Method for supporting optical international language modules flashed into ROM

[0002] Not applicable.

[0003] Not applicable.

[0004] 1. Field of the Invention

[0005] The present invention generally relates to computer systems with English and non-English language capability. More particularly, the invention relates to an international language module in a ROM device that is used to provide instructions and information on a display to a user to configure the computer.

[0006] 2. Background of the Invention

[0007] Computer manufacturers, such as Compaq Computer Corp., manufacture personal computers that are used all over the world by users who speak a variety of languages. Virtually any language in the world could be the native or preferred language of a computer user. However, there are more than ten languages that are spoken by the majority of all computer users. Such languages include English, German, Finnish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian. The present invention addresses the needs of non-English speakers or users that may speak English but prefer a non-English language to use a computer in their preferred language.

[0008] When a user turns on a computer for the first time, the computer typically performs a setup routine. The purpose of the setup routine is to configure the computer and the computer's operating system to the particularities or preferences of the user. For example, the setup routine will determine the type of keyboard (U.S., European, etc.) that has been connected to the chassis, the type of monitor, the type of modem, amount of system memory, configure the interrupts, setup the input/output (I/O) ports, and set various other parameters. Further, the setup routine can be re-run during a subsequent boot up, or other event, by pressing a predefined key or key sequence such as <F10> to change or verify the configuration of the computer system.

[0009] The setup routine of early personal computers was implemented as an executable file stored on a hard disk drive. Specifically, disk-based setup was stored in an “inactive” partition on the hard disk. An inactive partition is a portion of the disk drive that is generally inaccessible to the user during normal operation, but can be accessed by invoking a particular procedure such as pressing <F10> during boot up. The inactive partition also has been referred to as a “hidden” partition to denote its generally inaccessible nature. Many computer users did not favor the use of hidden partitions, particularly hidden partition for storing the setup routine. These users were concerned about not having full control over the hidden partition, as they had with the active partitions.

[0010] An additional concern users had with disk-based setup was the amount of disk space the setup routine occupied. The setup routine occupied disk space that otherwise could have been used for storing data and applications. Initially, disk-based setup routines occupied about 4 megabytes (MB), but recently setup routines have grown to occupy upwards of 20 MB of disk space. Although hard drive capacity also has grown, it still is desirable to free up as much space as possible for data and applications.

[0011] At least some computer manufacturers have replaced the hard disk implementation for setup with a ROM-based setup. A “ROM” and is a Read Only Memory device that has the capacity to store a certain number of bytes of data or executable code. Although the storage capacity varies from ROM to ROM, ROM devices typically are capable of storing much less information than hard disks or other types of fixed drives (e.g. CD ROMs). ROM devices generally have a capacity of about 128 Kbytes to 1 Mbytes.

[0012] Most personal computers include at least one ROM device referred to as the “BIOS ROM.” BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System and refers to a set of executable routines that the computer's microprocessor can execute to provide low level control over various input/output devices such as hard disk drives, CD ROM drives, keyboards, mouse, and floppy disk drives. The BIOS code generally is permanently stored in the BIOS ROM, although electrically erasable programmable ROMs (EEPROMs) can be used to provide reprogrammable storage for BIOS or other information. Reprogramming a ROM such as an EEPROM usually is referred to as “flashing” the ROM. Copending patent application entitled “Method of Flash Programming or Reading a ROM of a Computer System Independently of its Operating System,” U.S. Ser. No. 09/070,823, filed Apr. 30, 1998 discloses an exemplary method for flashing a ROM. The term “ROM” is used throughout this disclosure to refer to any type of non-volatile memory device (i.e., a memory device whose contents remain intact even after power is removed from the device). As such, the term ROM includes ROMs, programmable ROMs (PROMs), EEPROMs, battery backed-up RAM (random access memory) and other non-volatile devices.

[0013] The BIOS ROM also contains initialization routines that are executed to boot the computer. The microprocessor executes these initialization routines which test and initialize system memory and various other devices in the computer system. When the boot up process begins, the microprocessor executes the initialization routines directly from the BIOS ROM. That is, each instruction is fetched from the ROM and provided to the microprocessor for execution. In the latter stages of the boot up process, after the system memory is initialized, the BIOS routines are copied to the main system memory (RAM) and are executed from system memory instead of from the BIOS ROM.

[0014] Once invoked, the ROM-based setup routine generally requires interaction between the user and the computer. The user, for example, may be prompted to specify, or at least verify, the type of hard drive, amount of memory, and other information. In so doing, the user must read instructions provided on the video monitor which is connected to the computer. Because, as noted above, computers are used by people that potentially speak a variety of languages, it is desirable for the displayed text to be shown in the language most familiar to, or preferred by, the user. Accordingly, it is desirable for the ROM-based setup text to be available in various international languages, besides English. In this disclosure, languages other than English are referred to as international languages.

