Patent ID: 7861119

Claim:
A method of debugging a firmware image, comprising: establishing a communications link with a target computer system via a debugger driver within an initial firmware image executing during a debugging sequence on the target computer system, wherein the initial firmware image comprises the debugger driver and a plurality of firmware modules; receiving from the debugger driver via the communications link an error notification associated with one or more problem firmware modules within the initial firmware image executing during the debugging sequence; receiving an updated firmware image from a basic input/output system (BIOS) development system, the updated firmware image comprising one or more firmware modules for replacing the one or more problem firmware modules within the initial firmware image and a designated entry point; transmitting the updated firmware image to the target computer system via the communications link; instructing the debugger driver to load the updated firmware image into memory of the target computer system and to pass control of the initial firmware image to the designated entry point of the updated firmware image such that the debugging sequence continues from the designated entry point of the updated firmware image; and storing error-free modules from the initial firmware image and any updated firmware image in a non-volatile memory to create a firmware for the target computer system, wherein receiving the error notification, receiving the updated firmware image from the BIOS development system, transmitting the updated firmware image to the target computer system, and instructing the debugger driver to load the updated firmware image and pass control to the designated entry point occurs a plurality of times, each time corresponding to a plurality of problem firmware modules within the initial firmware image or an updated firmware image.