Patent ID: 6532536
Filing Date: 2003-03-11
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
An automated method for identifying the make and model type of a host digital device having Basic Input Output System (BIOS) memory, said method comprising the steps of:scanning specific areas of said BIOS memory for a model element, a submodel element, and at least one of a BIOS revision number element, a features element, a first reserved word element, a second reserved word element, and a BIOS date string element; concatenating said scanned elements, into a BIOS identification string of computer-recognizable bits; comparing said concatenated BIOS identification string to a first identification string in a table of identification strings, wherein each identification string is associated with a make and model type of a host digital device; outputting the device make and model type associated with said first identification string if said first identification string and said BIOS identification string exactly match; comparing said BIOS identification string with a second identification string in said table if said BIOS identification string and said first identification string do not match, and outputting the device make and model type associated with said second identification string if said second identification string and said BIOS identification string exactly match; continuing, if said BIOS identification string and said second identification string do not match, to compare the BIOS identification string to successive identification strings in said table until an exact match is found, and upon finding a match, outputting the device make and model type associated with the matched identification string; and alerting the user if a match is not found.