Information processing device and control method

Abstract

To reduce a period in which nothing is displayed in a display section before the startup of an OS when starting a device.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: a system memory in which a program and data are stored; and a control unit configured to execute processing based on a BIOS and an OS. The control unit is configured to execute: first memory initialization processing of, before the startup of the OS, executing initialization on an area with a partial capacity necessary for the startup of the OS in the system memory by processing of the BIOS; OS startup processing of starting the OS by processing of the BIOS after the execution of the first memory initialization processing, the OS startup processing including display processing on a display section; and second memory initialization processing of, after the execution of the OS startup processing, executing initialization on a remaining area of the system memory other than the area with the partial capacity by processing of the BIOS.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a control method.

Background Art

[0002] In an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer (PC), when the apparatus is started, after the initialization and test of the mounted devices are executed by the BIOS (Basic Input Output System), the OS (Operating System) is generally started (for example, see Patent Document 1). In such an information processing apparatus, when the apparatus is started, before starting the OS, for example, a memory initialization process for initializing a system memory such as a DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) is executed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in recent years, the capacity of the mounted memory has been increasing, and in a conventional information processing apparatus, the period during which the memory initialization process is executed has become long. For example, when the apparatus is started, there has been a problem that the period during which the display is not shown on the display unit before the OS is started (the period of a black screen) becomes long.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus and a control method capable of reducing the period during which the display is not shown on the display unit before the OS is started when the apparatus is started.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a system memory for storing programs and data, and a control unit for executing processes based on a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and an OS (Operating System), the control unit which performs a first memory initialization process, before starting the OS, by a BIOS process, to initialize a portion of the system memory necessary for starting the OS; an OS startup process, after executing the first memory initialization process, by a BIOS process, to start the OS, including a display process on a display unit; and a second memory initialization process, after executing the OS startup process and after the OS startup is completed, by a BIOS process, to initialize the remaining portion of the system memory other than the portion mentioned above, wherein in the first memory initialization process, the control unit allows access to the portion of the memory and prohibits access to the remaining portion, and then performs initialization of the portion of the memory; and in the second memory initialization process, after allowing access to the remaining portion, it performs initialization of the remaining portion. Then, after initializing the remaining area, the permission state for the partial capacity area and the remaining area is maintained. It is an information processing device.

[0007] Furthermore, in one aspect of the present invention, in the above-described information processing apparatus, the control unit may execute the first memory initialization process and the second memory initialization process when the power is first turned on, when the BIOS settings are changed, or when the capacity or module of the system memory is changed, and during normal startup, the first memory initialization process and the second memory initialization process may be omitted, and the OS startup process may be executed as a normal OS startup process.

[0008] Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention includes a system memory for storing programs and data, and a control unit for executing processes based on a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and an OS (Operating System), the control unit which performs a first memory initialization process, before starting the OS, by a BIOS process, to initialize a portion of the system memory necessary for starting the OS; an OS startup process, including a display process on a display unit, for starting the OS, after executing the first memory initialization process, by a BIOS process; and a second memory initialization process, after executing the OS startup process, by a BIOS process, to initialize the remaining portion of the system memory other than the portion mentioned above, wherein in the first memory initialization process, the control unit enables access to the portion mentioned above and prohibits access to the remaining portion, and then performs initialization of the portion mentioned above; and in the second memory initialization process, it enables access to the remaining portion, and then performs initialization of the remaining portion. Then, after initializing the remaining area, maintain the permission state for the partial capacity area and the remaining area. It is an information processing device.

[0009] Furthermore, in one aspect of the present invention, in the above-described information processing apparatus, the control unit may, in the second memory initialization process, perform initialization on the remaining area by runtime processing in parallel with the normal processing of the OS startup process, and the OS may detect the remaining area as live-inserted.

