The iLogistix @priori group has a full range of tools for creating a wide range of BIOS Locked recovery CDs. We tailor our service and solutions to meet the needs of the OEM by providing customized development, training and support. @priori emergency recovery is the only third party solution with non-destructive recovery. Preserving the users data and new applications make @priori emergency recovery the clear choice when you factor in the users needs.
 

OS-ONLY CD - A replacement of Microsoft's OS CD. OEMs that do not already have a recovery CD will find the OS-only CD most convenient in the short term. The full custom recovery program (full drive image and selective restore) delivers the most benefits over time.

FULL HARD DRIVE IMAGE CDs - Replace all other CD and floppy media that the OEM would supply.

SELECTIVE APPLICATION RECOVERY CD – The user has the option of restoring individual applications as well as the full disk image.

BUILD TO CONFIGURE CD - For software loads that change based on the customer order - build each recovery CD during assembly.

WHAT IS THE MICROSOFT REQUIREMENT FOR DISTRIBUTION OF ITS SOFTWARE?

Microsoft is requiring that if an OEM distributes a Microsoft OS on CD, the OS can only be loaded on machines that are branded by the OEM, with a unique identifier identifying the system embedded in the BIOS. Microsoft will stop providing their standard OS CD as of January 1st, 2000. To include any media with the system, the minimum is a BIOS locked recovery CD. The software that installs or restores the OS software onto the hard drive (recovery) must verify that the ROM BIOS signature is unique to the OEM. The recovery CD must be created specifically for the OEM and it must look for the OEM's signature. @priori emergency recovery verifies the ID in the ROM BIOS before allowing the recovery to actually start. The OEM must brand the CD label and software. This is the minimum requirement for Microsoft.

WHAT IS BIOS LOCKING?

BIOS locking is a method used by @priori emergency recovery to make sure it is running on the correct brand of machine. @priori emergency recovery is built for each OEM and will only run if the OEM’s correct signature is embedded in the ROM BIO. If the information is not found, it fails, and Windows cannot be recovered. OEMs are required to place the unique signature somewhere in the ROM BIOS. It can be their copyrighted name or any other string that the OEM chooses which will uniquely identify the OEM or one of the OEM's models.

HOW DO I PREPARE A MACHINE FOR BIOS LOCKED SOFTWARE?

The OEM will be required to place the unique signature somewhere in the ROM BIOS. The signature is typically built into the ROM BIOS from the beginning or flashed into the ROM BIOS during machine assembly. This signature can be placed into the DMI area that is usually not affected when ROM BIOS is updated in the field. Our software will detect the machine’s unique signature string in the ROM BIOS.

IF THE SAME SIGNATURE IS USED IN DIFFERENT BIOS WILL IT WORK?

Yes, the BIOS Lock will work with different ROM BIOS’ as long as the signature is the same somewhere in each ROM BIOS - the signature can be in different locations.

MOST LOCAL OEMS USE THE SAME BIOS MANUFACTURER. AT THIS POINT, HOW CAN YOU LOCK A BIOS FOR ONE COMPANY AND ENSURE THAT ANOTHER OEM PC USING THE SAME BIOS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BOOT?

The BIOS locking mechanism not only checks for the OEM's signature but also verifies that other OEM signatures are not in the ROM BIOS.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HARDDISK BIOS LOCK AND A CD BIOS LOCK?

There is no difference. The software that creates the disk image can reside on either a CD or another disk partition - this is also supported by our @priori emergency recovery product. The algorithm is the same. The ROM BIOS is checked for the ID.

HOW DO I BIOS LOCK A CD?

@priori emergency recovery offers a series of programs to create BIOS Locked CD’s. You can purchase our toolkit and do everything yourself, or an @priori partner can do it for you.

WHAT IS NON-DESTRUCTIVE RECOVERY?

In the non-destructive (without format) mode, the recovery does not affect existing data and applications installed after the PC was purchased. This allows end users to restore original software without the frustration of losing their work. @priori emergency recovery does a registry merge (affecting the registry and other system files) to re-initialize system parameters required by the OS, leaving existing applications "registered" with the OS.

WHAT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO MEET THE 1/1/2000 MS REQUIREMENTS?

