A method and apparatus for indicating the status of an ancillary embedded system in an electronic device. In one exemplary embodiment, the method includes starting an initialization process of a high-level embedded system in the electronic device. The method further includes determining the status of the ancillary embedded system. The method further includes generating display information for the status of the ancillary embedded system. The method further includes storing the display information in a manner retrievable by the high-level embedded system. The method further includes reading the stored set of display information and displaying an indication of the status on a user display prior to completion of the high-level embedded system's initialization process. The method further includes periodically updating the stored set of display information by the ancillary embedded system to provide a real-time indication of status.