KR20090037223A - Method and system for power-on self testing after system off, and booting method the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and a method for self testing after system off and a method for booting using the same are provided to reduce a booting time and to store result of the testing by performing a self testing after system off and providing the testing result at system booting stage. A mode setting unit(11) sets up an action mode to perform a self testing procedure in a power saving mode. A controller(10) performs the self testing procedure according to the mode set up. A self testing unit(12,14) performs the self testing procedure according to a control action of the controller. A storage(15) stores the self testing result. In the state where a time counter enters a power saving mode, the time is succeeded to order to generate a wake enable signal. A BIOS(Basic Input/Output System) memory(13) stores the information about a mode setting. The mode setting information is either the real time clock wake enable signal or the flag setting information. The flag setting information is stored in a RAM(17a) of the embedded controller(17).

Description

System and method for performing self-diagnosis after shutdown, and booting method using the same {METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR POWER-ON SELF TESTING AFTER SYSTEM OFF, AND BOOTING METHOD THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly, to a system and method for performing a self-diagnosis test process after the system shutdown, and a booting method for booting the system without the self-diagnosis test process when the system is on.

Typically, a computer system is composed of a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, and a system unit for input / output. The memory may include a RAM, a BIOS ROM, a CMOS RAM, and the like.

The BIOS stores a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System). The BIOS is a built-in software that controls and tests the system devices. When the computer is powered on, the BIOS performs a power on self test (hereinafter referred to as a 'self-diagnosis') process to confirm that the system devices are operating properly. To perform.

When power is supplied to the computer system, a booting process is performed. The booting process includes a self-diagnosis process and an operating system booting process. Only after these two processes can the user use the computer at the operating system, such as the Windows level.

Specifically, when power is supplied to a computer system, a reset signal is generated from a chip that manages a system reset, and the entire circuit including the CPU is reset. The reset central processing unit immediately executes the BIOS stored in the BIOS to perform a self-diagnosis process. The self-diagnosis process first performs a self-test inside the central processing unit.

After the CPU test, the BIOS initializes the main chipset and compares the system configuration data of the system such as the memory and the hard disk with the system configuration data stored in the CMOS. As a result of the comparison, if the two data are the same, the self-diagnosis process ends.

In general, the moment a computer is powered on to use a computer system, the computer system always performs the self-diagnosis process. Because of this, a user using a conventional computer system had to wait while performing the self-diagnosis process.

As described above, the conventional computer system has a problem in that a booting time is extended by the time for performing the self-diagnosis process, and an overhead occurs due to the self-diagnosis process.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to perform a self-diagnosis test procedure after system shutdown and provide the result when the system is on.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an optimization function for checking whether an error occurs in each device in a diagnosis mode state and storing the result.

Another object of the present invention is to shorten the boot time of a computer system and to provide an efficient management method.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention provides a mode setting unit for setting an operation mode to perform a system self-diagnosis test process in a system power saving mode state, the self-diagnosis according to the mode setting state And a control unit controlling to perform a test process, a self diagnosis unit performing the self diagnosis test process according to a control operation of the control unit, and a storage unit storing the performed self diagnosis result information.

The present invention further includes a BIOS memory for storing the information on the mode setting, wherein the mode setting information is stored in a real time clock wake enable signal and a RAM inside the embedded controller. Preferably, at least one of the flag setting data is included.

The present invention preferably further comprises a time counting unit for counting the time to generate the wake enable signal when the system enters the power saving mode.

The self-diagnosis unit preferably includes a first diagnosis unit performing the self-diagnosis test process at normal booting, and a second diagnosis unit performing the self-diagnosis test process in the system power saving mode.

The second self-diagnosis unit preferably performs at least one or more of the following modes: check whether an abnormality occurs in the system, generate and store self-diagnosis result information, perform a disk defragmentation mode, and a virus test mode.

If the self-diagnosis mode is not set, the control unit preferably controls to end normally.

According to another feature of the invention, the present invention provides a determination unit for determining the presence of the self-diagnosis result information when the system on the drive in the system power saving mode state, and if the self-diagnosis result information is present as a result of the self-diagnosis test process It is configured to include a control unit that controls to run the system by performing the operating system boot process immediately.

The present invention preferably further comprises a display unit for displaying whether or not abnormality of the self-diagnosis result information at the time of normal booting of the system.

The controller preferably controls the system to boot normally when the self-diagnosis result information does not exist.

The system power saving mode is preferably a G2 mode in which the system driving is terminated, or an S5 mode in which power supplied to the system is cut off by a power saving function.