[0015] Several important considerations for computer designers include cost and power. It is preferable for computers to be as low cost as possible and consume as little power as possible. Accordingly, it is preferable for the ROM to be smaller (i.e., have a smaller storage capacity) rather than larger. Smaller ROMs generally are less expensive and consume less power than larger ROMs. The desire for ROM's to be capable of storing all of the desired international languages generally prompts system designers to use undesirably larger and more power hungry and costly ROMs than would otherwise be necessary.

[0016] Because of the limited amount of storage capacity of a typical BIOS ROM, it is not desirable, and, in fact, may not be possible to store on the ROM the 12 most widely spoken languages. Nevertheless, there is a need to have a computer system that includes a setup routine whose text can be displayed in any one of a variety of international languages. Despite the advantages such a computer system would offer, to date no such system is known to exist.

[0017] The deficiencies of the prior art described above are solved in large part by a computer system that includes a system ROM with at least two sets of character strings, one set in English and the other sets in non-English languages. In a preferred embodiment, the system ROM includes only two sets of character strings—one English and the other non-English. Generally, each set of character strings includes characters, words and phrases that are translations of corresponding character strings in the other sets. Some character strings may be symbols such as punctuation marks (comma, apostrophe, period, etc.) which preferably are included only in the English set of character strings. Further, the ROM preferably is flashable to permit the character strings to be updated as desired.

[0018] The non-English set of character strings is included as part of a “language module” flashed into the system ROM. The character strings preferably are used to provide information and instructions to a user during system setup. Setup normally is run when the computer is powered on by the user for the first time, and permits the user to configure the computer system. Setup also can be run at other times by, for example, pressing a hot key such as <F10> during boot up.

[0019] In accordance with the preferred embodiment, when setup is run, the computer system determines whether a valid international language module is included in the system ROM. If a valid language module is included, the user is prompted to select either English or whatever international language is provided in the language module. Based on the user's selection for a language preference, additional information and instructions during setup are shown on the computer's display in the language selected by the user.

[0020] If the language module is selected, the computer's CPU searches the language module first for a character string that the setup program requests to be displayed. If that character string is not present in the language module, the setup program searches the English character string sets for a corresponding string and uses that string if present. If neither the non-English nor the English string is present, the setup program displays a default error message.

[0021] By providing the system ROM with at least two sets of character strings representing at least two different languages, the problems described above regarding conventional computer systems are mitigated or avoided altogether. The various characteristics described above, as well as other features, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment for implementing multiple language capability in a system BIOS and language module ROM;

[0024] FIG. 2 shows the contents of the system BIOS and language module ROM;

[0025] FIG. 3 shows a preferred method for configuring the computer system to use either the language module character strings or English character strings from the system BIOS and language module ROM; and

[0026] FIG. 4 shows a preferred method for selecting for display either an international language or English character string from the system BIOS and language module ROM.

[0027] Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, computer companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”. Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.

[0028] Referring now to FIG. 1, a computer system 100 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment generally includes a central processing unit (“CPU”) 102 coupled to a variety of system components through a “North” bridge logic unit 104. Bridge logic unit 104 is labeled as a “North” bridge to reflect its location at the upper end of the system drawing of FIG. 1. The CPU 102 couples to the North bridge logic unit 104 via a CPU bus 108. Computer system 100 preferably also includes main memory 106, graphics controller 116, display 118, a South bridge 122, an input/output controller 160, a system BIOS and language module (LM) ROM 144 and various other devices as shown. Main memory 106 couples to the bridge logic unit 104 through a memory bus 110, and a graphics controller 116 couples to the bridge logic unit 104 through any suitable graphics bus 114, such as an Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) bus. A display device 118 couples to the graphics controller 116 and receives signals from the graphics controller 116 which control the information shown on the display.

[0029] Computer system 100 may be configured in any number of ways, such as a laptop unit, a desktop unit, a network server, or any other configuration. Additionally, the computer system 100 may be implemented in a hand-held computing device.

[0030] Referring still to FIG. 1, CPU 102 may be any suitable type of microprocessor such as any microprocessor from the Pentium® family manufactured by Intel® Corp. or the K6® family manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices. It should be understood, however, that other alternative types of microprocessors could be employed. Further, computer system 100 may include only a single CPU (as shown) or include additional CPUs coupled through the CPU bus 108 to the bridge logic unit 104. The Pentium architecture, for example, supports up to four microprocessors.

