(12) United States Patent
`Nunn
`
`US006317828B1
`US 6,317,828 B1
`Nov. 13, 2001
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`(54) BIOS/UTILITY SETUP DISPLAY
`
`(75) Inventor: Susan Nunn, Austin, TX (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Dell USA, L.P., Round Rock, TX (US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 09/191,833
`(22) Filed:
`Nov. 13, 1998
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7 ................................................. .. G06F 15/177
`(52) US. Cl. ................................................................. .. 713/2
`(58) Field of Search ............................... .. 713/1, 2; 710/1,
`710/8—15
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,361,358 * 11/1994 Cox et al. .............................. .. 713/2
`5,504,905 * 4/1996 Cleary et al. .
`713/1
`5,696,968
`12/1997 Merkin ........ ..
`395/652
`5,727,213
`3/1998 Vander Kamp et a1.
`395/681
`5,860,001 * 1/1999 Cromer et al. ...... ..
`713/1
`5,999,989 * 12/1999 Patel ....................................... .. 710/1
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`IEEE Standard for Boot (Initialization Con?guration) Firm
`Ware: Core Requirements and Practices, IEEE Std
`1275—1994, Mar. 17, 1994, pp. 1—43.*
`
`Primary Examiner—Thomas Black
`Assistant Examiner—Mary Wang
`(74) Attorney,
`Agent,
`or Firm—Skjerven Morrill
`MacPherson LLP; Ken J. Koestner; Margaret M. Kelton
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A method and computer system for a system setup program
`includes a routine for displaying a subset of bootable devices
`from an adapter card, such as a PERC card, on a system from
`Which a user may specify a bootable device to serve as a boot
`drive, and bootable devices to serve as alternative boot
`drives. The computer system includes a system Basic Input/
`Output System (BIOS), a system processor, a system
`memory coupled to the system processor, at least one
`expansion slot coupled to the system processor via a bus, at
`least one adapter coupled to the computer system via the at
`least one expansion slot, and a system BIOS ROM code. The
`BIOS ROM code detects a plurality of bootable devices on
`the computer system, selects from the plurality of bootable
`devices a preselected number of bootable devices for
`display, and displays the subset of bootable devices on a
`setup display. The setup display alloWs a user to specify a
`bootable device to serve as a boot drive of the computer
`system. The method includes detecting a plurality of boot
`able devices on the computer system, selecting from the
`plurality of bootable devices a preselected number of boot
`able devices for display, and displaying the subset of boot
`able devices on a setup display. The setup display alloWs a
`user to specify a bootable device to serve as a boot drive
`from the computer system.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`31 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`200
`
`STORE1../7 W220
`LINKFOR
`uwr
`
`SEARCH
`FOR LINK
`
`__ STORE BC v
`FOR LIST
`212
`
`214
`
`START SCAN [202
`FOR OPTION
`ROMS
`1
`CALL OPT/0N T204
`ROM
`INITIALIZATION
`1
`SEARCH /206
`FOR BCV
`208
`
`YES
`
`0
`FIND NEXT
`OPT/ON
`ROM
`
`222
`
`YES 224
`
`1
`
`EX 1003
`IPR of Pat. No. 6,487,656
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 13, 2001
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`Sheet 1 0f 2
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`US 6,317,828 B1
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`U.S. Patent
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`Nov. 13, 2001
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`Sheet 2 0f 2
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`US 6,317,828 B1
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`US 6,317,828 B1
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`1
`BIOS/UTILITY SETUP DISPLAY
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`2
`the number of possible bootable devices exceeds the dis
`playable option space limit. For example, if four PoWer
`Edge Raid ControllersTM (PERC) adapter cards are con
`nected in a system holding eight disk pods, such as a Dell
`PoWeredgeTM Scalable Disk Storage 100 (SDS 100) unit. In
`addition, each disk pod in the system contains eight bootable
`devices, Thus, the user can select from 64 possible bootable
`devices in theory. The Setup program may be capable of
`displaying only a fraction of the bootable device selections
`due to limits in option space. This is a limitation inherent in
`the BBS standard.
