Patent ID: 7051223

Claim:
An apparatus for limiting volatile computer memory based on available energy in an auxiliary power source, the apparatus comprising: an energy monitor module configured to determine an amount of available energy in an auxiliary power source; a memory status module configured to determine an amount of volatile computer memory allocated for use in a computer; a memory adjustment module configured to adjust the amount of volatile computer memory allocated for use in the computer based on the amount of available energy in the auxiliary power source; and a startup module configured to allow the computer to begin moving data normally during a startup operation when the memory adjustment module has limited volatile computer memory allocated for use by the computer to a minimum level and the energy monitor module has determined that the amount of available energy in the auxiliary power source has reached a level capable of powering a transferal of the full contents of the volatile computer memory allocated for use by the computer by the memory adjustment module to non-volatile computer memory during a computer shutdown.