[0031] The main memory 106 generally includes a conventional memory device or array of memory devices in which application programs and data are stored. Main memory 106 preferably includes any suitable type of memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or any of the various types of DRAM devices such as synchronous DRAM, extended data output DRAM (EDO DRAM), or Rambus™ DRAM.

[0032] The graphics controller 116 controls the rendering of text and images on display 118. Graphics controller 116 may embody a typical graphics accelerator generally known in the art to render three-dimensional data structures on display 118. These data structures can be effectively shifted into and out of main memory 106. The graphics controller 116 therefore may assert mastership of the AGP bus 114 in that it can request and receive access to a target interface within the bridge logic unit 104 to thereby obtain access to main memory 106. A dedicated graphics bus 114 accommodates rapid retrieval of data from main memory 106. Display 118 is any electronic display device upon which an image or text can be represented. A suitable display 118 may include, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a virtual retinal display (VRD), a thin film transistor display (TFT), or any other type of suitable display device for a computer system.

[0033] Additionally, one or more peripheral devices couple to North bridge logic unit 104 through a primary expansion bus 112. In the preferred embodiment, the primary expansion bus 112 comprises a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, and accordingly, the peripheral devices are PCI compatible. Two PCI compatible peripheral devices are shown in FIG. 1—a network interface card (NIC) 121 and South bridge logic unit 122 connect to PCI bus 112. NIC 121 provides an interface between computer system 100 and a network (not shown) such as a local area network. If desired, additional PCI devices can be connected to the PCI bus 112, such as video accelerators, audio cards, hard or floppy disk drives, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) adapters and telephony cards. It should be understood, however, that the primary expansion bus 112 may incorporate any suitable expansion bus, network system, or communications channel and may comprise a physical or wireless architecture as desired.

[0034] South bridge logic unit 122 bridges the primary expansion bus 112 (the PCI bus) to a secondary expansion bus 126. The secondary expansion bus 126 may be implemented using any suitable bus architecture such as an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture bus (EISA). As the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1 shows, expansion bus 126 is implemented as an ISA bus and, accordingly, all devices connected to the ISA bus are ISA compatible. The input/output (I/O) controller 160 and system BIOS and language module (LM) ROM 144 are shown attached to the ISA bus. The I/O controller 160 may be external from the South bridge 122 (as shown in FIG. 1) or integrated with the South bridge. Generally, the I/O controller 160 provides operational support for a keyboard 166, a mouse 168, hard disk drive 170, CD ROM drive 172, and additional peripheral input/output devices, as desired. The I/O controller 160 generally receives input signals from the keyboard 166 and mouse 168 and provides a data path for data to be stored on or retrieved from the hard disk drive 170 and CDROM drive 172. Other peripheral devices (not shown) also may be connected to the I/O controller 160.

[0035] The system BIOS and LM ROM 144 preferably is a non-volatile memory device which contains the system BIOS, setup routines and an international language module. The language module includes one or more sets of alphanumeric character strings in a language other than English. Generally, the language module includes international language translations for English character strings included as part of the setup routine. The language module will be explained in further detail below.

[0036] In addition to providing an interface to an ISA or EISA bus 126, south bridge 122 may further incorporate other functionality, as desired. For example, in one embodiment, south bridge 122 includes a master PCI arbiter (not shown) for arbitrating ownership of the PCI bus 112. South bridge 122 may also provide an interface to an IDE bus 164 for coupling IDE-based devices 165 to the south bridge. Examples of IDE devices include hard disk and CD ROM drives.

[0037] In accordance with the preferred embodiment, computer system 100 provides the capability to show character strings on display 118 in at least two languages. One of the languages preferably is English and another language can be any other language desired. This “other” language will be referred to as an “international language.” The international language character string set is referred to as the “language module” (LM).

[0038] The character strings include alphanumeric characters that are shown on display 118 while the setup program is executing, which can be when the computer is turned on for the first time or during subsequent operation as noted previously. The character strings generally provide instructions or information to the user during setup. Table I below includes a non-exhaustive list of exemplary English character strings along with their German translations. In this example, German is the international language.

[0039] The English and international character strings preferably are stored in the system BIOS and LM ROM 144. Additional character strings in other international languages can also be stored in system BIOS and LM ROM 144 depending on the storage capacity of the ROM. A tradeoff thus can be made between ROM size and the number of international languages stored in the ROM—larger ROM's can accommodate more international languages and smaller ROMs, fewer international languages. Because it generally is desirable for each component in a computer system to consume as little power and be as inexpensive as possible, the preferred embodiment of computer system 100 includes a ROM 144 large enough to hold only one international language character string set. A ROM with this capacity generally will take up less space on the motherboard and consume less power than a ROM with a larger capacity. Accordingly, ROM 144 preferably is a 29F002T ROM manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices, or other suitable device.

