Booting from a compressed image
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsWesley G. Miller, Richard Allen Pletcher, Bruce L. Green, Jason Cohen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Accessing files within a compressed image to boot from the compressed image. In one embodiment, the compressed image includes a boot environment and a software image combined to reduce file redundancy. The invention boots into the boot environment within the compressed image to install the software image on a computer.
Claims24
A method for accessing a compressed image comprising a boot enviromnent and a software image stored on a computer-readable medium, said boot environment and software image comprising a plurality of files combined to reduce file redundancy, said method comprising executing a driver component to perform:
- identifying the boot environment in the compressed image, wherein the compressed image comprises a plurality of files;
- loading the compressed image as a file system;
- and
- booting from the identified boot environment via the file system by uncompressing at least one of the files associated with the identified boot environment and booting from the identified boot environment via the uncompressed files without storing the uncompressed files in memory.
A method for accessing a compressed image stored on a computer-readable medium, said compressed image storing descriptive data and file data, said method comprising executing a driver component to perform:
- identifying a boot environment in the compressed image via the descriptive data, wherein the compressed image comprises a plurality of files;
- loading the compressed image as a file system to provide access to the file data;
- and
- booting from the identified boot environment via the file system by uncompressing at least one of the files associated with the identified boot environment and booting from the identified boot environment via the uncompressed files without storing the uncompressed files in memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.