Patent ID: 7836442

Claim:
A computer system comprising: a primary processor; a service processor operable regardless of a power state of the computer system powered from an auxiliary power; a non-volatile memory device communicatively coupled to the primary processor and the service processor, the non-volatile memory device storing: a first list of patches required for installation on the computer system; a second list of patches previously installed on the computer system; the non-volatile memory further storing the firmware executed by the service processor when the computer system is powered on and before loading a primary operating system, the firmware comprising: a comparator module to determine whether patches are included in the first list that are not included in the second list; and a boot module to boot a maintenance operating system in the event the first list includes patches not included in the second list, the maintenance operating system configured to install, on the computer system, patches included in the first list but not the second list, the boot module further initiating the primary operating system in the event all patches included in the first list are included in the second list.