Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Patrick L Stemen

Emily Nicole Wilson

Mehmet Iyigun

Yevgeniy Bak

Brian E King

Neel K Jain

Kirsten Valery Stark

Vasilios Karagounis

Sushu Zhang

Dean L DeWhitt

William Jefferson Westerinen

Cenk Ergan

Michael Richard Fortin

Michael James Zwilling

Mark Joseph Zbikowski

Hanumantha Rao Kodavalla

Nathan Steven Obr

John M Parchem

Clark David Nicholson

Rajeev Y Nagar

Therron Powell

Surenda Verma

Dan Teodosiu

Emily Nicole Hill

Nicholas Stephen Judge

Tristan Anthony Brown

Tony Dwayne Pierce

Timothy W Liaw

Libo Tao

Daniel Teodosiu

Dean L Dewhitt

Kirsten V Stark

Neel Jain

Fast computer startup is provided by, upon receipt of a shutdown command, recording state information representing a target state. In this target state, the computing device may have closed all user sessions, such that no user state information is included in the target state. However, the operating system may still be executing. In response to a command to startup the computer, this target state may be quickly reestablished from the recorded target state information. Portions of a startup sequence may be performed to complete the startup process, including establishing user state. To protect user expectations despite changes in response to a shutdown command, creation and use of the file holding the recorded state information may be conditional on dynamically determined events. Also, user and programmatic interfaces may provide options to override creation or use of the recorded state information.

Fast computer startup

In order to provide a more efficient persistent storage device, one or more long-term storage media are included along with a non-volatile memory. In one embodiment, one portion of the non-volatile memory is used as a write buffer and a read cache for writes and reads to the long-term storage media. Interfaces are provided for controlling the use of the non-volatile memory as a write buffer and a read cache. Additionally, a portion of the non-volatile memory is used to provide a direct mapping for specified sectors of the long-term storage media. Descriptive data regarding the persistent storage device is stored in another portion of the non-volatile memory.

Non-volatile memory cache performance improvement

In embodiments of an idle time service, it can be determined that processing on a device is in an idle state. An execution duration of applications that are scheduled to be executed by a processor of the device can then be extended to reduce power consumption by the device. In other embodiments, it can be determined that an application configured to execute on a device is a background application. The execution duration of the background application can then be extended to reduce power consumption by the device.

Idle time service

A method of operating a computing device to allow events to be conditionally executed based on a power state of the device at the time of execution of the events. Conditional execution may be implemented using multiple timers, each associated with a power state. A timer such as an 'AC timer' or a 'DC timer' associated with a respective power state may be used to wake up the device when, upon expiration, or time-out, of the timer, a current power state of the device and the power state associated with the timer match. An Advanced Configuration Power Interface (ACPI) may be employed to abstract implementation of the timers from underlying hardware of the device. The operating system and software applications may request establishing wake-up behavior of the device as commands to program conditional events, which may then be translated into commands to embedded controller to set the timers.

Power state dependent wake-up alarm

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Patrick L Stemen