving the starting signal, according to a determining condition. The determining condition includes the type(s) of the at least one storage; whether the environment temperature is lower than the temperature threshold; and whether each of the at least one-storage has the heating module.

Claims

1. A boot determining method of an electronic device, for determining whether to boot the electronic device having at least one storage, the method comprising:

receiving a start signal;

detecting an ambient temperature;

detecting whether the at least one storage has a heating module;

comparing the ambient temperature with a temperature threshold;

reading storage information;

determining type(s) of the at least one storage according to the storage information; and

determining whether to boot the electronic device after receiving the starting signal as follows;

when the number of the at least one storage is one, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the storage is Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) hard disk, and the FDB hard disk has the heating module, starting the heating module and then booting the electronic device;

when the number of the at least one storage is one, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the at least one storage is the FDB hard disk, and the FDB hard disk does not have the heating module, powering off the at least one storage and shutting down the electronic device;

when the number of the at least one storage is plural, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the at least one storage is FDB hard disk, and each of the at least one FDB hard disk has the heating module, starting each of the at least one heating module and then booting the electronic device;

when the number of the at least one storage is plural, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the at least one storage is the FDB hard disk, and any of the FDB hard disk does not have the heating module, powering off all the storages and shutting down the electronic device; and

when the type of all of the at least one storage is solid state disk, booting the electronic device.

2. The boot determining method of the electronic device according to claim 1,

further comprising a step of displaying an alarm message when it is determined to shut down the electronic device.

3. The boot determining method of the electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether to boot the electronic device after receiving the starting signal further comprises booting the electronic device when the ambient temperature is higher than or equal to the temperature threshold.

4. An electronic device, capable of automatically determining whether to be booted, the electronic device comprising:

at least one storage;

a receiving module, for receiving a start signal;

a temperature detection module, for detecting an ambient temperature;

a detection module, electrically coupled to the at least one storage, for detecting whether the storage has a heating module;

a comparison module, electrically coupled to the temperature detection module, for comparing the ambient temperature with a temperature threshold;

a reading module, for reading storage information, wherein the storage information corresponds to type(s) of the at least one storage;

a storage determination module, electrically coupled to the reading module, for detecting and determining the type(s) of the at least one storage according to the storage information; and

a boot determination module, electrically coupled to the receiving module, the storage determination module, the comparison module and the detection module, for determining whether to boot the electronic device after receiving the starting signal from the receiving module according to a determining condition, wherein the boot determination module is configured to;

start the heating module and then boot the electronic device when the number of the at least one storage is one, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the storage is Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) hard disk, and the FDB hard disk has the heating module;

power off the at least one storage and shut down the electronic device when the number of the at least one storage is one, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the at least one storage is the FDB hard disk, and the FDB hard disk does not have the heating module;

start each of the at least one heating module and then boot the electronic device when the number of the at least one storage is plural, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the at least one storage is FDB hard disk, and each of the at least one FDB hard disk has the heating module;

power off all the storages and shut down the electronic device when the number of the at least one storage is plural, the ambient temperature is lower than the temperature threshold, the type of the at least one storage is the FDB hard disk, and any of the FDB hard disk does not have the heating module; and

boot the electronic device when the type of all of the at least one storage is solid state disk.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the reading module, the storage determination module and the boot determination module are integrated into a basic input/output system (BIOS) of the electronic device.

6. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein when the storage determination module is further configured to display an alarm message when it is determined to shut down the electronic device.

7. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the temperature detection module and the detection module are integrated into a keyboard controller (KBC) of the electronic device.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the KBC stores the detected ambient temperature and the result of whether the at least one storage has the heating module into a random access memory (RAM) of the electronic device, for a BIOS of the electronic device to read.

9. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the temperature detection module is a thermal sensor, the thermal sensor is disposed on a substrate of the electronic device, and the KBC reads the thermal sensor through an inter integrated circuits bus (I2C bus), to detect the ambient temperature.