Patent ID: 7228408

Claim:
A computer system provided to operate in multiple operation modes, comprising: a storage device having a first disk partition and a second disk partition, in which the first disk partition stores a first operating system to enable the computer system to boot and run in a first operation mode, and the second disk partition stores a second operating system to enable the computer system to boot and run in a sub-mode of a second operation mode; and a mode controller having a status indicating an operation mode of the computer system, wherein the storage device further comprises a master boot program to detect the status of the mode controller, hide the second disk partition, boot the computer system from the first disk partition, load the first operating system therein, and thereby enable the computer system to run in the first operation mode if the status of the mode controller indicates the first operation mode, and activate the second disk partition, boot the computer system from the second disk partition, load the second operating system therein, and thereby enable the computer system to run in a selected sub-mode of the second operation mode if the status of the mode controller indicates the selected sub-mode of the second operation mode, and a monitor program to be executed if the computer system runs in the selected sub-mode of the second operation mode, in which the monitor program executes a first application specific to the selected sub-mode of the second operation mode, detects the status of the mode controller, and stops the first application and executes a second application specific to another sub-mode of the second operation mode if the status of the mode controller changes to the another sub-mode of the second operation mode.