JPH10260859A - Computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the time required for maintenance work by permitting a computer system itself to self-diagnose an operation environment and restoring an abnormal part based on the judgment of the computer system itself when abnormality occurs in the result of diagnosis. SOLUTION: The presence of absence of the change of the system environment of the computer system 2, namely, the file of software and firmware is diagnosed by comparing system information which a system information file 23 holds with a system file 21. When it is judged that the file of firm ware changes as the compared result between system information which the system information file 23 holds and the content of the system file 21, firmware is self-restored in accordance with the content of a backup file 25. Thus, the efficiency of maintenance is not affected by the size of the system and the ability of a user. Time required for maintenance is reduced and the waiting time of the user is shortened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly, to a computer system that performs self-maintenance when a user gives an instruction as needed at an arbitrary time such as at the time of startup.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, personal computers have come to have various functions as their performance has been improved,
The improvement and simplification of operability represented by I (Graphical User Interface) are progressing. But with that,
Hardware and software are becoming more sophisticated and complicated inside the system, and maintenance takes time. For this reason, a user's operation error or a simple environment setting error, etc., triggers a serious failure, which is likely to cause human and time loss, and furthermore, an economical loss. Cannot be ignored. For this reason, in order to use a computer system represented by a personal computer comfortably, it is very important that the system can be maintained efficiently.

[0003] By the way, in the maintenance of a conventional computer system, information necessary for the maintenance is previously collected by a user as backup information, and the system is repaired based on the backup information as needed. However, as described above, in recent sophisticated and complicated computer systems, since the size of the system is very large, repair work of the system based on the backup information requires time directly proportional to the size. This causes a problem that the user is kept waiting each time.

[0004] There is also a method of performing the above-mentioned repair work by using the environment setting function of software. In such a case, it is necessary to perform the repair after specifying the cause of the failure by the user. The user needs a certain amount of knowledge and ability, and the time required for repairing also depends on the user.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional computer system, the efficiency of the maintenance work depends on the capability of the computer system itself, and it takes a long time in proportion to the size of the system. When the repair work is performed after specifying the cause of the failure, it largely depends on the ability of the user or the maintenance worker.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. Briefly, at an arbitrary time, such as when the computer system is started, the computer system itself operates in an operating environment (hardware, firmware, software). Self-diagnosis, if there is any abnormality in the result,
An object of the present invention is to provide a computer system that can reduce the time required for maintenance work by repairing only an abnormal part according to the judgment of the computer system itself.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A computer system according to the present invention has backup data holding means for holding backup data of its own operating environment, and system information holding means for holding its normal operating environment information. A diagnostic means for diagnosing the presence or absence of an abnormality by comparing its own operating environment with information held by the system information holding means at any time, and a diagnostic means for diagnosing that an abnormality has occurred. And self-maintenance means for self-repairing the operating environment in accordance with the contents of the backup data holding means only for the portion where an abnormality has occurred.

In such a computer system of the present invention, the computer system itself performs self-diagnosis to create maintenance information, and performs only necessary maintenance according to the maintenance information.

A computer system according to the present invention is a computer system in which software is installed in hardware. The computer system includes software holding means for holding software, and backup data of its own operating environment including hardware and software. The backup data holding means for holding, the system information holding means for holding information of its own operating environment, and the software being updated at any time by comparing its own operating environment with the information held by the system information holding means. Diagnosing means for diagnosing whether or not the software has been updated by the diagnosing means; selecting means for selecting either a state before updating or a state after updating when the diagnosing means has updated the software; If the system file information holding means Contents updated to match the operating environment has been updated the contents of the backup data storage means together with the updating according to the contents of the software holding means,
When updating of the system file is not selected by the selection means, the self-maintenance means for self-repairing the operating environment according to the contents of the backup data holding means is provided.