[0010] Furthermore, one aspect of the present invention is a control method for an information processing apparatus comprising a system memory for storing programs and data, and a control unit for executing processing based on a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and an OS (Operating System), the method comprising: a first memory initialization step in which the control unit initializes a portion of the system memory necessary for starting the OS by processing the BIOS before starting the OS; an OS startup step in which the control unit starts the OS, including display processing to a display unit, by processing the BIOS after executing the first memory initialization step; and a second memory initialization step in which the control unit initializes the remaining portion of the system memory, excluding the portion of the system memory, by processing the BIOS after executing the OS startup step and the OS startup is completed, wherein in the first memory initialization step, the control unit enables access to the portion of the system memory and prohibits access to the remaining portion, and then initializes the portion of the system memory; and in the second memory initialization step, the control unit enables access to the remaining portion, and then initializes the remaining portion. Then, after initializing the remaining area, maintain the permission state for the area of ​​partial capacity and the remaining area. This is a control method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the above embodiment of the present invention, when starting up the device, the period during which the display unit is not displayed before the OS starts up can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the main hardware configuration of a notebook PC according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a notebook PC according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates an example of the main memory initialization process in this embodiment. [Figure 4]This flowchart shows an example of how a notebook PC operates according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Hereinafter, an information processing device and a control method according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] Figure 1 shows an example of the main hardware configuration of the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the notebook PC 1 is described as an example of an information processing device.

[0015] As shown in Figure 1, the notebook PC 1 comprises a CPU 11, main memory 12, video subsystem 13, display unit 14, chipset 21, BIOS memory 22, SSD 23, audio system 24, WLAN card 25, USB connector 26, embedded controller 31, input unit 32, and power supply circuit 33.

[0016] In this embodiment, the CPU 11 and the chipset 21 correspond to the main control unit 10. The main control unit 10 is an example of a processor (main processor) that executes programs stored in memory (main memory 12).

[0017] The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 performs various calculations under program control and controls the entire notebook PC 1. The main memory 12 is a writable memory that is used as a loading area for the execution program of the CPU 11 or as a working area for writing the processing data of the execution program. The main memory 12 is composed of, for example, a plurality of DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) chips. This execution program includes BIOS (Basic Input Output System), OS, various drivers for operating peripheral devices hardware, various services / utilities, application programs, and the like.

[0018] Also, the main memory 12 is an example of a system memory that stores programs and data, and is mounted on the notebook PC 1 by a DIMM on which a plurality of DRAMs are mounted.

[0019] The video subsystem 13 is a subsystem for realizing functions related to image display, and includes a video controller. This video controller processes the drawing command from the CPU 11, writes the processed drawing information to the video memory, reads the drawing information from the video memory, and outputs it as drawing data (display data) to the display unit 14.

[0020] The display unit 14 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays a display screen based on the drawing data (display data) output from the video subsystem 13.

[0021] The chipset 21 includes controllers such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), Serial ATA (AT Attachment), SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) bus, PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus, PCI-Express bus, and LPC (Low Pin Count) bus, and a plurality of devices are connected. In FIG. 1, as an example of devices, a BIOS memory 22, an SSD 23, an audio system 24, a WLAN card 25, and a USB connector 26 are connected to the chipset 21.

[0022] The BIOS memory 22 is composed of an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash ROM, etc. The BIOS memory 22 stores the BIOS and system firmware for controlling the embedded controller 31, etc.

[0023] The SSD (Solid State Drive) 23 (an example of a non-volatile memory device) stores the OS, various drivers, various services / utilities, application programs, and various data. The audio system 24 records, plays back, and outputs audio data.

[0024] The WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) card 25 connects to a network via a wireless (radio) LAN and performs data communication. The USB connector 26 is a connector for connecting peripheral devices using USB.

[0025] The embedded controller 31 (an example of a sub-control unit) is a one-chip microcomputer (One-Chip Microcomputer) that monitors and controls various devices (peripheral devices, sensors, etc.) regardless of the system state of the notebook PC 1. Also, the embedded controller 31 has a power management function for controlling the power circuit 33. Note that the embedded controller 31 is composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., not shown, and has a plurality of channels of A / D input terminals, D / A output terminals, timers, and digital input / output terminals. To the embedded controller 31, for example, the input unit 32 and the power circuit 33, etc. are connected via those input / output terminals, and the embedded controller 31 controls the operations of these.

