Media boot loader

1. A boot media loader method, said method comprising:

causing at least one processor to determine if a fast-boot mode has been activated based on data stored in at least one memory device separate from an external bootable media, said fast-boot mode resulting in booting from said external bootable media instead of booting according to a standard boot procedure;

upon said at least one processor determining that the fast-boot mode has been activated:

(a) causing the at least one processor to detect bootable media independent of partitioning or type of media;

(b) when bootable media is detected, causing the at least one processor to read data from a predetermined location of the bootable media;

(c) causing the at least one processor to determine a file system type of a file system of the detected bootable media from the read data;

(d) causing the at least one processor to load designated boot loader code associated with the corresponding file system type from basic input and output system code; and

(e) causing the at least one processor to transfer execution control to the loaded boot loader code; and

upon said at least one processor determining that the fast-boot mode has not been activated, causing the at least one processor to load default boot loader code to perform the standard boot procedure.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the designated boot loader code in a predetermined memory location for loading by the basic input and output system code.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising storing the designated boot loader code in a same memory location as the basic input and output system code.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the designated boot loader code in association with the basic input and output system code.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the file system type includes at least one selected from the group consisting of: FAT, VFAT, HPFS and NTFS.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, if no designated boot loader code associated with the corresponding file system type is available, causing the at least one processor to provide an error message.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, if no designated boot loader code associated with the corresponding file system type is available, causing the at least one processor to load the default boot loader code to perform the standard boot procedure.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing the at least one processor to detect, based on the designated boot loader code, the presence of executable program code to load from the bootable media.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising causing the at least one processor to load and execute the detected executable program code.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the executable program code includes code indicative of an operating system.

11. An electronic device, said device comprising:

a processor;

a memory, coupled to the processor, the memory including a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

determine if a fast-boot mode has been activated based on data stored in at least one memory device separate from an external bootable media, said fast-boot mode resulting in booting from said external bootable media instead of booting according to a standard boot procedure,

upon determining that the fast-boot mode has been activated:

(a) detect bootable media independent of partitioning or type of media,

(b) when bootable media is detected, read data from a predetermined location of the bootable media,

(c) determine a file system type of a file system of the detected bootable media from the read data,

(d) load designated boot loader code associated with the corresponding file system type from basic input and output system code, and

(e) transfer device execution control to the boot loader code, and

upon determining that the fast-boot has not been activated, load default boot loader code to perform the standard boot procedure.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to store the designated boot loader code in a predetermined memory location for loading by the basic input and output system code.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to store the designated boot loader code in a same memory location as the basic input and output system code.

14. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to store the designated boot loader code in association with the basic input and output system code.

15. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to provide an error message when no boot loader code associated with the corresponding file system type is available.

16. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to load the default boot loader code to perform the standard boot procedure when no designated boot loader code associated with the corresponding file system type is available.

17. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to detect, based on the designated boot loader code, the presence of executable program code to load from the bootable media.

18. The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to load and execute the detected executable program code.

19. The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein the executable program code includes code indicative of an operating system.

20. A computer program stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium for providing a media boot loader, said computer program comprising:

a code segment for determining if a fast-boot mode has been activated based on data stored in at least one memory device separate from an external bootable media, said fast-boot mode resulting in booting from said external bootable media instead of booting according to a standard boot procedure;

a code segment for, upon determining that the fast-boot mode has been activated, detecting bootable media independent of partitioning or type of media;

a code segment for, upon determining that the fast-boot mode has been activated and when bootable media is detected, reading data from a predetermined location of the bootable media;

a code segment for, upon determining that the fast-boot mode has been activated, determining a file system type of a file system of the detected bootable media from the read data;

a code segment for, upon determining that the fast-boot mode has been activated, loading designated boot loader code associated with the corresponding file system type from the basic input and output system code; and

a code segment for, upon determining that the fast-boot mode has been activated, transferring execution control to the boot loader code; and

a code segment for, upon determining that the fast-boot mode has not been activated, loading default boot loader code to perform the standard boot procedure.