In such a computer system of the present invention, even when the operating environment is changed, for example, when a new software is installed and the system file is updated, whether the state is selected or restored to the previous state is determined. Since you can choose, if any problem occurs due to the installation of new software, it is possible to immediately restore the previous system state, and if there is no problem, use it in the new system state You can do it.

Further, the computer system according to the present invention is a computer system in which software is installed in hardware, and includes software holding means for holding software, and backup data of its own operating environment including hardware and software. Backup data holding means for holding, system information holding means for holding information on its own operating environment, and presence / absence of an abnormality at any time by comparing its own operating environment with information held by the system information holding means Diagnosing means for diagnosing the software and diagnosing whether the software has been updated, and selecting means for selecting either a state before update or a state after update when the software has been updated by the diagnostic means, Software update is selected by the means If the disconnection means diagnoses that an error has occurred, the contents of the system file information holding means are updated according to the contents of the software holding means, and the contents of the backup data holding means are adapted to the updated operating environment. After the update, the operating environment is self-repaired in accordance with the updated contents of the backup data holding means only for the parts that need to be repaired, the update of the system file is not selected by the selection means, and an error occurs by the diagnosis means. And self-maintenance means for self-restoring the operating environment in accordance with the contents of the backup data holding means for only those parts which need to be repaired.

In such a computer system of the present invention, even when the operating environment is changed, for example, when a new software is installed and the system file is updated, whether the state is selected or restored to the previous state is determined. The computer system can perform self-diagnosis, create maintenance information, and perform only necessary maintenance in accordance with this maintenance information, regardless of whether new software has been installed or has been restored to the previous state. Perform

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a computer system according to the present invention, and the hardware includes a normal CPU, memory, disk unit (hard disk, flexible disk, etc.), printer, display, keyboard, mouse, and the like. Personal computer with firmware installed. Further, a large-capacity storage medium 20 using hardware such as a hard disk or a magnetic tape is connected to the computer system 2 of the present invention, and software is installed.

The storage medium 20 of the computer system 2 of the present invention stores filed information such as a system file 21, a maintenance information file 22, a system information file 23, a self-maintenance system file 24, and a backup file 25. I have.

The system file 21 stores various software necessary for the computer system 2. The maintenance information file 22 stores abnormality information relating to the operating environment of the computer system 2. The operating environment of the computer system 2 is stored in the system information file 23. Software for self-maintenance of the computer system 2 is stored in the self-maintenance system file 24.
The backup file 25 stores data for backing up the computer system 2 itself.

Next, a processing procedure by software for self-maintenance of the computer system of the present invention will be described with reference to flowcharts of FIGS.

When the power is turned on and the computer system 2 of the present invention is started (step S11), software for self-maintenance stored in the self-maintenance system file 24 is started. In addition,
In the present embodiment, the computer system 2 performs the self-maintenance process at the time of startup by turning on the power. However, the computer system 2 is not limited to the time of startup and may be any time as long as the maintenance process is possible.

First, the computer system 2 performs a system update diagnosis process (step S12). Specifically, the system environment of the computer system 2, that is, whether or not files such as software and firmware have been changed (deletion,
New creation and change) are diagnosed by comparing the system information held in the system information file 23 with the system file 21.

If there is system update information in the diagnosis in step S12 ("YES" in step S13),
Specifically, if the software version stored in the system file 21 does not match the software version recorded in the system information file 23, or if the software stored in the system file 21 If the information is not recorded in the information file 23, the user is requested to determine whether or not to update the system (step S14).

If the user gives an instruction to update the system ("YES" in step S14), the system update information is written and updated in the system information file 23 yet to be updated. Transferred to the previous backup file 25 to reflect the updated contents
(Step S15). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S16. On the other hand, when the user gives an instruction not to update the system (“NO” in step S14) and when there is no system update information in the system update diagnosis in step S12 (“NO” in step S13), In step S16, the process proceeds to step S16 without performing the process in step S15.

