Data medium with restorable original base data content, and method for its production

• US 6,718,466 B1
• Filed: 04/07/2000
• Issued: 04/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Basis GmbH, Edv-Vertriebs-Gesellschaft
• Original Assignee: Basis GmbH, Edv-Vertriebs-Gesellschaft
• Inventors: Koenen, Erwin, Duwe, Arno, Fox, Gregor, Schouten, Heinz
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Dennis M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Nitin C
• Application Number:
  US09/544,457
• Time in Patent Office: 1,460 Days
• Field of Search: 713/100, 714/100, 714/102
• US Class Current: 713/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1433 during software upgrading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1446 Point-in-time backing up or restoration of persistent data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1883 Methods for assignment of alternate areas for defective areas
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/007 Arrangement of the information on the record carrier, e.g. form of tracks , actual track shape, e.g. wobbled, or cross-section, e.g. v-shaped; Sequential information structures, e.g. sectoring or header formats within a track
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/26 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for the manufacture of record carriers

Abstract

For the purpose of providing a method for producing data media, and for providing such data media, by means of which both the need for reinstallation and the time required for restoring a given content to its pre-incompatibility state are minimized, this invention proposes a method for producing such a data medium with a restorable original base data content, whereby, in a section of the data medium designated as the active-data zone, an original base data content is generated, a separate section of the data medium is designated as the recovery zone, and a retrievable backup copy is saved from the active-data zone into the recovery zone.

Claims

1. A method for producing a data medium having a restorable original base data content, the method comprising the steps of:

providing an active-data zone on said data medium in which an original base data content is stored;

providing a recovery zone on said data medium being a separated area of said data medium;

saving a retrievable backup copy from said original base data content stored in said active-data zone into said recovery zone;

providing another zone on said data medium being designated for storing the address and size information of at least the recovery zone; and

wherein said original base data content is restorable in its entirety by restoring said retrievable backup copy of the recovery zone into said active-data zone.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

generating a new retrievable backup copy by redefining an original base data content.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein said recovery zone is protected against the unintentional overwriting of data.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the protocol for the generation of the backup copy is stored ill tho recovery zone.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein control data for error detection and error correction are created and stored during the generation of the backup copy.

6. The method as in claim 1, wherein compressing the data during generating of said backup copy.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein saving data files for the original base data content.

8. The method as in claim 1, wherein saving operating-system data forming the original base data content.

9. A data medium having an adaptable partitioning whereby an active-data zone, a recovery zone and a third zone are provided on said data medium, all three zones being separated from each other whereby an original base data content is storage in said active-data zone, a retrievable backup copy of said active-data zone being provided with said original base data content is savable in said recovery zone, and address and size information of at least the recovery zone are storage in said third zone wherein said data medium enables said original base data content of said active-data zone being restorable in its entirety by restoring said retrievable backup copy of said recovery zone into said active-data zone.