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:
Jun. 02, 2009
Filed:
Aug. 07, 2003
Thomas Vrhel, Jr., Austin, TX (US);
Gary D. Huber, Austin, TX (US);
Roy W. Stedman, Austin, TX (US);
James Van Artsdalen, Austin, TX (US);
Krishnamurthy Venkatramani, Austin, TX (US);
Thomas Vrhel, Jr., Austin, TX (US);
Gary D. Huber, Austin, TX (US);
Roy W. Stedman, Austin, TX (US);
James Van Artsdalen, Austin, TX (US);
Krishnamurthy Venkatramani, Austin, TX (US);
Dell Products L.P., Round Rock, TX (US);
Abstract
A method and system for automated support in a computer system. The computer system has a service button, and pressing of the service button causes a bit to be set in a register in the chip set. Setting of the bit generates an interrupt signal that is received and processed in a manner dependent on whether the computer system is in a booting state or a non-booting state. If the computer system is in a booting state, the bit is checked at a predetermined point in the booting sequence, and if set, a service application is initiated at that time. If the computer is not in a booting state, a second interrupt is generated, causing the service application to be initiated. A timer is initiated substantially with pressing of the service button, and if the service application reaches a predetermined point before the timer reaches a predetermined value, it will clear the timer. If not, the system will follow a predetermined reboot protocol.