[0026] The input unit 32 is, for example, an input device such as a keyboard, a pointing device, or a touchpad. The power supply circuit 33 includes, for example, a DC / DC converter, a charge / discharge unit, a battery unit, and an AC / DC adapter, and converts the DC voltage supplied from the AC / DC adapter or battery unit into multiple voltages necessary to operate the notebook PC 1. The power supply circuit 33 also supplies power to various parts of the notebook PC 1 based on control from the embedded controller 31.

[0027] Next, with reference to Figure 2, the functional configuration of the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment. Note that Figure 2 only shows the functional configuration of the notebook PC 1 that is relevant to the present invention.

[0028] As shown in Figure 2, the notebook PC 1 comprises a main control unit 10, a main memory 12, and a storage unit 40.

[0029] The storage unit 40 is a storage unit implemented by, for example, a BIOS memory 22 or an SSD 23, and stores various information used for various processes of the main control unit 10. The storage unit 40 includes an initialization information storage unit 41 and a BIOS information storage unit 42.

[0030] The initialization information storage unit 41 is a storage unit implemented by, for example, the BIOS memory 22, and stores the setting information obtained through the initialization process of the main memory 12.

[0031] The BIOS information storage unit 42 is a storage unit implemented by, for example, the BIOS memory 22, and stores various BIOS setting information.

[0032] The main memory 12 comprises an OS boot area 121 and a remaining area 122. The OS boot area 121 is implemented by RAM such as DIMM, and is a portion of the main memory 12 that is necessary for booting the OS. It is the minimum capacity required to boot the OS (for example, 4GB (gigabytes) in the case of Windows®).

[0033] The remaining area 122 is implemented by RAM such as a DIMM, and is the area of ​​the main memory 12 excluding the OS boot area 121, which is the area of ​​the main memory 12 excluding the OS boot area 121.

[0034] The main control unit 10 (an example of a control unit) is a functional unit that is implemented by having the CPU 11 and chipset 21 read programs stored in the BIOS memory 22 and SSD 23 into the main memory 12 and execute them, and it performs various processes based on the BIOS and OS. The main control unit 10 comprises a BIOS processing unit 110 and an OS processing unit 120.

[0035] The BIOS processing unit 110 performs various processes based on the BIOS (BIOS processing). The BIOS processing unit 110 comprises a first initialization processing unit 111, a startup processing unit 112, and a second initialization processing unit 113.

[0036] The first initialization processing unit 111 executes a first memory initialization process via BIOS processing before starting the OS. Here, the memory initialization process is the process of initializing a portion of the main memory 12 that is necessary for starting the OS (OS boot area 121). The first initialization processing unit 111 executes the first memory initialization process when the notebook PC 1 is first powered on, when the BIOS settings (setting information stored in the BIOS information storage unit 42) are changed, or when the capacity or module (e.g., DIMM, etc.) of the main memory 12 is changed.

[0037] The first initialization processing unit 111, in the first memory initialization process, allows access to the OS boot area 121 and prohibits access to the remaining area 122, and then performs initialization. Furthermore, the first initialization processing unit 111 stores various setting information related to memory initialization, which is the result of the memory initialization process (first memory initialization process) for the OS boot area 121, in the initialization information storage unit 41.

[0038] The startup processing unit 112 performs various processes to start Notebook PC 1 (OS) in the BIOS processing. After performing the first memory initialization process, the startup processing unit 112 performs the OS startup process in the BIOS processing. Here, the OS startup process is the process of starting the OS, including, for example, the display process on the display unit 14.

