Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-15
2001-08-28
Sax, Steven (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C358S001140
Reexamination Certificate
active
06281894
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of computer system configuration and, more specifically, to a method of configuring a storage device accessible by a computer system so as to facilitate the maintenance and verification of the integrity and operation of the computer system, and to a business method of supporting a computer system so configured.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
While large corporations can justify the employment of an in-house Information Technology (IT) support department to provide technical support for computer, network and peripheral systems, small to medium size concerns typically cannot justify the expense of full time, in-house IT support. Accordingly, the IT support operations of such small and medium sized concerns may either be outsourced to a computer support company or consultant that provides technical support as and when needed. However, such support organizations, or consultants, may not be able to respond to an equipment failure in a timely manner and may have difficulty performing an appropriate diagnostic on the failed equipment. As such support companies and consultants typically charge on an hourly basis, the cost of having a technician or consultant perform an on-site visit, perform extensive diagnostics to locate the cause of the failure, and then repair the failure, may be financially burdensome to the small and medium size business concern. Where small and medium sized businesses do not feel justified in expending valuable financial resources on the services of a technical support company, or consultant, the burden of responding to computer equipment and network failures may fall on an employee who is knowledgeable in the technology area, but who may be employed primarily in another capacity. In this situation, the distraction of the relevant employee from his or her primary task is a relevant concern. The above-identified problems are particularly serious for a small business concern that may have only a handful of employees, or that may in fact be a solo operation.
Computer systems supplied to home users may also experience failures, which most often occur within the first three months of operation. As such computer systems are usually covered by a warranty during this period, the company that supplied the computer typically subcontracts to a local support company, that will perform a location visit, diagnose and identify the cause of the system failure, and perform repairs. Many computer system manufacturers and suppliers provide warranty support programs for computer systems supplied to both small and large business concerns. It will be appreciated that there are substantial costs to the computer system suppliers and manufacturers in the support of warranties that they provide.
With a view to reducing the costs of providing technical support for computer systems and installed software, a number of IT support companies are offering remote diagnostic services, whereby a diagnosis of a faulty or failed computer system is performed remotely. However, such a service may require (1) the installation of a diagnostic agent on the faulty computer system that performs a complex and time consuming diagnosis of the computer system, and (2) the taking of corrective action, which may again be time consuming. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,002, filed Jul. 18, 1995, and entitled “System and Method of Providing Automated Customer Support”. The performance of such a remote diagnostic operations however requires the skills of a trained technician who is able to interpret the results of the diagnostic operation and identify appropriate corrective actions. While the ability to perform diagnosis and repair operations remotely has provided some time and cost savings, the support company is nevertheless required to pay a trained technician for the period required to establish the remote connection, perform a diagnosis, interpret a diagnosis, identify a corrective action and then to take the relevant corrective action.
Following the purchase of a computer system, should a user wish to install further applications, these are usually not purchased from the supplier of the computer system, but from a software vendor. Software applications purchased subsequent to the initial purchase of the computer system must then be installed in the computer system, which may be a time consuming process or even beyond the technical abilities of a user of the computer system for computer users. Within large organizations, technical support is usually available to perform the installation, or at least to assist therein. However, for the home user, or in small and medium size organizations, such technical support may not be available, and the user may be required to install the application without support. Should problems be encountered with the installation, the user may have to consult an outside technical support operation for assistance that may be costly and time consuming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a method of configuring a storage device accessible by a computer system. A first partition is defined within the storage device that supports a first environment of the computer system. A second partition is defined within the storage device that supports a second environment of the computer system. The content of the first partition is protected from user modification when the first partition is active and the content of the second partition is available for user modification when the second partition is active.
The content of the first partition may be protected from user modification by restricting user access to the first environment supported by the first partition. In an exemplary embodiment, the first environment comprises a first operating system and a first application, and user access to the first environment is restricted utilizing settings within a system registry (or registry database) for the first environment and stored within the first partition. In a further embodiment, user access to the first environment may also be restricted utilizing settings within a system policy provided within the first environment.
Furthermore, in a further embodiment of the present invention, the content of the first partition may be protected from user modification by maintaining a persistent copy of supported content of the first partition, and conforming the content of the first partition to the persistent copy, for example, upon boot-up of the computer system, upon detection of a variance between the content of the first partition and the persistent copy, or upon the detection of any failure of, or fault within, the computer system.
The persistent copy may, in an exemplary embodiment, be stored within a third partition. According to an even further aspect of the present invention, a fourth partition may be defined within the storage device in which application output is stored from the first environment of the computer system. Additionally, scheduled backup operations may be performed with respect to the content of the fourth partitions. These backup operations may be performed to a remote storage facility via a record computer network.
The present invention also provides a storage device, accessible by a computer system, that comprises a first partition that supports a first operating environment of the computer system and a second partition that supports a second operating environment of the computer system. The content of the first partition is protected from user modification when the first partition is active and the content of the second partition is available for user modification when the second partition is active.
The present invention also provides a method for providing support for a computer system. The computer system is configured such that a storage device accessible thereby includes a first partition that supports a first operating environment of the computer system and a second partition that supports a second operating environment of the computer system, such that
Blakely Sokoloff Taylor and Zafman
Everdream, Inc.
Sax Steven
LandOfFree
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