Computer recovery apparatus

• US 6,766,476 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2001
• Issued: 07/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Matsufusa, Ichiroh
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilson, Yolanda L
• Application Number:
  US09/904,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20020035707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,104 Days
• Field of Search: 714/38, 714/15, 714/23, 714/36, 714/6, 713/1, 713/2, 717/174, 717/175
• US Class Current: 714/38.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures

Abstract

While restoring a preload image to a hard drive, the ability to boot the operating system on the hard drive is inhibited until the recovery process is complete. In one embodiment, a file that must be loaded in order to boot the operating system on the hard drive (for example, IO.SYS) is written to the hard disk only at the end of the recovery operation. If a user inadvertently attempts to start the operating system before the recovery operating is complete, the operating system will not boot until the recovery process is complete and the required file is written to the appropriate directory (usually the root directory) on the hard drive.

Claims

1. A computer recovery apparatus for reading preload image data from a recovery recording medium to recover a preload image onto a storage device, wherein:

an OS which is recorded on said external storage device and to be recovered is defined as a normal OS and an OS which is recorded on a recording medium other than said—

remove external—

storage device and used for a recovery task is defined as a recovery OS;

said apparatus comprises a failure forcing unit for causing the activation of the normal OS to fail if a user mistakenly performs an operation for activating the normal OS during the recovery.

2. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in said—

remove external—

storage device and to be read for activating the normal OS is defined as a presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file;

said failure forcing unit keeps said presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file absent from said predetermined location until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

3. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in—

remove said external—

storage device and to be read for activating;

said failure forcing unit keeps the activation-failure-causing presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular presence-requisite-for OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

4. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in—

remove said external—

storage device and to be read for activating;

said failure forcing unit keeps the modified presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular presence-requisite-for OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

5. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if the file exists in a predetermined location in the—

remove external—

storage device;

said failure forcing unit keeps the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular read-at-OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

6. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if the file exists in a predetermined location in the—

remove external—

storage device;

said failure forcing unit keeps the modified read-at-OS-activation file present in the predetermined location instead of the regular read-at-OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

7. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if the file exists in a predetermined location in the—

remove external—

storage device;

said failure forcing unit keeps the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file present in the predetermined location until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task, and removes all the read-at-OS-activation files including the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file from the predetermined location after the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

8. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

a notification unit for notifying a user of a mis-activation-operation, if the user mistakenly performs an operation for activating the normal OS before the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

9. The computer recovery apparatus according to claim 8, wherein:

said notification unit is an unit for displaying text on a display or unit for generating a sound to notify the user of the mis-activation-operation, or unit for ejecting a tray containing the recovery recording medium.

10. The computer recovery apparatus according to claims 1, further comprising:

a notification unit for providing to the user an error code corresponding to a mis-activation-operation, if the user mistakenly performs the operation for activating the normal OS before the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recording medium for recovery in the recovery task.

11. A computer recovery method for reading preload image data from a recovery recording medium to recover a preload image into an external storage device, wherein:

an OS which is recorded on said external storage device and to be recovered is defined as a normal OS and an OS which is recorded on a recording medium other than said—

remove external—

storage device and used for a recovery task is defined as a recovery OS;

said method comprises the step of causing the activation of the normal OS to fail if a user mistakenly performs an operation for activating the normal OS during the recovery.

12. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in said external storage device and to be read for activating the normal OS is defined as a presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said method comprises the step of keeping said presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file absent from said predetermined location until the completion of a recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of a recovery OS in a recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

13. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in said external storage device and to be read for activating the normal OS is defined as a presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file and an activation-failure-causing presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file which has the same name as that of the presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file and does not activate the normal OS even when being read is provided besides the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said method comprises the step of keeping the activation-failure-causing presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file until the completion of a recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

14. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in said external storage device and to be read for activating the normal OS is defined as a presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file, and a modified presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file modified from the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file so as to cause the activation of the normal OS to fail even when being read by the computer is provided besides the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said method comprises the step of keeping the modified presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

15. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if the file exists in a predetermined location in the external storage device is defined as a read-at-OS-activation file and an activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file which has the same name as that of the read-at-OS-activation file and does not activate the normal OS when it is read is provided besides the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said method comprises the step of keeping the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular read-at-OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

16. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if the file exists in a predetermined location in said external storage device is defined as a read-at-OS-activation file, and a modified read-at-OS-activation file which is modified so as to cause the activation of the normal OS to fail if read by the computer is provided besides the regular read-at-OS-activation file; and

said method comprises the step of keeping the modified read-at-OS-activation file present in the predetermined location instead of the regular read-at-OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

17. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if said file exists in a predetermined location in said external storage device is defined as a read-at-OS-activation file, and an activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file which causes the activation of the normal OS to fail when read by the computer is provided; and

said method comprises the steps of keeping the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file present in the predetermined location until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task, and removing all the read-at-OS-activation files including the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file from the predetermined location after the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

18. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, comprising the step of:

notifying a user of a mis-activation-operation, if the user mistakenly performs an operation for activating the normal OS before the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

19. The computer recovery method according to claim 18, wherein:

said notification step is made by displaying text on a display or generating a sound to notify the user of the mis-activation-operation, or ejecting a tray containing the recovery recording medium.