We have an OS-Only variant of a recovery CD. If you are currently shipping the Microsoft OS CD, this is probably the simplest, initial step to take. The OS-Only CD replaces the Microsoft OS CD. It is BIOS locked and restores the operating system, with or without a format. The disk image boots into the Windows COA screen and then performs hardware recognition, etc. We simply verify that the CD was created with everything the customer wanted. The OEM supplies: OEM's graphics, BIOS Lock string, CD ROM driver, mouse driver, company contact information, and OS Version and we create the CD within a few hours. For OS only recovery plan on a 24 – 48 hour turnaround.

WHAT IS THE OS ONLY VARIANT OF A RECOVERY CD?

It is the operating system only, without OEM customization drivers. The OS only variant includes the Format and Recover feature to recover without format options, and the option to recover driver specific files (CAB and INF files). The Recovery Refresh option does not affect existing data and applications. It does a registry merge (affecting the registry and other system files) to re-initialize system parameters required by the OS, leaving existing applications "registered" with the OS.

HOW CAN I GET GOING QUICKLY?

The @priori division has been providing BIOS Locked recovery solutions to OEMs for many years. Due to the flexibility of our toolkit, it is a straightforward matter to create a BIOS Locked, OS Only, variant of a recovery CD. We can get you started immediately with the OS only recovery. The training for building custom recovery takes only one week and we build your first recovery system while walking your engineers through the process. For scheduling purposes allow three weeks from signature of contract and requested date for training.

DOES THE MANUFACTURER ID NEED TO BE ON THE MOTHERBOARD? 

Yes. External Recovery Media must be BIOS-locked and OEM branded to comply with the Microsoft requirements.

IF YOU DO NOT ALWAYS USE THE SAME MOTHERBOARD, WOULD THIS MEAN THAT EACH TIME THE MOTHERBOARD CHANGES, WE’D HAVE TO GET A NEW MASTER CREATED?

No. Each motherboard must have the same OEM signature somewhere in the ROM BIOS. The OEM signature could be flashed in the Desktop Management Interface (DMI). The DMI is a writable area of memory located in the BIOS flash ROM. This is usually done in the assembly line.

WHAT IS THE DURATION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM?

Standard training lasts four days in Monterey, California. The @priori emergency recovery training teaches technical people, defined as: “an individual who understands Windows to the point of understanding the registry, driver initialization, how .ini files work, how the system boots, the issues of the COA screen and hardware initialization.” The training does not assume the individual has the experience of an engineer, and the requirements may be met by a knowledgeable support person. Selective application training takes an additional day if a basic review is desired and up to an additional three days depending upon OEM requirements and applications.

WHAT DOES THE TOOL KIT INCLUDE?

The toolkit provides everything needed to create a BIOS Locked recovery CD and the tools to test the CD after it has been created.

HOW CAN I MAINTAIN MY CORPORATE AND PRODUCT IDENTITY ON THE RECOVERY SOFTWARE? 

We display OEM supplied splash screen and wallpaper, and include the OEMs contact information in @priori emergency recovery to meet your corporate image guidelines. @priori is branded to each OEM (as required by Microsoft).

WHAT DO I NEED TO GET STARTED?

You will need two copies of your system and two copies of each hard drive image for which you want to develop a recovery solution. We will provide a checklist for you. We will need to know the signature string, which operating system, your language requirements, OEMs graphics, machine model, etc. With this information, we can produce a CD that you can test on your systems.

HOW IS THE PRICING STRUCTURED?

Pricing is based on volume of systems shipped annually. It is a royalty per unit.

WHAT IS THE TIMELINE OF DEVELOPING A CUSTOM RECOVERY SOLUTION?

For a full recovery system build, it generally takes two days to create a recovery CD. Testing is done in three days. This is a conservative estimate and allows for errors in the original HD image. There is a one-time fee for creating and testing the recovery CD. The price may vary if your system has unexpected complexities. Our reseller partners throughout the world are available to assist in the production.

HOW CAN WE MAXIMIZE THE USERS EXPERIENCE?

First and foremost by respecting the user’s data and not harming it. This “First Do No Harm” solution will, more than any other factor, give end users a positive image of your company and its choice of recovery product. @priori emergency recovery shines in its user interface. An award winning UI makes the recovery process self evident and highly reliable for end users.

DOES MY RECOVERY SOLUTION HAVE TO BE ON A CD? I WOULD LIKE TO PARTITION THE HD AND INCLUDE IT ON THE DRIVE.

