APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LIMITING ACCESS TO MASS STORAGE DEVICES IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM

A computer system is provided with the capability of protecting portions of the mass storage media therein from unauthorized access. The mechanism employed to protect portions of the mass storage media is advantageously operating system independent. Thus, the protection mechanism functions regardless of what operating system is installed or what particular application software is presently being executed. More particularly, the computer system includes a processor configured to execute code in an operational mode and in a system management mode. A mass storage device and a memory are coupled to the processor. At least one region of the mass storage device is designated as a protected region by the user or by the manufacturer. The computer system is configured to trap mass storage device I/O operations and, in response to a trapped mass storage device I/O operation, the processor enters a system management mode. The computer system is configured to prevent execution of the trapped mass storage device I/O operation if the trapped mass storage device I/O operation is directed to a protected region of the mass storage device. However, the computer executes the trapped mass storage device I/O operation if the trapped mass storage device I/O operation is not directed to a protected region of the mass storage device. In this manner, increased computer system security is provided to selected portions of the mass storage device without reliance on protective mechanisms within the operating system or within add-on application software.