Storage device and method for performing a self-refresh operation

1. A method for performing a self-refresh operation in a storage device, the method comprising:

performing the following in a storage device after the storage device is powered by a host, wherein the storage device has a non-volatile memory:

determining whether to perform a self-refresh operation on data that was stored in the non-volatile memory before the storage device was powered by the host; and

in response to determining to perform the self-refresh operation, performing the self-refresh operation internally in the storage device by reading the data from the non-volatile memory of the storage device and writing the data back to the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein the storage device only needs to receive power from the host to perform the self-refresh operation.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing a state of the self-refresh operation, so the self-refresh operation can resume if interrupted.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device determines whether to perform the self-refresh operation by analyzing a time of a previous write of the data.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device determines to perform the self-refresh operation in response to receiving a command to perform the self-refresh operation.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the command is generated by activation of a user input element on the storage device.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the command is received from the host.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the host is a docking station.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein data is read from all valid, written logical addresses in the non-volatile memory.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein only data that is older than a threshold age is read from the non-volatile memory.

10. A method for performing a self-refresh operation in a storage device, the method comprising:

performing the following in a storage device having a memory:

determining that a self-refresh operation needs to be performed; and

in response to determining that the self-refresh operation needs to be performed, performing the self-refresh operation by reading data from the memory and writing the data back to the memory without transferring the data outside of the storage device;

wherein the data is written back to a portion of the memory that is less used than the portion where the data was read from.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a status of the self-refresh operation.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device comprises a controller on the same substrate as the memory.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device is removably connectable to the host.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the storage device is a universal serial bus (USB) drive.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storage device is embedded in the host.

16. A storage device comprising:

a non-volatile memory; and

a controller in communication with the non-volatile memory, wherein the controller is configured to perform the following after the storage device is powered by a host:

determine whether to perform a self-refresh operation on data that was stored in the non-volatile memory before the storage device was powered by the host; and

in response to determining to perform the self-refresh operation, perform the self-refresh operation internally in the storage device by reading the data from the non-volatile memory of the storage device and writing the data back to the non-volatile memory of the storage device, wherein the storage device only needs to receive power from the host to perform the self-refresh operation.

17. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein the controller is further configured to store a state of the self-refresh operation, so the self-refresh operation can resume if interrupted.

18. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether to perform the self-refresh operation by analyzing a time of a previous write of the data.

19. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein the controller determines to perform the self-refresh operation in response to receiving a command to perform the self-refresh operation.

20. The storage device of claim 19 , wherein the command is generated by activation of a user input element on the storage device.

21. The storage device of claim 19 , wherein the command is received from the host.

22. The storage device of claim 19 , wherein the host is a docking station.

23. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein data is read from all valid, written logical addresses in the non-volatile memory.

24. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein only data that is older than a threshold age is read from the non-volatile memory.

25. A storage device comprising:

a memory; and

a controller in communication with the memory, wherein the controller is configured to:

determine that a self-refresh operation needs to be performed; and

in response to determining that the self-refresh operation needs to be performed, perform the self-refresh operation by reading data from the memory and writing the data back to the memory without transferring the data outside of the storage device;

wherein the data is written back to a portion of the memory that is less used than the portion where the data was read from.

26. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein the controller is further configured to provide a status of the self-refresh operation.

27. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein the controller is on the same substrate as the memory.

28. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein the storage device is removably connectable to the host.

29. The storage device of claim 28 , wherein the storage device is a universal serial bus (USB) drive.

30. The storage device of claim 16 , wherein the storage device is embedded in the host.