Patent ID: 7571353

Claim:
A method for a computing device repairing itself to operation after initiating booting from a first boot device disposed within a main computing device hardware box of the computing device, the method comprising the computer-executed steps of: in response to receiving a signal in the computing device indicating a need for repair of the computing device during the booting from the first boot device or during any operating state, booting from a second boot device; the second boot device storing software installed on said second boot device at anytime prior to booting from the second boot device; protecting at least a portion of the software on the second boot device from further modification after installation; the second boot device being physically present with the computing device prior to receiving the signal indicating a need for repair; and repairing software stored on the first boot device while operating from the second boot device and selectively either: (i) maintaining operation of the computing device from the second boot device to restore operation of the computing device during repairing of the software on the first boot device, or (ii) changing to operation of the computing device from the second boot device to the first boot device after the software has been repaired to restore operation of the computing device; wherein the signal is generated by at least one of: (i) by a user altering the state of a physical switch different from an on-off switch of the computing device and exposed on an exterior surface of the computing device, or (ii) automatically generated by the computing device after detecting a need for a repair; and the step of protecting the second boot device comprising one of: (a) switching the second boot device to a state of unavailability; and (b) switching the second boot device to a read only state.