Manipulating disk partitions between disks

• US 6,178,487 B1
• Filed: 07/24/1997
• Issued: 01/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Veritas Technologies, LLC (Whitehouse Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Powerquest Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Ruff, Eric J., Llewelyn, Scot, Raymond, Robert S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cabeca, John W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ellis, Kevin L.
• Application Number:
  US08/900,086
• Time in Patent Office: 1,279 Days
• Field of Search: 711/111, 711/112, 711/153, 711/165, 711/170, 711/173
• US Class Current: 711/165
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0607 by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0644 Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0676 Magnetic disk device

Abstract

A method allows manipulation of disk partitions defined by an IBM-compatible partition table. The disk partitions may be located on one or more disks attached to one or more disk drives. Each partition has an associated file system type, such as FAT or HPFS. An interrupted manipulation may be resumed at a point in the progress of the manipulation near the point of interruption. Available manipulations include verifying the integrity of a partition'"'"'s file system structures; displaying information about a partition; moving a partition to a different location; resizing a partition; and converting a partition from one file system to another file system. The resizing step is illustrated with particular reference to HPFS file systems and FAT file systems. The details required to perform these manipulations are attended to by an implementing program that requires only general direction from a user. Thus, the present invention provides a method that allows users who are unfamiliar with technical intricacies to easily manipulate IBM-compatible disk partitions, including extended partitions and logical partitions.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for manipulating disk partitions, comprising the steps of:

selecting an IBM-compatible partition located on a first disk, the partition having a left edge and a right edge, the first disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

determining a location on a second disk, the second disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors; and

placing a recovery partition indicator on at least one of the disks.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said replicating step comprises replicating a FAT partition.

3. A computer-implemented method for manipulating disk partitions, comprising the steps of:

selecting an IBM-compatible partition located on a first disk, the partition having a left edge and a right edge, the first disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

determining a location on a second disk, the second disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors; and

locking the selected partition prior to said replicating step.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said replicating step comprises replicating a FAT partition.

5. A computer-implemented method for manipulating disk partitions, comprising the steps of:

selecting an IBM-compatible partition located on a first disk, the partition having a left edge and a right edge, the first disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

determining a location on a second disk, the second disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors; and

rebooting after said replicating step so that changes made during said replicating step will be detected by an operating system.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said replicating step comprises replicating a FAT partition.

7. A computer-implemented method for manipulating disk partitions, comprising the steps of:

selecting an IBM-compatible partition located on a first disk, the partition having a left edge and a right edge, the first disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

determining a location on a second disk, the second disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion; and

replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors

wherein said replicating step comprises placing a system indicator in a recovery sector on at least one of the disks.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said replicating step comprises replicating a FAT partition.

9. A computer-implemented method for manipulating disk partitions, comprising the steps of:

selecting an IBM-compatible partition located on a first disk, the partition having a left edge and a right edge, the first disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

determining a location on a second disk, the second disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion; and

replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors, the modified partition having more sectors than the selected partition, and wherein said replicating step comprises determining the maximum size of the modified partition.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said replicating step comprises replicating a FAT partition.

11. A computer-implemented method for manipulating disk partitions, comprising the steps of:

selecting an IBM-compatible partition located on a first disk, the partition having a left edge and a right edge, the first disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

determining a location on a second disk, the second disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion; and

replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors the modified partition having fewer sectors than the selected partition, and wherein said replicating step comprises determining the minimum size of the modified partition.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said replicating step further comprises identifying a safety factor for use in determining the minimum size of the modified partition.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said replicating step comprises replicating a FAT partition.

14. A computer-implemented method for manipulating disk partitions, comprising the steps of:

selecting an IBM-compatible partition located on a first disk, the partition having a left edge and a right edge, the first disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion;

determining a location on a second disk, the second disk having a plurality of sectors arranged substantially in end-to-end fashion; and

replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors wherein said replicating step comprises identifying bad sectors which are located outside the modified partition and inside the selected partition and removing references to the identified bad sectors from file system structures of the modified partition.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said replicating step comprises replicating a FAT partition.

16. A system for manipulating disk partitions, comprising:

a first disk on which an IBM-compatible partition is located, the partition having a left edge and a right edge;

a second disk;

selection means for selecting the partition for replication;

determination means for determining a location on the second disk; and

replication means for replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors, wherein said replication means comprises a means for testing for bad sectors and avoiding bad sectors while copying data and system information into the modified partition.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said replication means comprises a modem.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein said replication means comprises a serial port.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein said replication means comprises a parallel port.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein said replication means comprises a network port.

21. A system for manipulating disk partitions, comprising:

a first disk on which an IBM-compatible partition is located, the partition having a left edge and a right edge;

a second disk;

selection means for selecting the partition for replication;

determination means for determining a location on the second disk; and

replication means for replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors, wherein said replication means comprises a means for resizing such that the modified partition has a different number of disk sectors than the selected partition.

22. The system of claim 21 herein said replication means comprises a modem.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein said replication means comprises a serial port.

24. The system of claim 22 wherein said replication means comprises a parallel port.

25. The system of claim 22 wherein said replication means comprises a network port.

26. A system for manipulating disk partitions, comprising:

a first disk on which an IBM-compatible partition is located, the partition having a left edge and a right edge;

a second disk;

selection means for selecting the partition for replication;

determination means for determining a location on the second disk;

replication means for replicating used sectors of the selected partition to produce a modified partition in the location on the second disk while avoiding replication of free sectors; and

a recovery means for indicating that an earlier attempt at partition manipulation has been interrupted.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein said replication means comprises a modem.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein said replication means comprises a serial port.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein said replication means comprises a parallel port.

30. The system of claim 26 wherein said replication means comprises a network port.