`A need has been felt for a Setup Program that is able to
`display IPL devices as bootable devices according to the
`BBS standard in a user-friendly manner.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention accordingly provides a method and
`computer system for a system setup program that include
`displaying a subset of bootable devices from an adapter card,
`such as a PERC card, on a system from Which a user may
`specify a bootable device to serve as a boot drive, and
`bootable devices to serve as alternative boot drives. The
`computer system includes a system Basic Input/Output
`System (BIOS), a system processor, a system memory
`coupled to the system processor, at least one expansion slot
`coupled to the system processor via a bus, at least one
`adapter coupled to the computer system via the at least one
`expansion slot, and a system BIOS ROM code. The BIOS
`ROM code detects a plurality of bootable devices on the
`computer system, selects from the plurality of bootable
`devices a preselected number of bootable devices for
`display, and displays the subset of bootable devices on a
`setup display. The setup display alloWs a user to specify a
`bootable device to serve as a boot drive of the computer
`system.
`The method includes detecting a plurality of bootable
`devices on the computer system, selecting from the plurality
`of bootable devices a preselected number of bootable
`devices for display, and displaying the subset of bootable
`devices on a setup display. The setup display alloWs a user
`to specify a bootable device to serve as a boot drive from the
`computer system.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The present invention may be better understood, and its
`numerous objects, features, and advantages made apparent
`to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying
`draWings.
`FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a computer system
`that is suitable for operating a BIOS/Utility Setup Display
`according to an embodiment of the present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a ?oWchart shoWing a method of operating the
`BIOS/Utility Setup Display of FIG. 1.
`The use of the same reference symbols in different draW
`ings indicates similar or identical items.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENT(S)
`The folloWing sets forth a detailed description of a mode
`for carrying out the invention. The description is intended to
`be illustrative of the invention and should not be taken to be
`limiting.
`The BBS described above and incorporated herein for all
`purposes as Appendix A, de?nes the priority of the Boot
`Connection Vector (BCV). The BCV is a pointer that points
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`This invention relates in general to computer systems, and
`more speci?cally to a BIOS/Utility Setup display program.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Personal computer systems have attained Widespread use.
`A personal computer system can usually be de?ned as a
`desktop or portable microcomputer that includes a system
`unit having a system processor or central processing unit
`(CPU) With associated memory, a display panel, a keyboard,
`a hard disk storage device or other type of storage media
`such as a ?oppy disk drive or a compact disk read only
`memory (CD ROM) drive. These personal computer sys
`tems are information handling systems Which are designed
`primarily to give independent computing poWer to a single
`user or group of users.
`One of the methods typically used to initialiZe devices on
`a personal computer system is called the Basic Input/Output
`System (BIOS). The BIOS is a program embedded in an
`integrated circuit component located on the personal com
`puter’s main circuit board or mother board. The BIOS runs
`the PoWer-On-Self-Test (POST), Which is included as part of
`the BIOS. The POST softWare initialiZes the computer
`hardWare so that the computer’s operating system can be
`loaded. All bootable devices must be initialiZed prior to
`loading the operating system in order to boot-strap the
`computer system. Such devices include any Initial Program
`Load (IPL) devices such as ?oppy drives or hard drives that
`can boot-strap and load an operating system.
`In order to inform the BIOS of the devices and options
`installed on a system, computer systems record setup infor
`mation in a storage system that can be referenced quickly
`during bootup, typically in nonvolatile system setup
`memory. A setup program alloWs the user to con?gure the
`operating system and select a particular IPL device. Pressing
`a particular key on the keyboard during BIOS initialiZation
`executes the setup program. Once the setup program
`executes, the operating system for a computer is loaded from
`a particular IPL device. A user sets up the particular IPL
`device through the system Setup program Which is part of
`the BIOS.
`The BIOS Boot Speci?cation, Version 1.01, Jan. 11, 1996,
`(“BIOS Boot Speci?cation”) promulgated by “COMPAQ
`COMPUTER CORPORATIONTM”, “PHOENIX
`TECHNOLOGIES, LTD TM”. and “INTEL
`CORPORATIONTM”, is incorporated herein by reference.
`The BIOS Boot Speci?cation (BBS) provides a method for
`the BIOS to identify all IPL devices on a computer system.
