KR20050005931A - Computer system and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A computer system having multiple switch state display parts and a controlling method thereof are provided to easily modify an available BIOS(Basic Input/Output System) setup menu without dissembling a computer case and manipulating a jumper on a board, and perform a preset task depending on an on/off state combination of a lock switch key during the POST(Power On Self Test). CONSTITUTION: A BIOS controller(18) previously stores the available BIOS setup menu according to the on/off state combination of each switch state display part(36). When system power is applied, the BIOS controller tests and controls each device forming a system. In case that a setup key is inputted during a test, the BIOS controller displays the corresponding BIOS setup menu by identifying the on/off state combination of the switch state display parts.

Description

COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME

The present invention relates to a computer system and a control method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a computer system and a control method thereof, which can easily change a displayable BIOS setup menu without having to disassemble a computer case and operate a jumper on a board. It is about.

Typically, a computer system is composed of a CPU, a memory, and a system device section for input and output. The memory includes a RAM, a BIOS ROM, a CMOS RAM, and the like, and a BIOS includes a Basic Input Output System (BIOS).

BIOS is embedded software that controls and tests system devices. When the computer is powered on, BIOS performs a process called Power On Self Test (POST) to verify that the system devices are operating properly. The CMOS RAM stores the system configuration data of the computer. During POST, BIOS can initialize and test each system device by comparing the system configuration data obtained from the POST with the system configuration data stored in the CMOS RAM. After the POST, perform a Windows boot to allow the user to use the computer at the Window level.

On the other hand, if the user presses a setup key such as the Del key during POST, the BIOS setup program will be displayed and the system configuration can be changed through the program window.

The BIOS setup program allows the user to set up a large portion of CMOS related to the chipset and hardware, and sets most of the complex parts of the BIOS settings to default values so that they are not displayed to the user. Includes setups to prevent modifications to make the system unstable.

Commonly available computers have the latter BIOS setup. However, in this case, an advanced user or a service supporter who wants to correct complicated parts such as CPU clock setting or cache RAM size setting has to dismantle the computer case and operate jumpers on the board.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a computer system and a method of controlling the same, which can easily change the displayable BIOS setup menu without having to disassemble the case of the computer and operate the jumpers on the board.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a computer system and a control method thereof capable of performing a predetermined task according to a combination of on / off states of a lock switch key during POST.

1 is a perspective view of a computer system according to the present invention;

2 is a perspective view of the keyboard of FIG. 1, FIG.

3 is a control block diagram of a computer system according to the present invention;

4 is a configuration diagram of a switching state display unit of FIG. 3;

5 is a control flow diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention,

6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating an example of a setup screen where the displayed menus are different from each other;

8 is a control flowchart according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: computer main body 12: central processing unit

14: keyboard controller 16: biosrom

18: BIOS control unit 30: keyboard

32: lock switch key 34: keyboard control unit

36: switching status display unit 50: monitor

According to the present invention, there is provided a computer system having a plurality of lock switching keys, a setup key for displaying a BIOS setup screen, and a plurality of switching state display sections for respectively displaying the switching states of the plurality of lock switching keys. According to the on / off state combination of each of the switching state display unit in advance to store the BIOS setup menu, respectively, and to test and control each device constituting the system when the system is powered on, the setup key from the user during the test And a bios control unit for determining a combination of on / off states of the switching state display unit and displaying the stored bios setup menu according to the determination result.

Here, the lock switching key preferably includes a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), an uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), a scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK).

Further, the above object is, in accordance with the present invention, a computer system having a plurality of lock transition keys and a plurality of transition state display sections for displaying the transition states of the plurality of lock transition keys, respectively, wherein each of the transition state display sections is turned on. Pre-store a series of job information to be performed according to the combination of the on / off state, test and control each device constituting the system when the system is powered on, and determine the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit during the test It is also achieved by a computer system comprising a BIOS control unit for performing a job based on the stored corresponding job information according to the determination result.