20. The computer recovery method according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

providing an error code corresponding to a mis-activation-operation to the user, if the user mistakenly performs the operation for activating a normal OS before the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recording medium for recovery in the recovery task.

21. A computer readable recording medium on which a computer recovery program is recorded having computer executable instructions for reading preload image data from a recovery recording medium to recover a preload image into an external storage device, wherein:

an OS which is recorded on said external storage device and to be recovered is defined as a normal OS and an OS which is recorded on a recording medium other than said—

remove external—

storage device and used for a recovery task is defined as a recovery OS;

an OS which is recorded on said external storage device and to be recovered is defined as a normal OS and an OS which is recorded on a recording medium other than said external storage device and used for the recovery task is defined as a recovery OS; and

said computer recovery program comprises the step of causing the activation of the normal OS to fail if a user mistakenly performs an operation for activating the normal OS during the recovery.

22. The recording medium according to claim 21, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in said external storage device and to be read for activating the normal OS is defined as a presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said computer recovery program comprises the step of keeping said presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file absent from said predetermined location until the completion of a recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of a recovery OS in a recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of a recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

23. The recording medium, according to claim 21, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in said external storage device and to be read for activating the normal OS is defined as a presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file and an activation-failure-causing presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file which has the same name as that of the presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file and does not activate the normal OS even when being read is provided besides the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said computer recovery program comprises the step of keeping the activation-failure-causing presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular presence-requisite-for OS-activation file until the completion of a recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

24. The computer recording medium according to claim 21, wherein:

a file which is recorded on a predetermined location in said external storage device and to be read for activating the normal OS is defined as a presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file, and a modified presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file modified from the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation so as to cause the activation of the normal OS to fail is provided besides the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said computer recovery program comprises the step of keeping the modified presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular presence-requisite-for OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

25. The recording medium according to claim 21, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if the file exists in a predetermined location in the external storage device is defined as a read-at-OS-activation file and an activation failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file which has the same name as that of the read-at-OS-activation file and does not activate the normal OS when it is read is provided besides the regular presence-requisite-for-OS-activation file; and

said computer recovery program comprises the step of keeping the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file present in said predetermined location instead of the regular read-at-OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

26. The recording medium according to claim 21, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if the file exists in a predetermined location in said external storage device is defined as a read-at-OS-activation file, and a modified read-at-OS-activation file which is modified so as to cause the activation of the normal OS to fail if read by the computer is provided besides the regular read-at-OS-activation file; and

said computer recovery program comprises the step of keeping the modified read-at-OS-activation file present in the predetermined location instead of the regular read-at-OS-activation file until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

27. The recording medium according to claim 21, wherein:

a file which does not need to be read for the activation of the normal OS but is read and executed during the activation of the normal OS if said file exists in a predetermined location in said external storage device is defined as a read-at-OS-activation file, and an activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file which causes the activation of the normal OS to fail when read by the computer is provided; and

said computer recovery program comprises the steps of keeping the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file present in the predetermined location until the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task, and removing all the read-at-OS-activation files including the activation-failure-causing read-at-OS-activation file from the predetermined location after the completion of the recovery, the completion of the last reactivation of the recovery OS in the recovery task, or the completion of the last replacement of the recovery recording medium in the recovery task.

28. A computer readable delivery apparatus for delivering a computer recovery program having computer executable instructions for reading preload image data from a recovery recording medium to recover a preload image into an external storage device, wherein:

an OS which is recorded on said external storage device and to be recovered is defined as a normal OS and an OS which is recorded on a recording medium other than said—

remove external—

storage device and used for a recovery task is defined as a recovery OS;

an OS which is recorded on said external storage device and to be recovered is defined as a normal OS and an OS which is recorded on a recording medium other than said external storage device and used for the recovery task is defined as a recovery OS; and

said computer recovery program comprises the step of causing the activation of the normal OS to fail if a user mistakenly performs an operation for activating the normal OS during the recovery.