Extended BIOS adapted to establish remote communication for diagnostics and repair

A computer comprising:

• a CPU;
• a mass storage device coupled to the CPU and having a boot code sector and operating system code recorded thereon;
• and
• a basic input output system (BIOS) coupled to the CPU, the BIOS having a first code portion adapted for execution by the CPU to perform power on self test (POST) routine and to initiate boot operations, and a second code portion adapted for execution by the CPU to establish communication with a remote computer;
• wherein code execution by the CPU is directed from the first code portion to the second code portion upon failure to complete said boot operations.

A system for modifying code and data in a first computer having a first CPU upon failure of the first computer to boot, comprising:

• a second computer having a second CPU, the second computer connected to the first computer by a communication link;
• a master code kernel and a slave code kernel stored on a memory device at the second computer;
• and
• an extended basic input output system (E-BIOS) in the first computer;
• wherein, upon sensing failure of the first computer to boot, the E-BIOS establishes communication with the second computer over the communication link, and the second CPU in response causes a copy of the slave kernel to be copied to the RAM of the first computer and to be made available to the first CPU for execution, and wherein, with a copy of the slave kernel in the first computer and the master kernel active in the second computer, a user at the second computer may diagnose and modify code and data in the first computer from the second computer.

A method for diagnosing and modifying code and data in read/write memory devices and mass storage devices of a first computer, comprising steps of:

• (a) establishing communication with the first computer over a communication link from a diagnostic and repair computer;
• (b) loading and executing a master kernel at the diagnostic and repair computer;
• (c) downloading a slave operating system kernel to the first computer from the second computer;
• and
• (d) accessing and modifying code and data on read/write memory devices and mass storage devices in the first computer through activity at the second computer.