Here, the BIOS control unit prestores the disk booting order information according to the combination of the on / off state of each of the switching state display unit, and the stored corresponding disk according to the on / off state combination determination result of the switching state display unit in the test When booting is performed based on the boot order information, the disk boot order may be changed according to the on / off combination of the switching state display unit.

The lock switching key preferably includes a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), an uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), a scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK).

According to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of lock switching keys, a setup key for displaying a BIOS setup screen, and a plurality of switching state display units for respectively displaying the switching states of the plurality of lock switching keys are provided. A control method of a computer system having a computer, the method comprising: storing in advance a BIOS setup menu which can be displayed in accordance with an on / off state combination of each switching state display unit; Determining an on / off state combination of the switching state display unit when a setup key is input from a user during a test of each device configuring the system when the system is powered on; And displaying the stored BIOS setup menu according to the determination result.

Here, the lock switching key preferably includes a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), an uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), a scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK).

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a control method of a computer system having a plurality of lock transition keys and a plurality of transition state display portions for displaying the transition states of the plurality of lock transition keys, respectively. Storing in advance a series of job information respectively performed according to the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit; Determining an on / off state combination of the switching state display unit during a test of each device constituting the system when the system is powered on; It is also achieved by a control method of a computer system comprising the step of performing a job based on the stored corresponding job information according to the determination result.

Storing the disk booting order information according to the combination of on / off states of each switching state display unit; Determining an on / off state combination of the switching state display unit during the testing of each device; According to the determination result, when the booting is further performed based on the stored disk booting order information, the disk booting order may be changed according to the on / off combination of the switching state display unit.

The lock switching key preferably includes a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), an uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), a scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK).

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a computer system according to the present invention. As shown in this figure, a computer main body 10 including a plurality of hardware including a main board, a monitor 50 for outputting an image signal from the computer main body 10, and a keyboard 30 as an input device. It includes.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the keyboard 30 includes a number lock key 32a, a caps lock 32b, and a scroll lock 32c. Key matrices such as a plurality of lock switching keys 32 and the like, and a plurality of switching state display units 36 for displaying the switching states of the lock switching keys 32 are provided. The switching state display unit 36 is generally composed of a plurality of LEDs.

3 is a control block diagram of a computer system according to the present invention. As shown in this figure, the computer system includes a key matrix composed of a plurality of keys including a plurality of lock switching keys 32, a keyboard control unit 34 for controlling the keyboard 30 as a whole, and lock switching for each. A keyboard 30 having a switching state display section 36 for displaying the switching state of the key 32; Computer main body 10 having a keyboard controller 14 for interfacing with the keyboard 30, a biosrom 16 for storing the bios control unit 18, and a central processing unit 12 for collectively controlling the system. It includes.

The keyboard 30 is connected to the computer main body 10 through a keyboard connection port (not shown) of the computer main body 10, and data transmission and reception with the computer main body 10 is possible.

The keyboard controller 34 is configured as a microcontroller. The keyboard controller 34 searches for a key input from a key matrix, and generates a keyboard scan code of the corresponding key when the key input is found as a result of the search, and transmits it to the computer main body 10.

The keyboard controller 14 of the computer main body 10 receives the keyboard scan code from the keyboard 30, converts it into an ASCII code recognizable by the central processing unit 12, and transmits a command to the central processing unit 12. Thus, the central processing unit 12 performs various operations based on the ASCII code of the keyboard controller 14.

And, as shown in Figure 4, the switching state display unit 36, each LED (LED1 ~ LED3) and three to display the state (lock state, unlock state) of the three lock switching key 32 Current limiting resistors R1 to R3. These three LEDs are turned on under the control of the keyboard controller 34.

If it is determined that the keyboard control unit 34 has an input of the lock switch key 32, the central processing unit 12 performs the lock switch function through the above-described keyboard 30 input signal processing. Then, the lock switching state signal is transmitted to the keyboard 30 through the keyboard controller 14.