According to another feature of the invention, the present invention comprises the steps of checking whether the diagnostic mode is set to perform a self-diagnostic test process by driving the system at the end of the system drive; When the diagnostic mode is set, performing the self-diagnosis test process based on preset setup information in a system power saving mode state; And storing the self-diagnosis result information.

The self-diagnostic test process is preferably performed by notification information transmitted to perform the self-diagnostic test process after counting time for a predetermined time information to enter the diagnostic mode.

In the performing of the self-diagnosis, it is preferable to perform at least one or more modes of an abnormality test mode of the system, the self-diagnosis result information generation and storage mode, a disk defragmentation execution mode, and a virus test mode.

The present invention preferably further comprises the step of ending normally when the diagnostic mode is not set.

According to another feature of the invention, the present invention comprises the steps of driving on the system in the system drive termination state; Determining whether there is information on the result of the self-test of the system; And if the self-diagnosis test execution result information is present as a result of the determination, skipping the self-diagnosis test process and performing booting of an operating system.

The present invention preferably further comprises the step of displaying the presence or absence of abnormality in the self-diagnosis result information.

The present invention preferably further comprises the step of performing a normal boot in the absence of the self-diagnosis result information.

According to the system and method for performing self-diagnosis after the shutdown of the present invention having such a configuration, and a booting method using the same, the following effects are obtained.

That is, the present invention executes the self-diagnosis test and optimization function when the preset waiting time elapses after the system is shut down, saves the result, skips the self-diagnosis process when the system is on, and immediately starts the operating system booting. Can shorten.

In addition, since the present invention performs a series of functions for optimizing the system in the diagnosis mode, and provides the user with an easy-to-check result, the system can be maintained in an optimal state.

Hereinafter, a system and method for performing self-diagnosis after system shutdown according to the present invention, and a booting method using the same will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a computer system for explaining a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Here, the 'system shutdown state' referred to in the embodiment of the present invention is a G2 mode in which the system operation is stopped by a user's shutdown command according to ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface, hereinafter 'ACPI') or S5 mode is a state in which the system is stopped by the power saving function.

First of all, the present invention provides a system for self-diagnosis of a system through a set-up of CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor, hereinafter referred to as 'CMOS') in a system shutdown state. The mode setting unit 11 is set to a diagnostic mode enable state so that the process can be performed. The mode setting unit 11 is performed by a physical switch operation or set by a program setup.

Next, a first diagnosis part 12 is provided to perform a self-diagnosis process according to a normal booting operation when the system is driven. The first diagnosis part 12 is stored in the bios 13. The first diagnosis unit 12 performs the self-diagnosis process during the normal booting operation. The BIOS ROM 13 stores mode setting information set by the mode setting unit 11. The first diagnosis part 12 is a BIOS, and the BIOS ROM 13 is a flash ROM.

If the waiting time set in the CMOS setup has elapsed after the system is driven in the system shutdown state according to the diagnostic mode enable setting by the mode setting unit 11, the system is driven to perform the self-diagnosis process. A second diagnosing part 14 is provided.

 The second diagnosis unit 14 restarts the system by the setup information preset by the user in the CMOS setup to enter the diagnostic mode. To this end, a real time clock module 16 or an embedded controller that counts time during the waiting time and transmits the notification information to the second diagnosis unit 14 is referred to as a real time clock. 17, hereinafter referred to as 'EC'. The setup information includes time information for setting the waiting time and from the RTC module 16 or the EC 17 to the second diagnosis unit 14 to perform the self-diagnosis process when the waiting time arrives. Consists of notification information delivered. For example, the RTC module 16 counts the waiting time and transmits a wake enable signal Wake_enable to the second diagnosis unit 14. The EC 17 performs the operation according to flag setting data set in the RAM 17a. For example, if the flag setting information is '1', the EC 17 transmits the notification information to the second diagnosis unit 14 to perform the self-diagnosis process. On the other hand, if the flag setting information is '0', the EC 17 does not transmit the notification information.

The waiting time may be freely set to about 1 to 3 hours.

In the diagnosis mode state, the second diagnosis unit 14 performs an optimization function by setting the following operation mode in addition to the function of performing the self-diagnosis process. For example, various devices such as a hard disk 19, a battery 18, and a sensor, which will be described later, are inspected for abnormalities. The second diagnosis unit 14 checks and stores the remaining life of the battery 18. In addition, the second diagnosis unit 14 may perform a disk defragment operation of the hard disk 19 or perform a virus scan / treatment, and then store the result.

A storage unit 15 for storing the result information of the self-diagnosis process of the second diagnosis unit 14 is provided.

The second diagnosis unit 14 and the storage unit 15 may be physically included in the bios 13.

