International Business Machines Corporation

Gary A Vaiskauckas

Richard Alan Dayan

David Benson Rhoades

Richard Bealkowski

Donald D Williams

Guy G Sotomayor, Jr

Scott G Kinnear

Jeffrey Isaac Krantz

David Joseph Doria

Robert B Liverman

Walter Leslie Robinson

Robert Duane Johnson

Stanley Leonard Merkin

Bharat B Khatri

Kenneth D Smeltzer

Kofi Kekessie

Christopher Britton Gould

George Mathew

Herbert Jackson Ice, Jr

David J Deckys

A data processing system and method are described for booting a computer system from a virtual floppy diskette. A native operating system is executed by the computer system which utilizes a native file system. A boot able floppy diskette image is stored on the hard drive. The image includes a second operating system which utilizes a second file system. A master boot record stored on the hard drive is modified to include a boot bit. The boot bit is set in response to a storage of the image. The computer system is then booted from the image in response to the boot bit being set. The native operating system and the native file system are unchanged during the booting of the computer system from the image.

Virtual floppy diskette image within a primary partition in a hard disk drive and method for booting system with virtual diskette

A data processing system and method are described for creating a virtual partition within an existing partition within a hard disk drive included within the system. A first master boot record is written which includes a partition. The partition defines a first file system to be utilized by the hard drive. A file is created within the partition. The first master boot record is temporarily overwritten with a second master boot record without altering the first file system. The second master boot record includes a designation of the file as a second partition. The second partition defines a second file system. The second partition is designated as the active partition. The data processing system is booted utilizing the second master boot record. The second partition is a virtual partition within the existing partition.

Data processing system and method for creating a virtual partition within an existing partition in a hard disk drive

In a computer system including a video subsystem, a method for storing and displaying a power on graphical image, comprises the steps of: storing a compressed graphical image in a programmable read-only memory (PROM); initializing a power-on self test (POST); decompressing the compressed graphical image;loading the decompressed graphic image into a random access memory (RAM); and displaying the graphical image during the POST. Also in accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method for adding a user selected graphic image to a system ROM image, comprises the steps of: searching the Flash image file for the graphical image signature (GIS); locating the actual graphical image data with the graphical image header; reading the new graphical image data; overlaying the old graphical image data into a Flash image file; and recalculating the system ROM checksum.

Method and apparatus for storing and displaying a power-on graphical

A computer system and method for operating a computer system capable of running in mutually incompatible real and protected addressing modes, in which programs written for one mode can be run in the other mode without modification. The BIOS assembles two different common data areas for the two modes, each inclusive of device block pointers, function transfer table pointers, data pointers, and function pointers. The common data area for the real mode is assembled first. To assembly the pointers for the protected mode common data area, the offset values from the real mode area ae copied directly, and then selector values are inserted whose physical addresses correspond to the segments of the corresponding pointers in the real mode area. The selector values are derived from a segment descriptor table.

Computer system having mode independent addressing

A computer system and method for operating a computer system capable of running in mutually incompatible real and protected addressing modes, in which programs written for one mode can be run in the other mode without modification. The operating system using BIOS assembles two different common data areas for the two modes, each inclusive of device block pointers, function transfer table pointers, data pointers, and function pointers. The common data area for the real mode is assembled first. To assemble the pointers for the protected mode common data area, the offset values from the real mode area are copied directly, and then selector values are inserted whose physical addresses correspond to the segments of the corresponding pointers in the real mode area. The selector values are derived from a segment descriptor table.

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Boca Raton, FL, United States of America

Gary A Vaiskauckas