Method and apparatus for protecting page translations

An apparatus, comprising:

• means for receiving a virtual address;
• means for comparing at least a portion of the virtual address to a first preselected range;
• means for using a paging mechanism to generate a first physical address from the virtual address in response to the virtual address being outside the first preselected range;
• and
• means for using a hard mapped mechanism to generate a second physical address from the virtual address in response to the virtual address being within the first preselected range.

An apparatus for converting a virtual address to a physical address, comprising:

• a comparator adapted to receive the virtual address and deliver a first signal indicating that the virtual address is outside a first preselected range, and a second signal indicating that the virtual address is within the first preselected range;
• a paging mechanism adapted to produce a first physical address from the virtual address in response to receiving the first signal;
• and
• a hard mapped mechanism adapted to produce a second physical address from the virtual address in response to receiving the second signal.