Patent ID: 7840792

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for using a hand-off block (“HOB”) in a system management mode (“SMM”) to make SMM base (“SMBASE”) initialization in a pre-EFI initialization (“PEI”) phase independent from SMBASE initialization in a driver execution environment (“DXE”) phase, the method comprising executing instructions on a general-purpose computing device programmed to perform the steps of: entering the PEI phase; creating a copy of a default SMM handler; determining an initial boot-strap processor (“BSP”) SMBASE and storing it in the HOB; determining a first SMBASE for a first processor using the initial BSP SMBASE; storing the first SMBASE in the HOB; storing DXE information that describes the memory to be used during the DXE phase of SMM in the HOB; storing the number of processors in the HOB; restoring the default SMM handler using the copy of the default SMM handler; and using information in the HOB to initialize SMM.