`According to the BBS, the user, through the Setup program,
`prioritiZes the IPL devices so that the system Will attempt to
`boot using each bootable device selected in the order speci
`?ed. PrioritiZing IPL devices is similar to the commonly
`knoWn boot priority system of attempting to boot using
`?oppy drive A?rst, then hard drive C. The difference is that
`the BBS can include additional IPL devices such as a
`bootable AT Attachment Packet Interface (“ATAPI”)
`CD-ROM drive, a Personal Computer Memory Card Indus
`try Association (“PCMCIA”) drive, an embedded netWork
`adapter, and “Plug-n-Play” (PnP) devices.
`Although the additional IPL devices enable numerous
`boot options for usage by the user When running the Setup
`program, the BBS display of bootable devices in the Setup
`program fails to display all possible bootable drives When
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`US 6,317,828 B1
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`to code for loading the operating system, the boot code,
`located inside the option ROM. The initialization code in the
`option ROM performs device initialiZation, detects Whether
`a peripheral is attached, and optionally hooks INT 13h. The
`BCV resides in a PnP option ROM Expansion Header. An
`option ROM is located on a given adapter or a device With
`drives attached. The option ROM stores an initialiZation
`code on an option ROM header. Avalid option ROM header
`as de?ned by the BBS has an Expansion Header With an
`address Within the standard option ROM header. The Expan
`sion Header contains the information used to con?gure the
`devices connected through the adapter. The Expansion
`Header also contains pointers (BCVS) to code in the
`device’s option ROM (the BCV) that BIOS uses to call to
`boot from the device.
`Atypical BCV device is a SCSI controller. SCSI control
`lers are not directly bootable, but by hooking into the
`BIOS’INT 13h services, the SCSI controller drives are
`added to the system and drive numbers are appended to
`existing drives. A BCV device is only bootable if a BCV
`device drive is installed before any other drives in the
`system. Therefore, control of the order of installation is
`desirable.
`The BCV Priority is speci?ed by a user of INT 13h device
`controllers in a priority list arranged during a setup opera
`tion. INT 13h is a basic BIOS subroutine that controls part
`of the con?guration of bootable drives. During a PoWer-On
`Self-Test (POST), the appropriate INT 13h drive support is
`called for the controllers on the priority list in the order
`speci?ed by the user. The controllers are listed to control the
`order of installation of devices using INT 13h. Many INT
`13h devices can be managed by one controller. The user
`speci?cally sets the order of priority to account for incon
`sistencies in booting operations of typical PCs and devices.
`For example, if an Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA)
`support that is resident in BIOS is installed before the BIOS
`option ROM scan, the ATA is ?rst to install into the INT 13h
`services. As a result, bootable drive number 80h, commonly
`knoWn as drive “C”, is speci?ed as an ATA drive and devices
`initialiZed 81h or higher are rendered non-bootable.
`An INT 13h device controller installs one or more drives
`into the BIOS INT 13h services by hooking the INT 13h
`softWare interrupt and chaining to the old vector. By
`chaining, the INT 13h softWare is connected through a
`softWare routine call inserted into the old vector. The soft
`Ware routine call refers the program to the INT 13h softWare,
`thereby hooking the INT 13h softWare interrupt. The con
`troller can be a PnP Card With a BCV. According to the BBS,
`the ?rst type of entry in the BCV Table is the BIOS INT 13h
`services for ATA drives. The ATA drive support in the BIOS
`is to be installable in any order that a user selects; before, in
`the middle, or after other controllers are installed.
`Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram shoWs a computer
`system that is suitable for operating a BIOS/Utility display
`routine. Computer system 100 is a server or Work station that
`includes a system processor 103 With cacahe, such as the
`PENTIUMTM II microprocessor sold by the INTELTM
`CORP. Computer system 100 includes an ISA bus 112
`coupled to an input/output controller 107 that is often
`operable coupled to auxiliary devices (not shoWn), Which
`may include a pointer device, such as a mouse.
`The computer system 100 includes a system processor
`103 With cache and a memory controller 119 connected to
`the processor 103 With cache via a local bus or a host bus
`108. A system BIOS 113 is connected to the memory
`controller 119 via a PCI bus 110 and an ISA bus 112.
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`Alternatively, instead of an ISA bus, the System BIOS 113
`could be coupled to the computer system 100 via a local or
`host bus. Connected to the PCI Bus 110 are Slots 115,
`representing different expansion slots. Controllers for con
`trolling adapter cards are inserted into the expansion slots.
