Abstract:
An electronic device booting method includes following steps: booting the electronic device when a power button of the electronic device is triggered; determining if a preset button of the electronic device is triggered; initializing at least one specific hardware element of the electronic device when the preset button is triggered; and executing an operation system (OS) before the specific hardware element is initiated when the preset button is not triggered. An electronic device is also disclosed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial No. 101107316, filed on Mar. 5, 2012. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of specification. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to an electronic device booting method and an electronic device applying the same and, more particularly, to an electronic device rapid booting method and an electronic device applying the same. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Conventionally, when the user presses a power button of a computer, the computer boots. In the booting process of the computer, a power on self-test (POST) is executed first via a basic input/output system (BIOS). The POST tests a processor, a display card, a memory, a disk drive, an optical disk drive, a chipset, a keyboard and other peripheral devices of the computer and checks whether the peripheral devices operates normally or not. After the test completes, the computer initializes a hardware element and enters an operation system. However, the booting process of the computer may take a long time, which troubles the user. 
         [0006]    Furthermore, the computer usually provides a booting menu for the user to do some setting. The booting menu should be triggered by a specific button during the booting process. Thus, the specific button should be initialized during the booting process, and then activates the booting menu. However, the booting time is lengthened, and it needs additional cost to dispose a button at the computer for activating the booting menu. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    An electronic device booting method comprises following steps: booting the electronic device when a power button of the electronic device is triggered; determining whether a preset button of the electronic device is triggered; initializing at least one specific hardware element of the electronic device when the preset button is triggered, and executing an operation system before the specific hardware element is initiated when the preset button is not triggered. 
         [0008]    An electronic device comprises a power button, a preset button, a specific hardware element, an embedded controller and a processing element. The embedded controller is electrically connected to the power button and the preset button. The processing element is electrically connected to the power button, the preset button, a specific hardware element and the embedded controller. The processing element includes a boot module, a determination module, an initialization module and an operation system execution module. The boot module boots the electronic device when the power button is triggered. The determination module drives the embedded controller to determine whether the preset button is triggered. When the preset button is triggered, the initialization module initializes a specific hardware element. When the preset button is not triggered, the operation system execution module executes an operation system before the specific hardware element of the electronic device is initialized. 
         [0009]    After the electronic device boots, if the preset button is not triggered, the electronic device executes the operation system first and does not drive the specific hardware element, which can shorten the booting time of the electronic device greatly. Moreover, if preset steps relating to the specific hardware element need to be executed before the operation system is executed, the electronic device can detect whether a preset button is triggered after booting. When the power button and the preset button are one same button, the user only needs to trigger the power button twice to boot the electronic device and execute the preset steps relating to the specific hardware element, which is convenient in operation and save the cost of disposing a button at the electronic device. 
         [0010]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart showing steps of an electronic device booting method in an embodiment; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram showing an electronic device in an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a flow chart showing steps of an electronic device booting method in an embodiment, and  FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram showing an electronic device in an embodiment. 
         [0014]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , an electronic device  200  includes a power button  210 , a preset button  220 , at least a specific hardware element  230 , an embedded controller  240  and a processing element  250 . The embedded controller  240  is electrically connected to the power button  210  and the preset button  220 . The processing element  250  is electrically connected to the power button  210 , the preset button  220 , at least a specific hardware element  230  and the embedded controller  240 . The embedded controller  240  may be a keyboard controller (KBC), which is not limited herein. 
         [0015]    In the embodiment, the embedded controller  240  may be electrically connected to the processing element  250  via a south bridge chip of the electronic device  200 , which is not limited herein. The specific hardware element  230  may include a display card, an input element, an information access element or a hardware element which is not needed before the electronic device  200  enters the operation system, which is not limited herein. The input element may be a keyboard, a mouse or a touch control element of a touch screen, which is not limited herein. The information access element may be an optical disk drive or a network card, which is not limited herein. 
         [0016]    The processing element  250  includes a boot module  251 , a determination module  252 , an initialization module  253  and an operation system execution module  254 . When the power button  210  is triggered, the boot module  251  boots the electronic device  200 . 
