Patent ID: 7302690

Claim:
A method in a data processing system for handling exception vectors by firmware, the method comprising: identifying an exception vector to form an identified exception vector when control is passed from an operating system to the firmware, wherein the exception vector contains objects for processing traps and interrupts for the operating system; saving the identified exception vector to form a saved exception vector; replacing the identified exception vector with a substitute vector; restoring the saved exception vector when control is returned to the operating system to form a restored exception vector, wherein the restored exception vector continues execution; and responsive to a processor, other than an associated processor associated with the saved exception vector, generating an error for the identified exception vector replaced by the substitute vector, placing the processor in a slave loop until the saved exception vector is restored, wherein context for the processor in the slave loop is stored to form a stored context, wherein the processor and the associated processor are identified using processor identification numbers, and wherein the placing step is conditionally performed only if a processor identification number for the processor does not match an associated processor identification number for the associated processor; wherein the data processing system is a symmetric multi-processor data processing system having a plurality of logical partitions with each of the plurality of logical partitions (i) having at least one physical processor assigned thereto, and (ii) executing its own operating system which is a different instance from other operating systems executing on other of the plurality of logical partitions.