`The adapter cards are shoWn as adapters containing option
`ROMs 120 and adapters containing option ROM Expansion
`Headers With a BCV 122.
`The computer system 100 executes the BIOS ROM setup
`code When the system is ?rst poWered. A BIOS ROM setup
`code enables the user to control the order of the drives as
`de?ned Within the setup program and alloWs a user to control
`the order of drives for the operating system to be initialiZed
`as a boot drive. In the normal operation of the BIOS ROM
`setup code, the setup program presents to a user a list of
`optional adapter selections. HoWever, the space provided in
`the setup program for displaying bootable device choices
`may be limited. An illustrative BIOS/Utility Setup Display
`program controls the number of bootable devices connected
`to an adapter card that are displayed as options in the BIOS
`ROM setup code. The program efficiently uses a BIOS ROM
`setup code space for displaying a limited number of bootable
`drive selections. For example, the setup code allocates
`display space among bootable drive selections of multiple
`adapters. Thus, a particular adapter With a plethora of
`bootable drive selections does not take up the display area
`available. The customiZed BIOS ROM setup code selects a
`predetermined number of drives from the individual adapter
`cards to display as bootable drive selections in the option
`list. The BIOS ROM setup code alloWs a subset number of
`bootable drives from the adapters to be displayed and treats
`remaining bootable drives as active drives that are not
`controlled as bootable drives.
`Referring to FIG. 2, a How chart diagram shoWs a method
`200 for selecting the number of bootable devices connected
`to an adapter card When displaying the bootable devices
`options in a BIOS/Utility Setup program.
`A ?rst operation in the method is scanning for option
`ROMs 202. During the scan, a call function is executed in
`Which each adapter With a valid option ROM has associated
`operating code loaded into a speci?ed section of memory
`space. During adapter code loading, expansion header infor
`mation is saved and linked expansion headers are stored into
`variables for non-controllable devices.
`A next operation is option ROM initialiZation 204, during
`Which a routine jumps to the initial entry point for the option
`ROM and the code runs the BIOS on the option ROM card.
`The routine queries the drives that are attached to the card
`through, for example, a cabling system. The information is
`returned to the BIOS When ?nished. A search for BCVs 206
`determines the number of BCVs and Whether the device is
`a hard drive device. Another scan is made for option ROMs
`210, folloWed by a call for option ROM initialiZation,
`repeating option ROM initialiZation 204 folloWed by the
`BCV search 206 and another check for a BCV=1 208 until
`all option ROMs are processed.
`If BCV is equal to 1 in logic operation 208, another BCV
`is found and the BCV is stored in a list for the controllable
`devices 212. FolloWing storing of the BCV, the routine
`searches for a link 214, a link search for a pointer for the next
`BCV. If a link is found, in logic operation 216 a query
`determines Whether enough space is available to increase the
`number of BCVs in the controllable list 218. The capacity of
`the BCV list is determined by the number of spaces for
`displayed drives and is selected by a user during system
`BIOS setup. Enforcement of the limitation in displayed BCV
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`

`US 6,317,828 B1
`
`5
`entries in operation 218 prevents the BIOS code from
`automatically displaying all BCVs connected to an option
`ROM, thereby ?lling all available display spaces on the
`setup screen. For example, if an option ROM has three
`BCVs and a setup screen has only three spaces available for
`optional controllable devices, the setup screen capacity is
`?lled. No option ROM or drive attached to the system is
`accessible by the user for usage as a controllable drive
`simply because no space is available on the setup screen for
`displaying the options. The other option ROMs are thus
`made available only as data drives. The list capacity is a
`variable in the system BIOS code that provides the number
`of BCVs per option ROM that is permitted for storage in the
`list of controllable devices for user selection.
