Patent ID: 7206929

Claim:
A method for customizing a computer system, comprising the steps of: receiving a customer order, wherein the customer order specifies customization information for a computer system; programming customization parameters into a configuration mechanism, wherein the configuration parameters correspond to the customization information; sending the configuration mechanism to a customer; sending a computer system to the customer, the computer system being adapted to receive the configuration mechanism and to customize the computer system according to the configuration parameters stored in the configuration mechanism; providing instructions to the customer to install the configuration mechanism in the computer system; and providing instructions to the customer to initiate a boot process; wherein, the computer system includes a data storage device having a first partition including a first operating system, and a second partition including a second operating system and, in response to the initiation of the boot process, the computer system first boots to the second partition to execute the second operating system which causes the first operating system in the first partition to be customized according to the configuration parameters stored in the configuration mechanism and, upon completion of the customization of the first operating system, the computer system boots to the first partition and executes the first operating system.