If it is determined that the lock transition state signal is received from the CPU 12, the keyboard controller 34 outputs a low level to the port to which the transition state display unit 36 is connected. Therefore, the power supply voltage Vcc in the high level state flows to the port in the low level state, whereby the LED is turned on.

The BIOS ROM 16 is a nonvolatile memory provided on one side of the motherboard, and stores a BIOS control unit 18 (hereinafter referred to as a "bios") including a BIOS setup program and a POST routine.

When power is supplied to the system, a signal is generated from a chip that manages a system reset, and the entire circuit including the central processing unit 12 is reset. The reset central processing unit 12 immediately executes the BIOS stored in the biosrom 16 to perform a power on self test (POST) process, and loads the OS to perform a Windows booting. Thus, the user's work is possible on the operating system.

On the other hand, during the POST, the monitor 50 generally displays the message "Press DEL to Enter SETUP". When this message appears, if the user presses the DEL key, the BIOS setup program will be displayed and the system configuration can be changed through the program window. Of course, depending on the BIOS, in addition to the DEL key, F1, F2, Ctrl-Alt-Esc, etc. may be used as a setup key.

Here, the BIOS according to the present invention is a series of operations performed in accordance with the combination of the BIOS setup menu and the on / off state of the switching state display unit 36, which can be displayed according to the on / off state combination of the plurality of switching state display unit 36, respectively. The information is stored in advance.

When the message "Press DEL to Enter SETUP" appears on the monitor 50 screen during POST, when the user presses the DEL key, the BIOS reads the data of the keyboard control unit 34 port to which the switching status display unit 36 is connected. The on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36 is determined. Then, the BIOS setup program for displaying the corresponding BIOS setup menu is executed according to the determination result.

In addition, the BIOS determines a combination of the on / off state of the switching state display unit 36 during the POST, and performs a task based on the corresponding task information according to the determination result.

Here, the series of job information according to the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36 includes boot order information. Thus, booting is performed based on the boot order information according to the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36 determined by the BIOS.

TABLE 1

NUM LOCK CAPS LOCK SCROLL LOCK Boot Sequence Information ON ON ON 'A', 'C' ON ON OFF 'C', 'A'

Table 1 shows an example of the boot order information according to the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36. As shown in Table 1, if the BIOS determines that the switch state display unit 36 of the NUM LOCK, CAPS LOCK, and SCROLL LOCK keys are all on, the BIOS determines whether there is a boot diskette in the drive A, Boot to disk C drive.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the switch state display unit 36 of the NUM LOCK and CAPS LOCK keys is on and the switch state display unit 36 of the SCROLL LOCK key is off, the BIOS first boots to the hard disk C drive. If the boot fails, check if there is a boot diskette in drive A and boot.

The control flow of the present computer system having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 8 as follows.

As shown in FIG. 5, when power is first applied to the system, the entire circuit including the central processing unit 12 is reset. The reset central processing unit 12 executes the BIOS stored in the biosrom 16 to perform a POST process (S10). The BIOS determines that a setup key is input during the POST (S12). If it is determined that the setup key is input, the BIOS setup program is called (S14). At the time of entering the setup, the BIOS determines the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36 (S18), and executes the BIOS setup program for displaying the BIOS setup menu corresponding to the determination result (S22). Check whether there is a change in the setup by the user (S24), if there is a change, save the change (S26), and exit the setup routine (S28). Otherwise it exits the setup routine as it is (S28). Then, it is determined again whether there is a setup key input (S12), and if there is no setup key input, the normal POST process is continued (S16), and the OS boot is performed (S20).

TABLE 2

NUM LOCK CAPS LOCK SCROLL LOCK Displayable BIOS setup menu ON ON ON Specific Purpose Setup Screen ON ON OFF Setup screen for general user

Table 2 shows an example of the BIOS setup menu that can be displayed according to the on / off combination state of the switching state display unit 36. As shown in Table 2, when it is determined that the switch state display unit 36 of the NUM LOCK, CAPS LOCK, SCROLL LOCK keys are all on, the BIOS informs the configuration state of the system as shown in FIG. , Displays the specific purpose setup screen.

