Hard disk drive protection system and method

• US 7,944,642 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2009
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Jeansonne, Jeffrey Kevin, Russo, Leonard E., Griebenow, L. Joy
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, KIN C
• Application Number:
  US12/319,327
• Publication Number:
  US 20090116139A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 360/75
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/042 due to external shock or vibration
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 21/12 Raising and lowering; Back-spacing or forward-spacing along track; Returning to starting position otherwise than during transducing operation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/08 Insulation or absorption of undesired vibrations or sounds

Abstract

A hard disk drive protection system comprises a sensor configured to detect an impending shock event and a hard drive protection module configured to determine whether to issue a fast park command for a hard disk drive in response to detecting the impending shock event based on a permissible quantity of fast park cycles for the hard disk drive.

Claims

1. A hard disk drive protection system, comprising:

a sensor configured to detect an impending shock event; and

a hard drive protection module configured to determine whether to issue a fast park command for a hard disk drive in response to detecting the impending shock event based in part on a quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to access fast park cycle data to determine the quantity of fast park cycles processed for the hard disk drive.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue a normal park command for the hard disk drive if the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive has reached a predetermined threshold.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the impending shock event is a free fall event.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive is stored in a memory of the hard disk drive.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive is approaching a predetermined threshold.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive has reached a predetermined threshold.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the hard drive protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive has exceeded a predetermined threshold.

9. A hard disk drive protection method, comprising:

detecting an impending shock event; and

determining whether to issue a fast park command for a hard disk drive in response to detecting the impending shock event based in part on a quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive in a memory of the hard disk drive.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising issuing a normal park command for the hard disk drive if the quantity of fast park cycles processed for the hard disk drive has reached a predetermined threshold.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising issuing an alert indicating that the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive is approaching a predetermined threshold.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising issuing an alert indicating that the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive has reached a predetermined threshold.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising issuing an alert indicating that the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive has exceeded a predetermined threshold.

15. A hard disk drive protection system, comprising:

a hard disk drive; and

a protection module configured to determine whether to issue a fast park command for the hard disk drive based in part on a quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive is stored in a memory of the hard disk drive.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the protection module configured to compare the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive to a predetermined threshold to determine whether to issue the fast park command.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the protection module is configured to issue an alert indicating that the quantity of fast park cycles processed by the hard disk drive has exceeded a predetermined threshold.