US Patent 7281239 Method for determining software load process

The present invention is a method for determining the software load process. In an exemplary aspect of the present invention, a method for determining computer system software load process may start with loading computer system software on a computer. Then a marker file may be provided in the loaded computer system software. The marker file may indicate whether the loaded computer system software was loaded in a computer manufacturer's factory, loaded by a system restoration CD (SRCD), or loaded by downloading an image. When a program running on the computer abnormally terminates and the computer is able to send the marker file to a central authority, the marker file may be sent to the central authority by the computer. When a program running on the computer abnormally terminates and the computer is not able to send the marker file to a central authority, the marker file may be sent to the central authority by the computer after the computer reboots. The present invention may be applied to determining a load process for any computer software, including any system software and any application software.