Pre-boot Fault Manager Using Error Hashes for Root Cause Identification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Pre-boot faults in information handling systems are difficult to analyze and manage, as errors occurring before the operating system initializes often result in limited user feedback and costly forensic teardowns, which are not easily translatable across different hardware platforms, leading to inadequate fault identification and corrective actions.
Innovation Solution
A pre-boot fault manager that detects and stores errors as error hashes in non-volatile memory, allowing for analysis and corrective actions to be taken, enabling more precise identification and management of pre-boot failures across multiple hardware platforms through a closed-loop analytic approach.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pre-boot faults are detected before operating system initialization, then fault detection capability is improved, but user feedback and error communication capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by storing fault information in non-volatile memory during the pre-boot phase, before the operating system is fully initialized. This allows error data to be captured and preserved even when full system functionality is not yet available, enabling subsequent analysis and user notification once the system becomes operational.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (error logging system in non-volatile memory) that bridges the gap between pre-boot fault detection and post-boot user communication. The logged error information serves as an intermediary data structure that can be analyzed after boot to provide meaningful user feedback, effectively mediating between early detection and late communication.
2Measurement precision
If forensic teardown is performed to analyze pre-boot faults, then root cause identification is improved, but cost and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by logging detailed error information in non-volatile memory during the pre-boot phase, capturing fault data before system failure occurs. This preliminary data capture eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming forensic teardowns, as the essential diagnostic information is already recorded and can be analyzed remotely or during routine maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by collecting and analyzing logged error data to identify root causes without requiring physical disassembly. The system processes the stored error information to provide diagnostic feedback, enabling remote or automated analysis that significantly reduces both time and cost compared to traditional forensic teardown methods.
3Measurement precision
If error information is stored in non-volatile memory, then fault analysis capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the extraction principle by separating the error logging and storage functionality from the main operating system workflow. The error information is extracted and stored independently in non-volatile memory during pre-boot operations, allowing fault analysis to be performed on this isolated data without complicating the core system architecture or requiring integrated complexity in the main system design.
Data Source
AI summary
An information handling system pre-boot fault monitor tracks errors detected before boot of an operating system and stores the errors in persistent memory as error hashes generated from information associated with the error. Corrective actions associated with error hashes are determined by data mining error hashes provided from a population of deployed systems and stored in the persistent memory of the deployed systems. As the pre-boot fault monitor detects errors, a matching comparison between detected error hashes and stored corrective action hashes provides pre-boot instructions with corrective actions so that boot can be completed and the error managed with the operating system after POST.