Your recovery solution may reside on a partition on the hard drive. When evaluating a hard drive based recovery solution, it is important to consider that users prefer receiving back up media and that if the hard drive malfunctions there is no recovery for the system.

I SHIP CD-ROMS OF DIFFERENT MAKE / MODELS AND SOME ARE IDE AND A FEW ARE SCSI - HOW WILL IT AFFECT MY RECOVERY CD CREATION? DO YOU NEED TO KNOW ALL THE CD-ROM DRIVERS? 

If the CD-ROM device is changing, a bootable floppy can be used with a CD-ROM driver that then uses the CD indirectly. It may be possible to attempt to load multiple drivers – the correct driver will work, the incorrect drivers will fail to install.

WHAT SYSTEMS DO YOU CURRENTLY SUPPORT?

Microsoft Windows 95, MS Win 98, MS Win NT, MS Win 2000. We are undecided on support for Linux. Tell us what your development goals are for your systems.

DO I HAVE TO BUILD MY OWN RECOVERY SOLUTION?

No, you can choose to use the OS only recovery, or have us build your custom recovery solution.

WE WOULD IDEALLY LIKE TO KEEP OUR CUSTOMERS UPDATED, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. DO I HAVE TO DEVELOP NEW MASTERS FOR ANY CHANGE?

Yes, you need to remaster your CD to include changes. We often recommend that you use @priori webpatch to maintain and update the system for changes once delivered to the end users. With maintenance occurring in the field, this will reduce the requirement for new masters.

HOW CAN WE MINIMIZE COSTS?

By creating a common recovery CD for several models that all use the same operating system. @priori emergency recovery detects the common files from the unique ones for each system based on the Model. You would provide us with separate harddisk drives (HDD) configured for each model, and we would compare them to build the recovery CD. Each model has to be uniquely identifiable in the ROM BIOS (for model detection). This allows a single version of a BIOS Locked OS CD that can be used across all models using that OS. Additional media would be added for device drivers and other applications that will not fit on the remaining CD-ROM space.

WHAT IS THE ADDITIONAL COST OF THE VARIOUS LANGUAGE VERSIONS? 

Pricing is independent of language. We can support any 8-bit language within a week given local text translation. 16-bit languages will take approximately two to three weeks. Multiple languages can be created simultaneously. We currently support 11 languages and can localize new languages in the first week after training. Our current supported languages are English, French, Dutch, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Danish.

WHAT SOLUTION DO YOU HAVE FOR CREATING RECOVERY CDS DURING PRODUCTION?

To support Build-to-Configure application loads, we have developed a compartmentalized approach to application loads and can develop this solution in conjunction with selective application restore.  This also solves the problem of many small OEMs that do not have the resources to create recovery CDs for each model they develop.

SELECTIVE APPLICATION RESTORE

Another level of training would teach you how to create selective images that would correspond to specific applications. This also gives you the ability to create Build-to-Configure CDs at the time of machine assembly. Selective application restore gives the end user a seamless, easy to use way to recreate the original disk image with a minimum of demand on the OEM.

IS THERE A PROMPT TO KEY IN PRODUCT ID (PID) NUMBER IN THE RECOVERY CD RE-BOOT SEQUENCE?

The system boots into the COA screen where the end user must type in the COA number (or PID).

WHAT ARE THE FEES FOR BUILDING MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS, DRIVERS AND SUPPORT FOR DIFFERENT MODELS?

See the price list. It depends on the number of selective applications and drivers. Note, for complex jobs, we look at the actual work involved and quote a fee based on actual estimated effort. Each application requires an additional fee. The first application costs more due to the initial setup for researching application restores. (Note all pricing is in US Dollars)

 

iLogistix is a world leader in software and hardware manufacturing operations for the computer industry. iLogistix has served the OEM community since 1984. The @priori Division has over a decade of experience building tools for OEMs to manage their software. @priori webpatch is a new web-based, model-specific, update management and 1 to 1 marketing system. @priori emergency recovery is a hard disk recovery solution, capable of selective non-destructive recovery.

@priori emergency recovery - works the way you want it to

@priori
Perceiving the need, delivering the solution,
- before there's a problem -

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. iLogistix, @priori, Emergency Recovery and WebPatch are trademarks of iLogistix Corporation.

News  /  Product Information  /  FAQ  /  Company  /  Contact
 
Designed by CoreData Solutions 2000