[0039] When the first memory initialization process described above is executed, the boot processing unit 112 starts the OS using only the OS boot area 121. Furthermore, the startup processing unit 112 executes the normal OS startup process if the memory initialization process for the main memory 12 has already been executed (i.e., the first memory initialization process is not executed). In the normal OS startup process, the startup processing unit 112 executes the OS startup process with the entire area of ​​the main memory 12 available for use. In this case, the startup processing unit 112 omits the memory initialization process based on the initialization information stored in the initialization information storage unit 41.

[0040] The second initialization processing unit 113 executes a second memory initialization process via BIOS processing after executing the OS boot process. Here, the second memory initialization process is the process of initializing the remaining area (remaining area 122) of the main memory 12 other than the OS boot area 121. The second initialization processing unit 113 executes the second memory initialization process when the notebook PC 1 is first powered on, when the BIOS settings (setting information stored in the BIOS information storage unit 42) are changed, or when the capacity or module (e.g., DIMM, etc.) of the main memory 12 is changed.

[0041] The second initialization processing unit 113, in the second memory initialization process, enables access to the remaining memory area 122 and then performs the initialization. The second initialization processing unit 113, for example, in the second memory initialization process, performs initialization on the remaining area 122 by runtime processing in parallel with the normal processing of the OS startup process, and the OS detects the remaining area 122 as a hot-swapped memory (for example, a hot-swapped DIMM).

[0042] Furthermore, the second initialization processing unit 113 stores various setting information related to memory initialization, which is the result of the memory initialization process (second memory initialization process) for the remaining area 122, in the initialization information storage unit 41. Furthermore, the second memory initialization process performed by the second initialization processing unit 113 is not performed by the BIOS processing unit 110 if the first memory initialization process performed by the first initialization processing unit 111 is not performed.

[0043] The OS processing unit 120 is a functional unit that takes over processing after the OS startup process is performed by the BIOS processing unit 110. The OS processing unit 120 executes various processes based on the OS.

[0044] Next, the operation of the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 3 illustrates an example of the initialization process of the main memory 12 in this embodiment.

[0045] In Figure 3(a), the first initialization processing unit 111 performs initialization of the OS boot area 121, which is the minimum capacity area required to start the OS (first memory initialization process). In this state, the remaining memory area 122 (DRAM) is unusable.

[0046] Next, once the first memory initialization process is complete, the system transitions to the state shown in Figure 3(b), and the OS boot area 121 becomes available in the main memory 12. The boot processing unit 112 then uses the OS boot area 121 to start the OS.

[0047] Next, in Figure 3(c), the second initialization processing unit 113 performs initialization of the remaining memory area 122, which is the remaining capacity area other than the OS boot area 121 (second memory initialization process).

[0048] Next, once the second memory initialization process is complete, the system transitions to the state shown in Figure 3(d), and the remaining area 122 of the main memory 12 becomes available for use. The OS processing unit 120 detects the remaining area 122 as a hot-insertion through OS processing, making the entire area of ​​the main memory 12 available for use.

[0049] Next, with reference to Figure 4, we will explain the details of the OS startup process on Notebook PC 1. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 4 illustrates the details of the OS boot process handled by the BIOS.

[0050] As shown in Figure 4, when the notebook PC 1 is powered on or restarted, the main control unit 10 determines whether or not memory initialization is required (step S101). The BIOS processing unit 110 of the main control unit 10 determines whether or not memory initialization processing of the main memory 12 is required, for example, in one of the following three cases.

[0051] (1) This refers to the case when the user powers on Notebook PC1 for the first time after it has been shipped. In this case, for example, it is the first time that Notebook PC1 has been powered on and the memory initialization process has not been executed even once.

[0052] (2) When the BIOS settings of Notebook PC1 are changed. In this case, for example, it would be the first boot-up after the BIOS of notebook PC1 has been updated or its settings have been changed.

[0053] (3) When the capacity or module of the main memory 12 of notebook PC 1 is changed. In this case, for example, it is when an addition, deletion, or modification of a DIMM that makes up the main memory 12 is performed, and the first boot after the configuration of the main memory 12 has been changed is performed.

