| 摘要 |
A method and apparatus are provided to establish a network connection for a processor in an operating system-absent environment (i.e., without or prior to an operating system boot). Pre-boot services are first loaded into a volatile memory from a non-volatile memory. These pre-boot services include code for a modem driver. The modem driver code is then used to establish the network connection. In addition, in situations where it is desired to minimize the amount of non-volatile memory required on-site at the processor, the code stored in the non-volatile memory for the modem driver can be limited to only the code necessary to establish a low-speed initial connection. Once the processor is connected to the network, code for a high speed modem driver can be downloaded to the volatile memory of the processor. By virtue of being able to establish a network connection in an OS-absent environment, remote management of the processor can be provided, including diagnostics, repair and updating, even in situations where the operating system cannot be booted.
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