[0040] Storing just one international language module in system BIOS and LM ROM 144 generally is satisfactory because computer users that prefer languages besides English normally will only need or prefer one international language. The particular international language chosen to be stored in system BIOS and LM ROM 144 can be predetermined at the factory based on to which area or country the computer will be shipped. That is, computers shipped to German speaking countries preferably include German as the international language module and computers shipped to Spanish speaking countries include Spanish as the language module. Other international languages may include Finnish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, and Norwegian, or other languages or dialects as desired.

[0041] Referring now to FIG. 2, system BIOS and LM ROM 144 preferably includes a boot block 146, an extended system configuration data (ECSD) and other variables portion 146, a LM 150, and the system BIOS 152. The BIOS portion 152 preferably includes the system BIOS as well as the setup program and English character strings introduced above. ROM devices usually are configured as multiple “sectors” and each of the various portions 146-152 may be stored in one or more sectors. A sector can be any size such as 8 KB (kilobytes). The lines 154 separating the portions 146-152 do not necessarily represent sector boundaries. A sector may contain parts of two or more different portions 146-152. For example, the LM 150 may be stored in one or more sectors. One or more of those sectors may include a portion of the LM along with other information listed generically as “other data” in FIG. 2.

[0042] In accordance with the preferred embodiment, each English and international language character string is assigned a unique, preferably numeric, identifier. Referring back to Table I above, for example, each of the five character strings shown in each language are associated with an identification (I.D.) value 0-4. As new character strings are created, the new strings preferably are appended to the end of the existing set of strings, and thus are assigned the next available numeric identification value. Each character string preferably ends with a predefined character, such as the “NULL” character which has been assigned the ASCII code 0. “ASCII” stands for American National Standard Code for Information Interchange and includes a unique industry standard numeric code for each alphanumeric character on a typical keyboard, as well as other characters not on the keyboard. Further, the character strings have variable length. That is, the length of each string may be different than the length of other strings. Preferably, the English and international language character strings are stored in I.D. number order and preferably without the I.D. value itself. As such the string assigned I.D. value 0 is stored first followed by the string assigned I.D. value 1, and so on. Because the I.D. values themselves are not stored in ROM 144, significant storage space savings are realized. For example, if the language module includes 500 international language character strings which are assigned to 500 different I.D. values, not storing the I.D. values saves 1000 bytes of storage space in the ROM. Alternatively, the strings can be flashed into the ROM 144 along with their I.D. values. Additionally, the entire LM may be compressed using any one of a variety of known compression techniques and stored as a compressed image in the ROM 144. For LM strings to be used from the ROM, the CPU decompresses the LM and the selects the individual strings as needed.

[0043] In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the portions 146-152 can be selectively reprogrammed or the entire ROM 144 can be reprogrammed. Reprogramming the ROM 144 is desirable if the user wishes to substitute in character strings in a different international language or wishes simply to add to or modify the existing set of international language strings. New character strings preferably are assigned the next available I.D. and are appended to the end of the existing set of character strings.

[0044] Reprogramming all or a portion of the ROM 144 is referred to as “flashing” the ROM and the preferred embodiment includes any suitable technique for flashing the ROM. A suitable example for flashing a ROM is described in copending and commonly assigned patent application entitled “Method of Flash Programming or Reading a ROM of a Computer System Independently of its Operating System,” U.S. Ser. No. 09/070,823, filed Apr. 30, 1998, incorporated herein by reference. The new ROM “image” (i.e., the information to be reprogrammed into the ROM) may be provided in any suitable manner to the computer system 100 such as copied from a floppy disk or downloaded from a network resource such as the Internet.

[0045] If less than an entire sector is to be flashed, computer system 100 preferably performs a “read-modify-write” to retain the portion of the sector that is not changed by flashing and update the portion that is flashed. Read-modify-write flashing permits, for example, just the LM to be updated with new strings or revisions to the old strings, if the LM occupies a sector with other types of data not related to the LM per se. By way of example, if a sector includes two portions A and B, and only portion B is to be updated during the flash, the entire sector first is copied to a buffer in main memory 106. Then, portion B is updated with the new data and the contents of the memory buffer (which include old portion A and updated portion B) are flashed back into ROM 144. Any suitable technique for permitting the user to update the language module is acceptable. For example, the user may run the ROMPAQ utility from Compaq Computer Corp. to update the system ROM 144. Suitable software for updating the LM is shown below preceding the claims.

