During the initialization phase of a computer system, specific firmware files and the basic input/output system (BIOS) code are accessed from non-volatile memories, such a low pin count (LPC) or simple peripheral interface (SPI) flash memories. One known technique is for each of the firmware files and the BIOS code to be stored in a separate memory and accessed separately by a corresponding controller. This technique results in a computer system that requires additional memory chips and thus has a higher cost. An alternative technique is to store all of the firmware files and the BIOS code in a single memory and to incorporate a memory controller to manage memory requests to the single memory. However, the size of the firmware and the BIOS are largely dependent on the implementation of the respective controllers and vary widely. Therefore during the initialization phase, the BIOS typically programs the memory controller with memory partition data. However, this technique requires the BIOS be read from memory before the other controllers can access their firmware and thus slows system initialization.
In the following description, the use of the same reference numerals in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.