US 6,983,372 B1
BIOS lock CD-ROM encode/decode driver
Duane Allen, Nampa, Id. (US)
Assigned to Micron Technology, Inc., Boise, Id. (US)
Filed on Sep. 14, 2000, as Appl. No. 9/661,540.
Int. Cl. G06F 12/14 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 713—193 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer system for controlling the unauthorized use of software, comprising:
a host processor;
a removable media reading device coupled to said host processor;
a non-volatile memory coupled to said host processor, said non-volatile memory including a predetermined location for storing a signature, wherein the non-volatile memory is located in basic input/output system (BIOS) circuitry of said computer system; and
a bootup program stored in said non-volatile memory, said bootup program configured such that upon execution by said host processor the computer system will only be configured to decode encoded media in said removable media reading device if said signature is located in said predetermined location.