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:
Oct. 12, 2010
Filed:
May. 02, 2001
Daryl Carvis Cromer, Apex, NC (US);
Joseph Wayne Freeman, Raleigh, NC (US);
Steven Dale Goodman, Raleigh, NC (US);
Eric Richard Kern, Durham, NC (US);
Randall Scott Springfield, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Daryl Carvis Cromer, Apex, NC (US);
Joseph Wayne Freeman, Raleigh, NC (US);
Steven Dale Goodman, Raleigh, NC (US);
Eric Richard Kern, Durham, NC (US);
Randall Scott Springfield, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Singapore, SG;
Abstract
A data processing system and method of password protecting the boot of a data processing system are disclosed. According to the method, in response to an attempt to boot the data processing system utilizing a boot device, the boot device is interrogated for a password. If the boot device supplies password information corresponding to that of a trusted boot device, the data processing system boots utilizing the boot device. If, however, the boot device does not supply password information corresponding to that of a trusted boot device, booting from the boot device is inhibited. In a preferred embodiment, the password information comprises a unique combination of the boot device's manufacturer-supplied model and serial numbers.