[0046] Referring now to FIG. 3, an exemplary method 200 is shown for determining whether English or the LM is to be used during setup. It should be understood that there are numerous other techniques for selecting a language for setup besides that shown in FIG. 3. The method 200 shown in FIG. 3 represents one possible selection method. In step 202, ROM-based setup is started. This step may be performed automatically the first time computer system 100 is turned on. Further, step 202 may be performed each time the computer boots up by pressing a predefined key or key combination, such as <F10>, during the boot up process.

[0047] In step 204, the LM portion of the ROM 144 is copied to a buffer in main memory 106. A checksum preferably is calculated for the LM in step 206 to help ensure that the LM is present and contains valid data. Calculating a checksum is a known technique for adding or otherwise combining the contents of a set of memory locations together and ignoring any carry over bits. The exclusive OR operation may be used instead of adding. For example, if a set of 8-bit memory locations are added together, the result may be a 9-bit number. The most significant bit (the 9^thbit) is ignored or truncated and the checksum result is only the least significant 8 bits. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, a checksum is calculated for the LM by adding together the memory locations of the main memory 106 buffer that contains the LM. The checksum preferably is 0. A 0 checksum can be ensured by including an extra data value that when added to, or otherwise combined with, the rest of the LM data results in a checksum of 0. The process for ensuring a particular checksum occurs during the design of and initial program load of ROM 144. Further, the checksum can be preset to be any value besides 0, if desired.

[0048] In decision step 208, the checksum calculated in step 206 is compared to its preset value, which in the preferred embodiment is 0. If one or more bits or values in the LM changes or otherwise becomes corrupted, the checksum calculated in step 206 will not equal the preset value of 0, and program control uses only the English strings in step 214. Further, even though the checksum equals 0, it still may be desirable not to use the international LM because the LM portion of the BIOS ROM may contain all 0 values (i.e., the LM was never programmed with international language character strings). Thus, decision step 208 also determines whether the LM portion copied to the main memory buffer in step 204 contains all 0 values. If the LM is, in fact, all 0's, the English strings are used (step 214 ).

[0049] Alternatively, if the result of decision step 208 is that the LM checksum is correct (0) and the LM does not contain all 0 values, the LM is decompressed in step 209 and the user is prompted in step 210 to answer the question whether the user wishes to have the international language character strings shown on display 118. If the user answers that question affirmatively, then all future setup program character strings are displayed in the international language provided in the ROM's LM as shown in step 212. On the other hand, even though the computer may include a valid LM, the user still may prefer for the computer system 100 to display English character strings, rather than the international language strings.

[0050] Once the language module has been selected to use during setup, computer system 100 uses the international language character strings included in the ROM-based language module. One exemplary embodiment for using the language module strings is illustrated in the flow chart 300 of FIG. 4. In this exemplary method, the CPU 102 is provided with an I.D. value for a desired string in the ROM-based language module and the CPU retrieves the appropriate string. In step 302, the CPU 102 searches the language module for the specified string using any suitable method. One possible method includes searching the language module for the NULL characters which terminate each character string and counting the NULL characters encountered until the target string is found. For example, if the requested string has an I.D. value of 8, the CPU 102 searches for and counts eight NULL characters. The string that begins immediately following the eighth NULL character has an I.D. value of 8 and is the target string. Decision step 302 results in a “yes” response if the requested language module string is present and a “no” response if the language module string is not present. If desired, the language module can be terminated with a predefined character or value to signify the end of the language module. Accordingly, if the CPU continues searching for and counting NULL characters and reaches the character that terminates the language module, the CPU determines in step 304 that the language module does not contain the requested character string.

[0051] If the requested language module string is present, as determined by decision step 304, then, in decision step 306, the CPU determines whether that string has a length greater than zero bytes. A zero-length character string means that string has not been defined yet or translated into the international language. If the requested language module string has a length greater than zero, then CPU 102 selects that string in step 308 to be displayed on display 118.

[0052] If the CPU 102 determines in decision step 306 that the requested language module string is present but has a length of zero bytes or if the CPU determines in decision step 304 that the requested language module string was not present, the CPU then determines in decision step 310 whether the English version or translation of the string is present in the ROM 144. If the English string is present, CPU 102 selects that string to be shown on display 118 in step 312. If the English string is not present in ROM 144, however, CPU 102 in step 314 selects a default string from ROM 144 that can be any desired message such as “**** Missing String ****.”

[0053] A exemplary source code listing for the implementation of method 300 shown in FIG. 4 is provided below. Non-executable comments are included following the semicolons for convenience in reading and understanding the code.

[0054] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles of the present invention. However, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.