Method and apparatus for rewriting program executed in disk drive

• US 20040022096A1
• Filed: 05/15/2003
• Published: 02/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakano, Yasumasa, Aoki, Takao
• Granted Patent: US 6,996,667 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 365/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0674 Disk device
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks

Abstract

If a disk drive receives a program transfer command issued by a host system, a program specified by the command is written to a disk. Next time the disk drive is powered on, a process is executed during an activating process, the process including using the program written to the disk to rewrite a program stored in a nonvolatile memory.

Claims

1. A method of rewriting a program stored in a nonvolatile memory in a disk drive in which control including that of accesses to a disk medium is executed in accordance with the program, the method comprising:

writing a program specified by a program transfer command for transfer of a program, to the disk medium upon receiving the program transfer command from a host system; and

executing an activating process to activate the disk drive in accordance with the program stored in the nonvolatile memory when the disk drive is powered on, the executing an activating process including rewriting the program stored in the nonvolatile memory using the program written to the disk medium according to the program transfer command.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising setting a valid rewrite request flag indicating that the program stored in the nonvolatile memory must be rewritten, in the nonvolatile memory in accordance with the writing of the program to the disk medium;

and

wherein the program stored in the nonvolatile memory is rewritten if the valid rewrite request flag is set in the nonvolatile memory.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the executing an activating process includes comparing a duration of complete reading of the program written to the disk medium in accordance with the program transfer command, with a predetermined time;

and

the rewriting of the program is hindered if the duration exceeds the predetermined time, and in the executing an activating process, the activating process is continued by assuming that a program used to rewrite the program has not been written to the disk medium.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the executing an activating process includes rewriting the program and then switching to execution of a new program obtained after the rewriting;

and

the activating process is continued in accordance with the new program obtained after the rewriting.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the executing an activating process includes rewriting the program and then confirming that the new program obtained after the rewriting operates normally, and

if it is determined that the new program obtained after the rewriting operates normally, the activating process is continued in accordance with the new program.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the executing an activating process includes:

rewriting the program and confirming that the new program obtained after the rewriting operates normally; and

if it is confirmed that the new program obtained after the rewriting operates normally, writing particular information to the nonvolatile memory, the information indicating that the new program is normal; and

wherein if the particular information is written to the nonvolatile memory, the activating process is continued in accordance with the new program obtained after the rewriting.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

determining whether the particular information has been written to the nonvolatile memory, in accordance with a monitor program independent of the program to be rewritten; and

if it is determined that the particular information has not been written to the nonvolatile memory, continuing execution of the monitor program instead of execution of the new program obtained after the rewriting.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the monitor program includes a command wait loop to wait for a command from the host system if it is determined that the particular information has not been written to the nonvolatile memory.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the monitor program includes a processing routine operating if a particular command to rewrite the main program is received during the command wait loop, to rewrite the program stored in the nonvolatile memory using a program specified by the command.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the executing an activating process includes:

saving status information indicative of a status of the disk drive at that point of time, before the program is rewritten;

after the program has been rewritten, executing an initializing process while a host system interface maintains the same status as that present before the program is rewritten, the host system interface connecting the host system and the disk drive together, the status of the host system interface containing a busy status set when the disk drive is powered on; and

after the program has been rewritten, restoring a status of the disk drive in accordance with the status information saved before the program is rewritten.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the executing an activating process includes clearing the busy status after the status of the disk drive has been restored.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the program is also rewritten if the host system provides the disk drive with a program write command specifying writing of a program when the program specified by the program transfer command has been written to the disk medium.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising stopping a spindle motor which rotates the disk medium when the program is rewritten.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the program stored in the nonvolatile memory contains a program rewrite routine to rewrite the program.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising copying the program rewrite routine to a memory when the program is rewritten, and

wherein the program stored in the nonvolatile memory is rewritten in accordance with the program rewrite routine copied to the memory.

16. A disk drive in which control including that of accesses to a disk medium is executed in accordance with a program, the program being stored is a nonvolatile memory, the disk drive comprising:

means for writing a program specified by a program transfer command for transfer of a program, to the disk medium upon receiving the program transfer command from a host system; and

means for executing an activating process to activate the disk drive in accordance with the program stored in the nonvolatile memory when the disk drive is powered on, the means for executing the activating process including rewriting the program stored in the nonvolatile memory using the program written to the disk medium in accordance with the program transfer command.

17. The disk drive according to claim 16, wherein the means for executing the activating process includes means for rewriting the program and then switching to execution of a new program obtained after the rewriting;

and

the means for executing the activating process continues the activating process according to the new program obtained after the rewriting.

18. The disk drive according to claim 16, wherein the means for executing the activating process includes:

means for saving status information indicative of a status of the disk drive at that point of time, before the program is rewritten;

means for executing an initializing process after the program has been rewritten, the initializing process being executed while a host system interface maintains the same status as that present before the program is rewritten, the host system interface connecting the host system and the disk drive together; and

means for restoring, after the program has been rewritten, a status of the disk drive in accordance with the status information saved before the program is rewritten.