Patent ID: 7827558

Claim:
A method implemented in a computer system, the computer system having an operating system executing thereon, the method comprising: a processor accessing a basic input output system (BIOS) upon power-up or reboot; the BIOS, during the power-up or reboot, causing the processor to set a trap for a particular power-down instruction for the operating system; the BIOS, during the power-up or reboot, causing the operating system to reserve a portion of memory for other use; receiving a request to execute an auxiliary program, allocating a second portion of memory that is currently free for use by the auxiliary program for storing execution-generated data, and passing information pertaining to the second memory allocation to the auxiliary program; the operating system providing the particular power-down instruction to the processor in response to the request to execute the auxiliary program; the processor executing an associated trap handling routine of the BIOS in response to receiving the particular power-down instruction; suspending execution of the operating system; and executing the auxiliary program from the portion of memory that is allocated for other use while execution of the operating system is suspended, the auxiliary program comprising a self-contained program that contains all components for operating the auxiliary program.