IP Library Granted Patent US 7,506,224
Granted Patent B2
US 7,506,224 · App. 11/488,233 · Granted Mar 17, 2009

Failure recovering method and recording apparatus

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,506,224
App. No.
11/488,233
Granted
Mar 17, 2009
Kind
B2
Abstract

A bad sector is detected by activating a bad sector detecting function of a recording apparatus at a predetermined interval. The bad sector is recovered, when the bad sector is detected at the detecting, by overwriting data on the bad sector with a duplication of the data, and when overwriting fails, by writing the duplication of the data on other sector.

Claims (38)

1. A failure recovering method for a recording apparatus having a bad sector detecting function for detecting a bad sector by executing a read test on each sector, the failure recovering method comprising:

detecting the bad sector by activating the bad sector detecting function at a predetermined interval; and

recovering, when the bad sector is detected at the detecting, the bad sector by overwriting data on the bad sector with a duplication of the data, and when overwriting fails, by writing the duplication of the data on other sector.

2. The failure recovering method according to claim 1 , wherein

the recovering includes overwriting, when the bad sector is detected at the detecting, all data on the recording apparatus including the bad sector with a duplication of the all data created on other recording apparatus.

3. The failure recovering method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

storing sector information indicating a correspondence between each sector and data stored in the sector, wherein

the recovering includes, when a bad sector is detected at the detecting,

identifying data to be stored in the bad sector based on the sector information stored at the storing; and

overwriting the data on the bad sector with the duplication of the data.

4. The failure recovering method according to claim 1 , wherein

the detecting includes changing the predetermined interval based on a detecting interval of the bad sector.

5. The failure recovering method according to claim 1 , wherein

the detecting includes changing the predetermined interval based on a detecting interval of either one of a sector that required a longer time than a predetermined time for reading the data and a sector that required more than predetermined number of retries for reading the data.

6. The failure recovering method according to claim 1 , wherein

the recovering includes overwriting, when the bad sector is detected at the detecting, data on a sector located in neighborhood of the bad sector with a duplication of the data.

7. The failure recovering method according to claim 1 , wherein

the recovering includes, when a frequency of detecting the bad sector is higher than a predetermined value,

regarding that the recording apparatus including the bad sector is faulty; and

transferring all data to a replacement recording apparatus by using a duplication of the all data created on other recording apparatus.

8. The failure recovering method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

monitoring a sector to which a read access is accepted from a user; and

quasi-detecting including

detecting, when the read access fails, the sector as a quasi-bad sector, wherein

the recovering includes recovering the quasi-bad sector by overwriting data on the quasi-bad sector with a duplication of the data, and when overwriting fails, by writing the duplication of the data on other sector.

9. The failure recovering method according to claim 8 , wherein

the recovering includes overwriting data on sectors near the quasi-bad sector with duplications of the data.

10. The failure recovering method according to claim 8 , further comprising:

storing a quasi-bad sector list in which the quasi-bad sectors detected at the quasi-detecting are listed, wherein

the recovering includes

referring to the quasi-bad sectors listed in the quasi-bad sector list; and

overwriting, when the quasi-bad sector detected at the quasi-detecting is located near one of the quasi-bad sectors enlisted in the quasi-bad sector list, sectors near the quasi-bad sector with the duplication of the data.

11. A recording apparatus having a bad sector detecting function for detecting a bad sector by executing a read test on each sector, the recording apparatus comprising:

a detecting unit that detects the bad sector by activating the bad sector detecting function at a predetermined interval; and

a recovering unit that recovers, when the bad sector is detected by the detecting unit, the bad sector by overwriting data on the bad sector with a duplication of the data, and when overwriting fails, by writing the duplication of the data on other sector.

12. The recording apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising:

a quasi-bad sector detecting unit that a sector to which a read access is accepted from a user, and detects, when the read access fails, the sector as a quasi-bad sector, wherein

the recovering unit recovers the quasi-bad sector by overwriting data on the quasi-bad sector with a duplication of the data, and when overwriting fails, by writing the duplication of the data on other sector.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 23, 2009
From: FUJITSU LIMITED
To: TOSHIBA STORAGE DEVICE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 023558/0225 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 18, 2006
From: EJIRI, ARATA; OHTA, MITSUHIKO; TODA, SEIJI
To: FUJITSU LIMITED
Reel/Frame 018113/0873 →