[0054] The BIOS processing unit 110 proceeds to step S102 if memory initialization of the main memory 12 is required (step S101: YES). If memory initialization of the main memory 12 is not required (step S101: NO), the BIOS processing unit 110 proceeds to step S108.

[0055] In step S102, the BIOS processing unit 110 disables the memory channels of the remaining area 122 other than the OS boot area 121. That is, the first initialization processing unit 111 of the BIOS processing unit 110 allows access to the OS boot area 121 (makes it usable) while disabling access to the remaining area 122 (makes it unusable).

[0056] Next, the first initialization processing unit 111 initializes the memory of the OS boot area 121 (step S103). The first initialization processing unit 111 performs a first memory initialization process on the OS boot area 121 (see Figure 3(a)). As a result, the OS boot area 121 becomes usable, for example, as shown in Figure 3(b). The first initialization processing unit 111 also stores various setting information related to memory initialization, which is the result of the memory initialization process (first memory initialization process) on the OS boot area 121, in the initialization information storage unit 41.

[0057] Next, the boot processing unit 112 of the BIOS processing unit 110 starts the OS with the limited capacity of the OS boot area 121 (step S104).

[0058] Next, the second initialization processing unit 113 of the BIOS processing unit 110 enables the memory channels of the entire memory area (step S105). That is, the second initialization processing unit 113 changes the state to allow access to the remaining area 122 (to a usable state).

[0059] Next, the second initialization processing unit 113 initializes the remaining memory area 122 during runtime processing (step S106). The second initialization processing unit 113 executes a second memory initialization process on the remaining memory area 122 (see Figure 3(c)). Here, runtime processing is a process that is executed in parallel with the normal OS startup process. The second initialization processing unit 113 stores various setting information related to memory initialization, which is the result of the memory initialization process (second memory initialization process) on the remaining memory area 122, in the initialization information storage unit 41.

[0060] Next, the OS processing unit 120 of the main control unit 10 detects that the OS has performed a hot insertion on the remaining memory area 122, making the entire capacity available (step S107). As a result, the entire area of ​​the main memory 12 becomes available, for example, as shown in Figure 3(d). After the processing in step S107, the OS processing unit 120 proceeds to the normal processing after the OS has started.

[0061] Furthermore, in step S108, the startup processing unit 112 executes the normal OS startup process. Here, the startup processing unit 112 uses the initialization information stored in the initialization information storage unit 41 to omit the memory initialization process of the main memory 12 and executes the OS startup process using the entire area of ​​the main memory 12. After the processing in step S108, the OS processing unit 120 proceeds to the normal processing after the OS has started.

[0062] In the flow shown in Figure 4, the period from step S101 to step S103 is the period when the display unit 14 displays a black screen (the period when nothing is displayed on the display unit 14). Furthermore, in the processing from step S104 onward, the OS is started, and a display image based on the OS is displayed on the display unit 14.

[0063] As described above, the notebook PC 1 (information processing device) according to this embodiment comprises a main memory 12 (system memory) and a main control unit 10 (control unit). The main memory 12 stores programs and data. The main control unit 10 is a control unit that executes processing based on the BIOS and OS, and executes a first memory initialization process, an OS startup process, and a second memory initialization process. As the first memory initialization process, before starting the OS, the main control unit 10 performs initialization on a portion of the main memory 12 (OS startup area 121) that is necessary for starting the OS, through BIOS processing. As the OS startup process, after performing the first memory initialization process, the main control unit 10 starts the OS, including display processing to the display unit 14, through BIOS processing. As the second memory initialization process, after performing the OS startup process, the main control unit 10 performs initialization on the remaining area (remaining area 122) of the main memory 12 other than the portion of the main memory 12 (OS startup area 121), through BIOS processing.

[0064] As a result, the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment performs a memory initialization process (first memory initialization process) on a portion of the memory area (OS boot area 121) necessary for OS startup before the OS starts up. Therefore, when starting the device (notebook PC 1), the black screen period (period during which nothing is displayed on the display unit 14) before the OS starts up can be reduced.

[0065] Furthermore, the main control unit 10 performs a second memory initialization process, which, after executing the OS startup process, initializes the remaining memory area 122 through BIOS processing. This allows the main memory 12 to be made available for use quickly after the OS starts up.

[0066] In this embodiment, the main control unit 10 executes the first memory initialization process and the second memory initialization process when the system is powered on for the first time, when the BIOS settings are changed, or when the capacity or module of the main memory 12 is changed. In addition, during normal startup, the main control unit 10 omits the first memory initialization process and the second memory initialization process and executes the OS startup process as a normal OS startup process.

[0067] As a result, the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment can shorten the normal OS startup time by omitting the first and second memory initialization processes when memory initialization is not required.

[0068] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the main control unit 10, in the first memory initialization process, allows access to a portion of the memory area (OS boot area 121) while prohibiting access to the remaining area (remaining area 122), and then performs initialization. In the second memory initialization process, the main control unit 10 allows access to the remaining area (remaining area 122) and then performs initialization.

[0069] As a result, the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment can reduce the black screen period (the period during which nothing is displayed on the display unit 14) before the OS starts up using a simple method, and can also reliably increase the amount of memory available after the OS starts up using a simple method.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the main control unit 10 performs initialization on the remaining area (remaining area 122) in the second memory initialization process by runtime processing in parallel with the normal processing of the OS startup process, and the OS detects the remaining area (remaining area 122) as live-inserted.

[0071] As a result, the notebook PC 1 according to this embodiment performs a second memory initialization process through runtime processing, allowing it to efficiently perform memory initialization processing for the remaining area (remaining area 122) while simultaneously executing OS processing.

[0072] Furthermore, the control method according to this embodiment is a control method for a notebook PC 1 comprising a main memory 12 for storing programs and data, and a main control unit 10 for executing processing based on the BIOS and OS, and includes a first memory initialization process step, an OS startup process step, and a second memory initialization process step. As the first memory initialization process step, the main control unit 10 performs initialization on a portion of the main memory 12 (OS startup area 121) necessary for starting the OS, through BIOS processing, before starting the OS. As the OS startup process step, after performing the first memory initialization process step, the main control unit 10 starts the OS, including display processing on the display unit, through BIOS processing. As the second memory initialization process step, after performing the OS startup process step, the main control unit 10 performs initialization on the remaining area (remaining area 122) of the main memory 12 other than the portion of the main memory 12 (OS startup area 121), through BIOS processing.

[0073] As a result, the control method according to this embodiment has the same effect as the notebook PC 1 described above, and when starting the device (notebook PC 1), it is possible to reduce the black screen period (the period during which nothing is displayed on the display unit 14) before the OS starts up.

[0074] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the information processing device is a notebook PC 1, but it is not limited to this, and other information processing devices such as a tablet terminal or a desktop PC may also be used.

[0075] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes an example where the OS of the notebook PC 1 is Windows®, it is not limited to this, and may be applied to other OSs such as Android®, iOS®, etc.

[0076] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the main control unit 10 executes the second memory initialization process as runtime processing (parallel processing with normal OS processing), but it is not limited to this, and the second memory initialization process may be executed as dedicated processing. In this case, the notebook PC 1 can shorten the processing time of the second memory initialization process.

[0077] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the main control unit 10 executes the first memory initialization process and the second memory initialization process when it is started and requires memory initialization, and omits the first and second memory initialization processes when it is not required. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. The main control unit 10 may, for example, always execute the first and second memory initialization processes when starting the OS.