 Next, a display unit 20 including a display device such as a liquid crystal display, a plasma display panel, and a controller for controlling the operation thereof is provided.

In addition, a memory for uploading and executing various programs and a hard disk 19 for storing various data and programs are provided. In addition, a communication module, an optical disk drive, and a detection sensor for detecting various operating states of respective devices provided in a general computer system may be provided.

Determination unit 21 for determining the existence of the result information of the self-diagnosis process in the storage unit 15, and a control unit 10 for controlling to perform the self-diagnosis process after the end of the system based on the diagnostic mode ) Is provided. The control unit 10 transfers a control right to selectively perform the self-diagnosis process on the first diagnosis unit 12 or the second diagnosis unit 14 according to whether the diagnostic mode is set in the CMOS setup when the system is on. give. In detail, when the determination unit 21 determines that the self-diagnosis result information exists in the storage unit 15, the control unit 10 skips the self-diagnosis process and performs an operating system booting process which is the next step. Control to perform. In addition, the controller 10 preferably controls the display unit 20 to display the self-diagnosis result information stored in the storage unit 15 and the presence or absence of devices.

According to such a configuration, the first diagnosis unit 12 is a general configuration that performs a self-diagnosis process at normal booting. In addition, the second diagnosis unit 14 performs a self-diagnosis process in a system shutdown state. Therefore, the controller 10 controls to directly boot the operating system without the self-diagnosis process by using the self-diagnosis result information performed by the second diagnosis unit 14 when the system is driven in the diagnosis mode setting state. In addition, when the self-diagnosis result information does not exist, the controller 10 controls the first diagnosis unit 12 to perform a normal booting operation by performing a self-diagnosis process.

Hereinafter, a boot control method of a computer system having the above configuration will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step method of performing a self-diagnosis process after system shutdown of the computer system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. A flow chart illustrating the method step by step is shown.

First, a method of performing a self-diagnosis process after system shutdown of a computer system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

In the tenth step S10 of FIG. 2, when the system shutdown command is input from the user during normal driving, the computer system enters the G2 mode in which the driving of the system is terminated, or enters the power saving mode of the ACPI by the power saving function. Enters the S5 mode of one G1 mode.

In a twelfth step S12, the control unit 10 checks whether the diagnosis mode is set on the CMOS setup by the mode setting unit 11. If the diagnostic mode is not set, the controller 10 controls to terminate the system normally.

When the diagnosis mode is set, that is, when the diagnosis mode is enabled, the controller 10 drives the system when the waiting time set in the CMOS setup has elapsed in step 14 after the system shutdown. To perform the procedure, the latency stored in the CMOS setup is set in the RTC module 16.

In a 16 th step S16, the RTC module 16 counts the time during the waiting time, and when the waiting time elapses, the RTC module 16 outputs a real time wake enable signal RTC_WAKE to notify the second diagnosis unit 14 or the controller ( 10). This may be set in the RAM 17a of the EC 17 as flag setting information, for example, '1' so that the EC 17 transmits a signal for driving the system when the waiting time elapses.

 When the signal is received in the eighteenth step (S18) and the twentieth step (S20), the control unit 10 transfers the control right to the second diagnosis unit 14 to 'WAKE-UP' the system to the diagnosis mode. .

Then, in the twenty-second step S22, the second diagnosis unit 14 performs a self-diagnosis process of the entire system and stores the result information in the storage unit 15. In addition, the second diagnosis unit 14 checks each device such as the hard disk 19, the battery 18, and the detection sensor for abnormality, and checks and stores the remaining life of the battery 18. In addition, the second diagnosis unit 14 performs a disk defragmentation of the hard disk 19 or a virus scan / treatment to perform an optimization function of the system.

In the twenty-fourth step S24, the controller 10 stores all the results of the self-diagnosis process in the storage unit 15 and controls to terminate the system.

As described above, the present invention performs the self-diagnosis process in the system shutdown state and stores the result information.

Next, a booting method of the computer system after performing the self-diagnosis process through the above-described process will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

When the system is powered on as a power button provided in the input unit is operated by the user or the power saving mode is released by the power saving function, the determination unit 21 firstly enters the storage unit 15 in step 30 (S30). The existence of the stored self-diagnosis result information is determined.

As a result of the determination, if the result information exists, in step 32 (S32), the controller 10 checks whether the abnormality information is included in the result information.

If the stored result information is normal, in step 34 (S34) and step 36 (S36), the controller 10 skips the self-diagnosis process and uploads the operating system stored in the hard disk 19 to the memory. Run the operating system boot and run the system normally.

