Hard disk drive with write-only region

• US 8,140,795 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2005
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Challener, David Carroll, Waltermann, Rod David
• Primary Examiner(s): Thai, Tuan V.
• Application Number:
  US11/068,322
• Publication Number:
  US 20060195654A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,577 Days
• Field of Search: 711163-164, 711/100, 711/154, 711/200
• US Class Current: 711/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/805 using a security table for the storage sub-system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0622 in relation to access
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0637 Permissions
• 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

The invention partitions the HDD into three areas, namely, no access, write-only, and the conventional read/write. Sensitive data (antivirus programs, back up data, etc.) is written into write-only areas, which thereafter become designated “no access” by appropriately changing their designation a data structure known as “logical block address” or “LBA”. Only users having approved passwords can change the status of a “no access” block back to “write-only” or “read/write”.

Claims

1. A controller for a memory device having at least one write-only region, the controller executing logic comprising:

executing data writes into a portion of the write-only region; and

designating the portion containing the data as a no access region to which any further write events and read events are prevented absent the input of a predetermined security code, the no access region growing at the expense of the write-only region in response to the execution of each of said data writes, wherein the memory device is a hard disk drive (HDD), and the HDD has at least one read/write region, wherein the write-only region is established by a series of blocks having consecutively numbered logical block addresses (LBAs);

wherein the series of blocks defines a beginning block, an ending block, and a next block to be written, wherein initially the next block to be written is the beginning block, writes being executed to the write-only region starting at the next block to be written .

2. The controller of claim 1, wherein after “

n”

blocks have been written, the LBA of the next block to be written is the LBA of the beginning block plus “

n”

.

3. The controller of claim 2, wherein the blocks from the beginning block inclusive to the block, inclusive, immediately preceding the next block to be written establish the no access region.

4. The controller of claim 1, the controller being in combination with a host computer.

5. A computer implemented method comprising:

executing data writes to a write-only region of a memory device selected from a group including hard disk drives (HDD) and USB memory devices; and

in response to each of said data writes to the write-only region of the memory device, designating only blocks written into the write-only region as “

no access”

to which access is denied to any user not inputting a predetermined code, wherein the memory device is a HDD, and the HDD has at least one read/write region, wherein the write-only region is established by a series of blocks having consecutively numbered logical block addresses (LBAs), wherein the series of blocks defines a beginning block, an ending block, and a next block to be written, wherein initially the next block to be written is the beginning block, writes being executed to the write-only region starting at the next block to be written.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 5, wherein after “

n”

blocks have been written, the LBA of the next block to be written is the LBA of the beginning block plus “

n”

.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 6, wherein the blocks from the beginning block, inclusive, to the block, inclusive immediately preceding the next block to be written establish the no access region.

8. A hard disk drive (HDD), comprising:

at least one controller;

at least one disk having at least a write-only region; and

logic for permitting writing data to, but not reading data from, the write-only region, wherein after each data write to the write-only region, data written to the write-only region thereafter is not overwritten under any circumstances without the provision of a predetermined code, wherein the write-only region is established by a series of blocks having consecutively numbered logical block addresses (LBAs), wherein the series of blocks defines a beginning block, an ending block, and a next block to be written, wherein initially the next block to be written is the beginning block, writes being executed to the write-only region starting at the next block to be written.

9. The HDD of claim 8, wherein the HDD has at least one read/write region.

10. The HDD of claim 8, wherein after “

n”

blocks have been written, the LBA of the next block to be written is the LBA of the beginning block plus “

n”

.

11. The HDD of claim 10, wherein the blocks from the beginning block, inclusive to the block, inclusive immediately preceding the next block to be written establish a no access region.

12. The HDD of claim 8, the controller being in combination with a host computer.