         [0017]    In the electronic device booting method shown in  FIG. 1 , the electronic device booting method may be achieved via a computer program stored in a readable recording medium of a computer, the computer reads the readable recording medium and executes the electronic device booting method. The readable recording medium of the computer may be a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a soft disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flash drive, a tape or a database which can be accessed via a network. 
         [0018]    Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the electronic device booting method  100  includes following steps: booting the electronic device (step  120 ) when the power button  210  of the electronic device  200  is triggered (step  110 ), and determining whether the preset button  220  of the electronic device is triggered (step  130 ). 
         [0019]    In the embodiment, the preset button  220  is the power button  210 . That is, in step  130 , after the power button  210  is triggered and the electronic device  200  boots, it further determines whether the power button  210  is triggered again. 
         [0020]    In another embodiment, the power button  210  and the preset button  220  may be different buttons. Moreover, the step  130  may be executed after the electronic device executes a system power-on self-test (POST). In another embodiment, it determines whether the preset button is triggered again (step  130 ) after the electronic device  200  boots (step  120 ) for preset time, which avoids an error in touching. 
         [0021]    In step  140 , when the preset button  220  is triggered in step  130 , the specific hardware element  230  of the electronic device  200  is initialized. 
         [0022]    Since the specific hardware element  230  of the electronic device  200  is initialized in step  140 , a preset step is executed via the initialized specific hardware element  230  in step  150 . In the embodiment, the specific hardware element  230  may be an input element, and the preset step executed in step  150  may be that operating a function menu (such as a booting menu) via the input element. 
         [0023]    In another embodiment, the specific hardware element may also be a display card, and the preset step executed in step  150  may be displaying a function menu via the display card. Other preset steps may be executed via the initialized specific hardware element in step  150 , which is not limited herein. 
         [0024]    When it determines that the preset button  220  is not triggered in step  130 , step  160  is executed. In step  160 , an operation system is executed by the electronic device before the electronic device initializes the specific hardware element. Thus, if the preset button is not triggered after the electronic device boots, the operation system is executed and the specific hardware element is not drived, which shortens the electronic device booting time greatly. 
         [0025]    The processing element may further include a system self-test module  255 . The system self-test module  255  executes a system self-test for the electronic device  200 . The determination module  252  starts to drive the embedded controller  240  to determine whether the preset button  220  is triggered after the system self-test is finished. 
         [0026]    The processing element  250  may further include a timer module  256 . After the electronic device  200  boots, the timer module  256  starts to count up. After the timer module  256  counts up to preset time, the determination module  252  drives the embedded controller  240  to determine whether the preset button  220  is triggered. 
         [0027]    When the determination module  252  determines the preset button  220  is triggered, the initialization module  253  initializes the specific hardware element  230 . In the embodiment, the initialization module  253  includes a step executor  253   a.  After the specific hardware element  230  is initialized, the step executor  253   a  executes a preset step via the specific hardware element  230 . For example, when the specific hardware element  230  includes an input element, the preset step executed by the step executor  253   a  may be that operating a function menu (such as a booting menu) via the input element. For another example, when the specific hardware element  230  includes a display card, the preset step executed by the step executor  253   a  may be displaying a function menu via the display card. However, the step executor  253   a  can execute other preset steps via the initialized specific hardware element  230 , which is not limited herein. 
         [0028]    In the embodiment, the embedded controller  240  determines according to whether a storing element of the electronic device  200  stores triggering information of the preset button  220 . Thus, the electronic device  200  further includes a storing element  260  electrically connected to the embedded controller  240 . The storing element  260  includes a button triggering record block corresponding to the preset button  220 . The embedded controller  240  includes a clear module  241  and a writing module  242 . 
         [0029]    When the power button  210  is triggered, the clear module  241  clears the button triggering record block of the storing element  260  corresponding to the preset button  220 . When the preset button  220  is triggered, the writing module  242  writes a triggered information to the button triggering record block of the storing element  260 . Thus, the determination module  252  drives the embedded controller  240  to determine whether the preset button  220  is triggered according to whether the button triggering record block of the storing element  260  stores the triggered information. When the button triggering record block of the storing element  260  stores the triggered information, the determination module  252  determines the preset button  220  is triggered. However, the embedded controller  240  may determine whether the preset button  220  of the electronic device  200  is triggered in other ways, which is not limited herein. 
         [0030]    Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.