Abstract: An information handling system may include a circuit board, a shock detector mounted on the circuit board, and a detection circuit electrically coupled to the shock detector. The shock detector may be configured to complete an electrical circuit in a first state in an absence of a threshold mechanical force applied to the information handling system and to have an impedance discontinuity in a second state in a presence of the threshold mechanical force. The detection circuit may be configured to detect whether the impedance discontinuity exists.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a circuit board, an integrated circuit package mounted on the circuit board, the integrated circuit package comprising: a plurality of solder balls for electrically coupling the integrated circuit package to the circuit board, the plurality of solder balls comprising a first solder ball and a second solder ball, an internal electrical coupling coupled between the first solder ball and the second solder ball, and a management controller electrically coupled to the internal electrical coupling, the first solder ball, and the second solder ball, and configured to provide out-of-band management facilities for management of the information handling system, the management controller further configured to detect whether an impedance discontinuity has occurred with respect to one or both of the first solder ball and the second solder ball.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a strain force fuse formed on a circuit board of the information handling system, the strain force fuse configured to experience an impedance discontinuity in response to a mechanical force applied to the circuit board at or proximate to the strain force fuse and a management controller electrically coupled to the strain force fuse and configured to provide out-of-band management facilities for management of the information handling system, the management controller further configured to detect whether the impedance discontinuity has occurred.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a circuit board, an integrated circuit package mounted on the circuit board, the integrated circuit package comprising: a plurality of solder balls for electrically coupling the integrated circuit package to the circuit board, the plurality of solder balls comprising a first solder ball and a second solder ball, an internal electrical coupling coupled between the first solder ball and the second solder ball, and a management controller electrically coupled to the internal electrical coupling, the first solder ball, and the second solder ball, and configured to provide out-of-band management facilities for management of the information handling system, the management controller further configured to detect whether an impedance discontinuity has occurred with respect to one or both of the first solder ball and the second solder ball.

Abstract: An information handling system includes a processor and an embedded controller. The processor executes operations while the information handling system is in an active power state. The embedded controller communicates with the processor. While the information handling system is in the active power state, the embedded controller detects a trigger event. In response to the trigger event, the embedded controller provides a ping command to the processor. Based on a response to the ping command not being received, the embedded controller determines a processor freeze, stores forensic data associated with the processor freeze, and stores an indication to perform a processor freeze recovery during a next boot operation.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a processor, a display device communicatively coupled to the processor, and a management controller communicatively coupled to the processor and the display device and configured to, in response to a failure of the information handling system, determine a component of the information handling system as a source of failure, generate a unique failure code associated with the failure, encrypt the unique failure code to generate an encrypted unique failure code, and display the encrypted unique failure code to the display device.

Abstract: An information handling system includes a processor and an embedded controller. The processor executes operations while the information handling system is in an active power state. The embedded controller communicates with the processor. While the information handling system is in the active power state, the embedded controller detects a trigger event. In response to the trigger event, the embedded controller provides a ping command to the processor. Based on a response to the ping command not being received, the embedded controller determines a processor freeze, stores forensic data associated with the processor freeze, and stores an indication to perform a processor freeze recovery during a next boot operation.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a processor and a basic input/output system (BIOS) comprising a program of instructions executable on the processor, the basic input/output system configured to, upon occurrence of a predetermined number of failures to complete a power-on/self-test (POST) of the information handling system: for each particular critical boot variable of the BIOS stored in a memory associated with the BIOS, read a backup variable for the particular critical boot variable, if available, and write a value of the backup variable as the critical boot variable; and attempt to reboot the information handling system with values of the backup variables used for the critical boot variables.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for supporting use of system BIOS components (e.g., such as BIOS debug messages, debugger firmware, UEFI drivers, etc.) that are stored separately from the remainder of system BIOS firmware for an information handling system. The system BIOS components may represent only a portion of the total BIOS firmware, and may be selectively retrieved and loaded from the separate storage into system memory when needed by the system BIOS for operating purposes (e.g., such as debugging operations).

Abstract: A set of security templates is maintained including first and second templates. The first template specifies time and location stamp authentication for a file, and contextual security conditions that must be met before the file can be accessed. The second template specifies the time and location stamp authentication, but not the contextual security conditions. One of the first or second security templates is applied to the particular file. When the second security template is applied, a GPS-crypto device adds a time and location stamp to the particular file. The particular file is signed using a private key associated with the GPS-crypto device to generate an authentication signature based on the time and location stamp. The authentication signature is added to the particular file to allow a recipient to verify the time and location stamp of the particular file using a public key corresponding to the private key.

