Patent ID: 7281246

Claim:
A method for starting user interface software of an expansion card in an electronic device, which expansion card can be coupled in a releasable manner to the electronic device, wherein the user interface software comprises at least a basic module and a user interface module, the method comprising: storing the basic module and the user interface module in a memory of the electronic device, the basic module and the user interface module being separate parts of the same user interface software prior to starting the user interface software; starting the user interface software in at least two phases, wherein the first phase includes starting the basic module by loading the previously stored basic module, the started basic module setting up the communication signalling between the user interface layer and the device drivers layer of the electronic device, wherein the setting includes initialization of parameters necessary for the expansion card and generating of error messages when operating system incompatibility issues are detected; and the second phase includes: using the setting by the basic module, detecting the coupling of the expansion card to the electronic device, and starting the user interface module by loading the previously stored user interface module when the coupling of the expansion card to the electronic device is detected; and utilizing the started user interface module to control the function of the expansion card.