`The above description is intended to be illustrative of the
`invention and should not be taken to be limiting. Other
`embodiments Within the scope of the present invention are
`possible. Those skilled in the art Will readily implement the
`steps necessary to provide the structures and the methods
`disclosed herein, and Will understand that the process
`parameters and sequence of steps are given by Way of
`example only and can be varied to achieve the desired
`structure as Well as modi?cations that are Within the scope
`of the invention. Variations and modi?cations of the embodi
`ments disclosed herein may be made based on the descrip
`tion set forth herein, Without departing from the spirit and
`scope of the invention as set forth in the folloWing claims.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A method of operating a computer system having a
`system Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), the method
`comprising:
`detecting a plurality of bootable devices on the computer
`system;
`selecting from the plurality of bootable devices a subset of
`a preselected number of bootable devices for display;
`and
`displaying the subset of bootable devices on a setup
`display from Which a user speci?es a bootable device to
`operate as a boot drive of the computer system.
`2. The method according to claim 1, Wherein detecting a
`plurality of bootable devices on the computer system further
`comprises:
`scanning for option ROMs; and
`calling option ROM initialiZation codes.
`3. The method according to claim 1, Wherein selecting
`from the plurality of bootable devices a subset of bootable
`devices for display further comprises:
`searching for at least one Boot Connection Vector (BCV);
`storing the at least one BCV in a list; and
`comparing the preselected number of bootable devices
`against the number of BCVs in the list.
`4. The method according to claim 3, Wherein comparing
`the preselected number of bootable devices against the
`number of BCVs in the list further comprises:
`searching for a link;
`determining a number of links that are found;
`checking the number of links that are found against the
`preselected number of bootable devices;
`if for a link the number of links that are found is greater
`than the preselected number of bootable devices allo
`cated to the option ROM, storing an identi?er of the
`link found for initialiZation as a nonbootable device for
`initialiZation; and
`if the number of links that are found is less than the
`preselected number of bootable devices allocated to the
`option ROM, storing an identi?er of the link in the list
`of BCVs.
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`5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:
`if the number of links that are found is Zero, scanning for
`an option ROM;
`if the number of option ROMS found is Zero, ending the
`method.
`6. The method according to claim 1, Wherein:
`the plurality of bootable devices includes at least one
`option ROM, the at least one option ROM coupled to
`further bootable devices; and
`displaying the subset of bootable devices includes dis
`playing the further bootable devices.
`7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
`classifying a subset of the plurality of bootable devices as
`active devices independent from control as bootable
`devices.
`8. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the method
`is performed in a BIOS ROM setup code.
`9. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the bootable
`devices are coupled to at least one adapter card inserted into
`at least one expansion slot.
`10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the adapter card is a
`Plug and Play (PnP) adapter card With a BCV.
`11. The method of claim 1 Wherein the plurality of
`bootable devices consists of initial program load (IPL)
`devices.
`12. A computer system having a system Basic Input/
`Output System (BIOS), the computer system comprising:
`a system processor;
`at least one adapter coupled to the computer system; and
`a system BIOS ROM code coupled to the system
`processor, the system BIOS ROM code including a
`setup code that has limited space for displaying boot
`able devices preventing the setup code from displaying
`all possible bootable drives When the number of pos
`sible bootable devices exceeds a displayable option
`space limit, Wherein the system BIOS ROM code
`detects a plurality of bootable devices on the computer
`system, including bootable devices coupled to one or
`more adapter cards, selects from the plurality of boot
`able devices a subset of a preselected number of
`bootable devices for display from each adapter card,
`and displays the subset of bootable devices on a setup
`display from Which a user speci?es a bootable device to
`serve as a boot drive of the computer system.
`13. The computer system of claim 12, Wherein the system
`BIOS ROM code scans for option ROMs and calls option
`ROM initialiZation codes.
`14. The computer system of claim 12, Wherein the system
`BIOS ROM code that selects from the plurality of bootable
`devices a subset of bootable devices for display further
`searches for at least one Boot Connection Vector (BCV),
`stores the at least one BCV in a list, and compares the
`preselected number of bootable devices against the number
`of BCVs in the list.
`15. The computer system of claim 14, Wherein the system
`BIOS ROM code that compares the preselected number of
`bootable devices against the number of BCVs in the list
`further searches for a link, determines the number of links
`found, checks the number of links found against the prese
`lected number of bootable devices, and if the number of
`links found is greater than the preselected number of boot
`able devices allocated to the option ROM, stores the link for
`initialiZation as a nonbootable device for initialiZation, and
`if the number of links found is less than the preselected
`number of bootable devices allocated to the option ROM,
`stores the link in the list of BCVs.