Abstract: An information handling system includes a non-volatile storage device communicatively coupled to a boot processor and an application processor. The boot processor, prior to the execution of a hang sensitive transaction, stores information associated with the hang sensitive transaction at a memory device. The application processor is configured to detect a catastrophic failure of the hang sensitive transaction. In response to the detection of the catastrophic failure, the application processor retrieves the information stored at the memory device and store the information at the non-volatile storage device.

Abstract: A method of instructing a user prior to a boot-up process of an information handling system may include, with an embedded controller (EC) of the information handling system, executing a guided diagnostic flow module to: determine that a power-on process has been initiated at the information handling system; determine whether the EC detected a power sequencing timeout during boot up; and determine at which power rail boot-up has hung during the power-on process; and where the EC either determines that the power sequencing timeout has occurred, determining a fault at an issue-experiencing hardware component operatively coupled to the determined power rail.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a processor and a basic input/output system (BIOS) comprising a program of instructions executable on the processor, the basic input/output system configured to, upon occurrence of a predetermined number of failures to complete a power-on/self-test (POST) of the information handling system: for each particular critical boot variable of the BIOS stored in a memory associated with the BIOS, read a backup variable for the particular critical boot variable, if available, and write a value of the backup variable as the critical boot variable; and attempt to reboot the information handling system with values of the backup variables used for the critical boot variables.

Abstract: Embodiments of information handling systems (IHSs) and computer-implemented methods are provided herein for testing system memory (or another volatile memory component) of an IHS. In the disclosed embodiments, memory testing is performed automatically: (a) during the pre-boot phase each time a new page of memory is allocated for the first time after a system boot, and (b) during OS runtime each time a read command is received and/or an event is detected. By proactively testing each page of memory, as the page is allocated but before information is stored therein, the systems and methods disclosed herein prevent “bad” memory pages from being used.

Abstract: An information handling system includes an embedded controller that subsequent to a determination that a power button is activated, may determine a sequence of unplugging a connector from a port within a time threshold and subsequently plugging the connector from the port within another time threshold. The embedded controller may determine a hotkey associated with the sequence of unplugging the connector from the port and subsequently plugging the connector to the port, and execute a function based on the hotkey.

Abstract: A method of instructing a user prior to a boot-up process of an information handling system may include, with an embedded controller (EC) of the information handling system, executing a guided diagnostic flow module to: determine that a power-on process has been initiated at the information handling system; determine whether the EC detected a power sequencing timeout during boot up; and determine at which power rail boot-up has hung during the power-on process; and where the EC either determines that the power sequencing timeout has occurred, determining a fault at an issue-experiencing hardware component operatively coupled to the determined power rail.

Abstract: Embodiments of information handling systems (HSs) and computer-implemented methods are provided herein to detect and recover from spurious PCIe device resets. One embodiment of a disclosed method is performed by a host processor of an IHS that includes a plurality of Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) devices, each including a set of PCIe configuration registers containing configuration settings for the PCIe device. The disclosed method includes generating, in response to the IHS transitioning from a lower power state to a higher power state, a PCIe device table containing the configuration settings stored within the set of PCIe configuration registers for each of the PCIe devices; determining, in response to detecting a system management interrupt (SMI), whether or not a spurious reset has occurred for at least one of the PCIe devices; and recovering the at least one PCIe device if said determining indicates that a spurious reset has occurred for the at least one PCIe device.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a processor and a basic input/output system configured to, responsive to an occurrence of an exception error, triage among various hardware components of the information handling system to determine existence of any signatures of potential hardware failures, write a database structure to a non-volatile memory including the signatures of potential hardware failures, upon boot of the basic input/output system, enable one or more control methods for hardware failure mitigations associated with the signatures of potential hardware failures, and perform the mitigations during execution of an operating system of the information handling system.

Abstract: An information handling system includes an embedded controller that subsequent to a determination that a power button is activated, may determine a sequence of unplugging a connector from a port within a time threshold and subsequently plugging the connector from the port within another time threshold. The embedded controller may determine a hotkey associated with the sequence of unplugging the connector from the port and subsequently plugging the connector to the port, and execute a function based on the hotkey.

Abstract: An information handling system may include a processor and a basic input/output system configured to, responsive to an occurrence of an exception error, triage among various hardware components of the information handling system to determine existence of any signatures of potential hardware failures, write a database structure to a non-volatile memory including the signatures of potential hardware failures, upon boot of the basic input/output system, enable one or more control methods for hardware failure mitigations associated with the signatures of potential hardware failures, and perform the mitigations during execution of an operating system of the information handling system.