On the other hand, if the abnormality occurrence information is included in the thirty-second step (S32), in step 33 (S33), the control unit 10 to display the fact that the abnormality of the device on the screen of the display unit 20, the system Control to exit.

In the thirtieth step (S30), if the result information does not exist, in the thirty-first step (S31), the first diagnosis unit 12 performs a self-diagnosis process to boot normally in the system in the normal boot order It is desirable to perform the operation. At this time, the controller 10 preferably controls to display the abnormality of the self-diagnosis result information stored in the storage unit 15 on the screen of the display unit 20.

Through the above-described process, the present invention performs a self-diagnosis process by WAKE-UP the system when the preset waiting time elapses after the system termination, and shortens the booting time by omitting the self-diagnosis process when the system is on.

Although described with reference to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention as described above, this is merely exemplary, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be apparent that other embodiments may be modified and equivalent. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Although the above embodiments have been described using a computer system, the present invention can be applied to various types of systems for performing a self-diagnosis process using a BIOS such as a notebook computer and a personal portable terminal as well as a computer system in a desktop form.

1 is a block diagram of a computer system for explaining a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a method of performing a self-diagnosis process after system termination of the computer system shown in FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a step-by-step method of booting a computer system that has undergone the self-diagnosis process shown in FIG.

`` Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawings ''

10: control unit 11: mode setting unit

12: first diagnosis part 13: bios ROM

14: second diagnosis unit 15: storage unit

16: RTC module 17: EC

18: battery 19: hard disk

20: display unit 21: determination unit

Claims (17)

Mode setting unit for setting the operation mode to perform the system self-diagnosis test process in the system power saving mode, A control unit controlling to perform the self-diagnostic test process according to the mode setting state; A self-diagnostic unit for performing the self-diagnostic test process according to the control operation of the controller, and And a storage unit configured to store the performed self-diagnosis result information. The method of claim 1, It further comprises a BIOS memory for storing information about the mode setting, The mode setting information may include at least one of a real time clock wake_enable signal and flag setting data stored in a RAM inside the embedded controller. Performance system. The method of claim 2, And a time counting unit for counting time to generate the wake enable signal when the system enters a power saving mode. The method of claim 1, wherein the self-diagnostic portion, A first diagnosis unit which performs the self-diagnosis test process at normal booting; And a second diagnosis unit configured to perform the self-diagnostic test process in the system power saving mode. The method of claim 4, wherein the second magnetic diagnostic portion, A system for performing self-diagnosis after system termination, characterized in that for performing at least one or more modes of an abnormality test mode, a self-diagnosis result information generation and storage mode, a disk defragmentation execution mode, and a virus test mode. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit, If the self-diagnosis mode is not set, the self-diagnosis performing system after the system characterized in that the control to end normally. Determination unit for determining the existence of the self-diagnosis result information when the system is on in the system power saving mode; And a control unit configured to control the system to be operated by immediately performing an operating system booting process without a self-diagnostic test process when the self-diagnostic result information exists as a result of the determination. The method of claim 7, wherein And a display unit for displaying whether or not abnormality of the self-diagnosis result information occurs during normal booting of the system. The method of claim 7, wherein the control unit, And performing self-diagnosis after system shutdown, if the self-diagnosis result information does not exist. The system of claim 1, wherein the system power saving mode state is as follows. And a G5 mode in which the driving of the system is terminated, or an S5 mode in which power supplied to the system is cut off by a power saving function. Checking whether the diagnostic mode is set to perform a self-diagnosis test process by driving the system at the end of system operation; When the diagnostic mode is set, performing the self-diagnosis test process based on preset setup information in a system power saving mode state; And And performing self-diagnosis after system shutdown, storing the self-diagnosis result information. The method of claim 11, wherein the self-testing process, And counting the time during the preset time information to enter the diagnostic mode, and performing the self-diagnosis test by the notification information transmitted to perform the self-diagnosis test process. The method of claim 11, wherein performing the self-test Method for performing self-diagnosis after the shutdown of the system, characterized in that for performing at least one or more modes of the abnormality check mode, the self-diagnosis result information generation and storage mode, the disk defragmentation execution mode and the virus scan mode. The method of claim 11, And performing a normal shutdown when the diagnostic mode is not set. Driving the system on in a system driving termination state; Determining whether there is information on the result of the self-test of the system; And And if the result of performing the self-diagnosis test is present as a result of the determination, skipping the self-diagnosis test process and performing booting of an operating system. The method of claim 15, And displaying the presence or absence of abnormality in the self-diagnosis result information. The method of claim 15, And performing normal booting when the self-diagnosis result information does not exist.

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