The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 16, 1999
Filed:
Oct. 07, 1997
David S Edrich, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Phoenix Technologies, Ltd., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention is an apparatus and method for executing instructions in a system management mode in a processor-based system. The apparatus comprises a memory for storing instruction sequences by which the processor-based system is processed where the memory includes a system management random access memory (SMRAM). The apparatus also comprises a processor having a system address space, that executes the stored instruction sequences. The stored instruction sequences include process steps to cause the processor to: (a) configure the processor to operate in a protected mode while in a system management mode, the processor operating at address greater than one megabyte; (b) invoke a paging feature of the processor; (c) configure the processor to operate in a virtual mode; and (d) process the instruction sequences; wherein the process steps occur upon the receipt of an instruction to process a system management request.