Read/write protect scheme for a disk cartridge and drive
First Claim
1. A removable disk cartridge comprising an outer casing devoid of a mechanical write protect switch and a storage medium disposed within said outer casing, said storage medium having a code stored thereon that indicates a protection mode of said storage medium, the code being rewritable so that the protection mode of the storage medium can be changed;
- wherein said rewritable protection code is written in only a small, predefined number of tracks on said storage medium yet defines the protection mode of a comparatively larger number of data tracks in which said protection code is not written, whereby the protection mode of all of said larger number of data tracks in which said protection code is not written is definable by way of said protection code written in said small number of tracks.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of inhibiting inadvertent and unauthorized writing and reading of information to and from a storage medium comprises the steps of (a) writing a first code in a predetermined location on the storage medium, the first code being indicative of a first protection mode of the storage medium; (b) receiving a command to change the protection mode of the storage medium from the first protection mode to a second protection mode; and, in response to the command, (c) writing in the predetermined location on the storage medium, in place of the first code, a second code indicative of the second protection mode. A protection mode can inhibit writing to the storage medium, both writing and reading to and from the medium, or neither. Changing of protection modes can also be password protected.
124 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A removable disk cartridge comprising an outer casing devoid of a mechanical write protect switch and a storage medium disposed within said outer casing, said storage medium having a code stored thereon that indicates a protection mode of said storage medium, the code being rewritable so that the protection mode of the storage medium can be changed;
- wherein said rewritable protection code is written in only a small, predefined number of tracks on said storage medium yet defines the protection mode of a comparatively larger number of data tracks in which said protection code is not written, whereby the protection mode of all of said larger number of data tracks in which said protection code is not written is definable by way of said protection code written in said small number of tracks.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for setting a protection mode of a removable disk cartridge of the type that is received by a disk drive, said disk drive being in communication with a host computer and being responsive to a protection code stored on said storage medium to inhibit host access to said storage medium in accordance with a current protection mode indicated by said code, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a removable disk cartridge comprising an outer casing devoid of a mechanical write protect switch and a storage medium disposed in said outer casing and having a code stored thereon that indicates a current protection mode of said storage medium, the code being rewritable so that the protection mode of the storage medium can be changed, wherein said rewritable protection code is written in only a small, predefined number of tracks on said storage medium yet defines the protection mode of a comparatively larger number of data tracks in which said protection code is not written, whereby the current protection mode of all of said larger number of data tracks in which said protection code is not written is definable by way of said protection code written in said small number of tracks; (b) receiving a command to change the protection mode of said storage medium from said current protection mode to a different protection mode; and
, in response to the command,(c) writing in said predetermined location on the storage medium, in place of the current code, a different code indicative of the different protection mode, said different protection mode and different code becoming said current protection mode and current code; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c) whenever it is desired again to change the protection mode of the storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification