Patent ID: 8291204

Claim:
A method for permitting prescribed components in a multimedia system to be started with a minimal level of delay, the system comprising at least two prescribed components, the method comprising: designating at least one of the at least two prescribed components as a first component which is to be used first subsequent to initiation of a start-up phase for the system, and designating at least another of the at least two prescribed components as an additional component prior to the initiation of a start-up phase for the system, executing at least one operating program associated with the at least one of the at least two prescribed components having the first component designation using a first load priority, execution of the at least one operating program being required before the at least one of the at least two prescribed components can be used; and executing at least one operating program associated with the at least another of the at least two prescribed components having the additional component designation using a second load priority that is lower than the first load priority, execution of the at least one operating program associated with the at least another of the at least two prescribed components being required before the at least another of the at least two prescribed components can be used, wherein the at least one operating program associated with the at least one of the at least two prescribed components is executed before the at least one operating program associated with the at least another of the at least two prescribed components, wherein the at least two prescribed components of the system are administered by a main process, and a background process with a lower load priority than the main process manages a list designating operating programs of the at least two prescribed components for execution, the background process performing the step of executing the at least one operating program associated with the at least another of the at least two prescribed components having the additional component designation.