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`US 6,317,828 B1
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`16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the system
`BIOS ROM code scans for option ROMs if the number of
`links found is Zero, and ends the method if the number of
`option ROMs found is Zero.
`17. The computer system of claim 12, Wherein:
`the plurality of bootable devices includes at least one
`option ROM, the at least one option ROM coupled to
`further bootable devices; and
`the subset of bootable devices includes the further boot
`able devices.
`18. The computer system of claim 12, Wherein a subset of
`the plurality of bootable devices is classi?ed as active
`devices independent from control as bootable devices.
`19. The computer system of claim 12, Wherein the boot
`able devices are coupled to the one or more adapter cards,
`the one or more adapter cards being coupled to the computer
`system via at least one eXpansion slot.
`20. The computer system of claim 19, Wherein the adapter
`card is a Plug and Play (PnP) adapter card With a BCV.
`21. The computer system of claim 12 Wherein the plural
`ity of bootable devices consists of initial program load (IPL)
`devices.
`22. A computer program product comprising:
`a computer readable media including a system Basic
`Input/Output System (BIOS) routine operable With a
`setup code that has limited space for displaying boot
`able devices preventing the setup code from displaying
`all possible bootable drives When the number of pos
`sible bootable devices eXceeds a displayable option
`space limit, the routine including:
`detecting a plurality of bootable devices on the com
`puter system, including bootable devices couple to
`one or more adapter cards;
`selecting from the plurality of bootable devices a subset
`of a preselected number of bootable devices for
`display from each adapter card; and
`displaying the subset of bootable devices on a setup
`display from Which a user speci?es a bootable device to
`operate as a boot drive of the computer system.
`23. The computer program product of claim 22 Wherein
`detecting a plurality of bootable devices on the computer
`system further comprises:
`scanning for option ROMs; and
`calling option ROM initialiZation codes.
`24. The computer program product of claim 22 Wherein
`selecting from the plurality of bootable devices a subset of
`bootable devices for display further comprises:
`searching for at least one Boot Connection Vector (BCV);
`storing the at least one BCV in a list; and
`comparing the preselected number of bootable devices
`against the number of BCVs in the list.
`25. The computer program product of claim 22 further
`comprising: classifying a subset of the plurality of bootable
`devices as active devices independent from control as boot
`able devices.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`45
`
`8
`26. The computer program product of claim 24 Wherein
`comparing the preselected number of bootable devices
`against the number of BCVs in the list further comprises:
`searching for a link;
`determining a number of links that are found;
`checking the number of links that are found against the
`preselected number of bootable devices;
`if for a link the number of links that are found is greater
`than the preselected number of bootable devices allo
`cated to the option ROM, storing an identi?er of the
`link found for initialiZation as a nonbootable device for
`initialiZation; and
`if the number of links that are found is less than the
`preselected number of bootable devices allocated to the
`option ROM, storing an identi?er of the link in the list
`of BCVs.
`27. The computer program product of claim 21 further
`comprising:
`if the number of links that are found is Zero, scanning for
`an option ROM; and
`if the number of option ROMS found is Zero, ending the
`method.
`28. The computer program product of claim 22 Wherein:
`the plurality of bootable devices includes at least one
`option ROM, the at least one option ROM coupled to
`further bootable devices; and
`displaying the subset of bootable devices includes dis
`playing the further bootable devices.
`29. The computer program product of claim 22 Wherein
`the bootable devices are coupled to at least one adapter card
`inserted into at least one eXpansion slot.
`30. The computer program product of claim 29 Wherein
`the adapter card is a Plug and Play (PnP) adapter card With
`a BCV.
`31. An article of manufacture comprising a computer
`readable media of signal for implanning a softWare program
`operable With a BIOS ROM setup code that has limited
`space for displaying all possible bootable drives When the
`number of possible bootable devices exceeds a displayable
`option space limit including:
`means for detecting a plurality of bootable devices on the
`computer system, including bootable devices coupled
`to one or more adapter cards;
`mean for selecting from the plurality of bootable devices
`a subset of a preselected number of bootable devices
`for display from each adapter card; and
`user speci?es a bootable device to operate as a boot drive
`of the computer system.
`
`*
`
`*
`
`*
`
`*
`
`*
`
`7
`
`