On the other hand, if the BIOS determines that the switch state display unit 36 of the NUM LOCK and CAPS LOCK keys is on and the switch state display unit 36 of the SCROLL LOCK key is off, the general system of FIG. Displays a brief setup screen for the general user that informs you of the configuration.

Of course, the BIOS setup menu displayed according to the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36 is not limited to the setup screens shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring to Figure 8 describes a control flow according to another embodiment of the present computer system. When power is applied to the system, the entire circuit, including the central processing unit 12, is reset. The reset central processing unit 12 executes the BIOS stored in the biosrom 16 to perform a POST process (S30). The BIOS determines the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36 during the POST (S32). According to the determination result, POST and OS booting are performed based on previously stored corresponding job information, for example, a booting sequence (S34).

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiment, the series of job information has been described using only boot order information as an example, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, according to the on / off state combination of the switching state display unit 36, eight kinds of control are possible.

As described above, the present invention allows the BIOS to display the BIOS setup menu differently according to the combination of the on / off states of the switching state display units in the BIOS, thereby easily and selectively displaying the setup menu desired by the user.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a computer system capable of easily changing the displayable BIOS setup menu without disassembling the case of the computer and manipulating jumpers on the board.

In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided a computer system and a control method thereof that can perform a predetermined task according to the combination of the on / off state of the lock switch key during the POST.

Claims (10)

A computer system having a plurality of lock switch keys, a setup key for displaying a BIOS setup screen, and a plurality of switch state display sections for displaying the switch states of the plurality of lock switch keys, respectively, According to the on / off state combination of each switching state display unit, the BIOS setup menu that can be displayed is stored in advance, and when the system is powered on, each device constituting the system is tested and controlled, and a setup key is input from the user during the test. And a bios control unit for determining a combination of on / off states of the switching state display unit and displaying the stored bios setup menu according to the determination result. The method of claim 1, The lock switching key comprises a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK). A computer system having a plurality of lock switch keys and a plurality of switch state display sections for displaying the switch states of the plurality of lock switch keys, respectively, Store in advance a series of job information respectively performed according to the on / off state combination of each switching state display unit, and test and control each device constituting the system when the system power is applied, and during the test And a BIOS control unit for determining a combination of on / off states and performing a job based on the stored corresponding job information according to the determination result. The method of claim 3, The BIOS controller prestores the disk booting order information according to the on / off state combinations of the switching state display units, and stores the corresponding disk booting order according to the on / off state combination determination result of the switching state display unit at the time of the test. A computer system for performing a boot based on information. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The lock switching key comprises a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK). A control method of a computer system having a plurality of lock switching keys, a setup key for displaying a BIOS setup screen, and a plurality of switching state display sections for respectively displaying the switching states of the plurality of lock switching keys, Storing a BIOS setup menu displayable in advance according to an on / off state combination of the switching state display units; Determining an on / off state combination of the switching state display unit when a setup key is input from a user during a test of each device configuring the system when the system is powered on; And displaying the stored BIOS setup menu according to the determination result. The method of claim 6, The lock switching key is a control method of a computer system comprising a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK). A control method of a computer system having a plurality of lock transition keys and a plurality of transition state display sections each displaying a transition state of the plurality of lock transition keys, Pre-storing a series of job information respectively performed according to on / off state combinations of the switching state display units; Determining an on / off state combination of the switching state display unit during a test of each device constituting the system when the system is powered on; And performing a job based on the stored corresponding job information according to the determination result. The method of claim 8, Pre-storing the disk boot order information according to the combination of on / off states of the switching state display units; Determining an on / off state combination of the switching state display unit during the testing of each device; And booting based on the stored disk boot order information according to the determination result. The method according to claim 8 or 9, The lock switching key is a control method of a computer system comprising a numeric lock key (NUM LOCK), uppercase lock key (CAPS LOCK), scroll lock key (SCROLL LOCK).