[0078] Furthermore, each component of the Notebook PC 1 described above has a computer system inside. The processing in each component of the Notebook PC 1 may be performed by recording a program for realizing the functions of each component on a computer-readable storage medium, loading the program recorded on this storage medium into the computer system, and executing it. Here, "loading the program recorded on the storage medium into the computer system and executing it" includes installing the program into the computer system. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as the operating system and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer system" may include multiple computer devices connected via a network, including communication lines such as the Internet, WAN, LAN, and dedicated lines. "Computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Thus, the recording medium storing the program may be a non-transient recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0079] Furthermore, the recording medium includes internal or external recording media accessible from the distribution server for distributing the program. The program may be divided into multiple parts, downloaded at different times, and then combined in each configuration of Notebook PC1, and each divided program may be distributed by a different distribution server. Additionally, "computer-readable recording medium" includes volatile memory (RAM) within computer systems that act as servers or clients when a program is transmitted over a network, which retains the program for a certain period of time. Moreover, the program may be intended to implement only a portion of the functions described above. Furthermore, the program may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0080] Furthermore, some or all of the above-mentioned functions may be implemented as integrated circuits such as LSIs (Large Scale Integrations). Each of the above-mentioned functions may be implemented as an individual processor, or some or all of them may be integrated into a single processor. In addition, the method of implementing integrated circuits is not limited to LSIs; they may also be implemented using dedicated circuits or general-purpose processors. Furthermore, if advances in semiconductor technology lead to the emergence of integrated circuit technologies that can replace LSIs, integrated circuits using such technologies may be used. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0081] 1. Laptop 2 Boot Server 10 Main Control Unit 11 CPU 12 Main Memory 13 Video Subsystems 14 Display section 21 Chipset 22 BIOS memory 23 SSD 24 Audio Systems 25 WLAN cards 26 USB connectors 31. Embedded Controller (EC) 32 Input section 33 Power supply circuit 40 Storage section 41 Initialization information storage section 42 BIOS information storage section 110 BIOS Processing Unit 111 First Initialization Processing Unit 112 Startup Processing Unit 113 Second Initialization Processing Unit 120 OS Processing Unit 121 OS boot area 122 Residual area

Claims

1. System memory for storing programs and data, A control unit that performs processing based on the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and the OS (Operating System), Before starting the OS, a first memory initialization process is performed by the BIOS to initialize a portion of the system memory necessary for starting the OS, After executing the first memory initialization process, the BIOS process starts the OS, which includes a display process for the display unit. The OS startup process is executed, and after the OS startup is complete, a second memory initialization process is performed by the BIOS to initialize the remaining area of ​​the system memory, excluding the area of ​​a certain capacity. A control unit that executes and Equipped with, The control unit, In the first memory initialization process, access to the portion of the memory is permitted, and access to the remaining portion is prohibited, after which the initialization of the portion of the memory is performed. In the second memory initialization process described above, after granting access to the remaining area, the initialization of the remaining area is performed, and after the initialization of the remaining area is performed, the permission state for the partial capacity area and the remaining area is maintained. Information processing device.

2. The control unit executes the first memory initialization process and the second memory initialization process when the system is powered on for the first time, when the BIOS settings are changed, or when the system memory capacity or module is changed. During normal startup, the first and second memory initialization processes are omitted, and the OS startup process is executed as a normal OS startup process. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. A control method for an information processing apparatus comprising a system memory for storing programs and data, and a control unit for executing processing based on a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and an OS (Operating System), The control unit performs a first memory initialization step, before starting the OS, by processing the BIOS, to initialize a portion of the system memory that is necessary for starting the OS. After the control unit executes the first memory initialization process step, it performs an OS startup process step, which includes a display process on the display unit, through the processing of the BIOS, The control unit executes the OS startup process step, and after the OS startup is complete, the BIOS processes the remaining portion of the system memory, excluding the portion of the memory, to perform a second memory initialization process step. Including, In the first memory initialization step, the control unit enables access to the partial memory area and prohibits access to the remaining area, and then performs initialization of the partial memory area. In the second memory initialization step, the control unit enables access to the remaining area, then initializes the remaining area, and after initializing the remaining area, maintains the enabled state for the partial-capacity area and the remaining area. Control method.

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