Therefore, when the system update information exists and the user instructs the update, the system file 21 before the update is updated with the new system update information, and the backup file 25 before the update is updated in the backup file 25. The later state of the system file 21 is reflected. When there is no system update information, or when the user does not want to update the system even if there is the system update information, the system file 21 and the backup file 25 are maintained without being updated.

In step S16, the hardware (H
W), firmware (FW), and software (SW) diagnostic processing is performed. Specifically, it is determined whether or not various hardware constituting the computer system 2 of the present invention, that is, CPU, memory, disk unit (hard disk, flexible disk, etc.), printer, display, keyboard, mouse, etc. are normal. Diagnosed. Further, the system environment of the computer system 2, that is, software,
Whether any abnormality or change (deletion, new creation or change) has occurred in a file such as firmware is diagnosed by comparing the system information held in the system information file 23 with the contents of the system file 21. . At this time, if the user has instructed the system update in step S14, maintenance is required.

It is determined whether maintenance is necessary according to the results of the above-described diagnoses (step S17). As a result, if neither system updating nor maintenance is necessary ("NO" in step S18), the self-maintenance processing by the computer system 2 ends, and the computer system 2 becomes ready for use immediately. However, if maintenance is necessary (“YES” in step S18), in other words, if an error has occurred, it is created as maintenance information (step S19), and this is stored in the maintenance information file 22. Thereafter, a repair process is performed according to the type of error that has occurred.

First, when a hardware (HW) error has occurred in the diagnosis in step S16 (step S20
"YES"), the hardware error cannot be self-repaired, and the maintenance processing by the self-maintenance system file 24 ends at this point.

If a firmware (FW) error has occurred in the diagnosis in step S16 ("Y" in step S21)
ES "), that is, when it is determined that the firmware file has changed (deleted, newly created, or changed) as a result of comparing the system information held in the system information file 23 with the contents of the system file 21. Then, the self-repair of the firmware is performed according to the contents of the backup file 25 (step S22).

If a software (SW) error has occurred in the diagnosis in step S16 ("YE" in step S23)
S "), that is, if it is determined that the software file has changed (deleted, newly created, or changed) as a result of comparing the system information held in the system information file 23 with the contents of the system file 21, For self-repairable application software, for example, self-repair is performed according to the contents of the backup file 25 (step S24).

By the above-described self-maintenance processing, the computer system 2 can operate normally in its operating environment, that is, both hardware, software, and firmware. If the user desires to update the system in step S14, the system information file 23 and the backup file 25 are updated to a new state that matches the current state of the system file 21 according to the contents of the system file 21. . But if the user steps
If the system update is not desired in S14, the system file 21 is restored along with the contents of the system information file 23 and the backup file 25 that have not been updated yet. Therefore, for example, when the user installs new software or the like and tests it, if he / she wants to continue using the software as it is, it may suffice to instruct that the system is to be updated in step S14. If the user wants to restore the state before installing the software, he / she may instruct in step S14 not to update the system.

[0029]

As described in detail above, according to the computer system of the present invention, the computer system itself performs self-diagnosis to create maintenance information and performs only necessary maintenance. The maintenance efficiency is not affected by the capacity of the user, the time required for the maintenance is reduced, and the waiting time of the user is also reduced.

Further, according to the computer system of the present invention, even when the operating environment is changed, for example, when a new application program is installed, if any problem occurs, the system state is immediately restored to the previous system state. If there is no problem, it may be used in a new system state as it is. Therefore, it is possible for the user to easily test the change of the system state, and a computer system which is extremely easy to use is realized.

Further, according to the computer system of the present invention, a computer system having both of the above effects can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a computer system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a procedure for self-maintenance by a computer system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for self-maintenance by the computer system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Computer system 21 System file 22 Maintenance information file 23 System information file 24 Self-maintenance system file 25 Backup file

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Ichizo Mikami 11-5 Asahigaokacho, Suita-shi, Osaka

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A backup data holding unit for holding backup data of its own operating environment, a system information holding unit for holding information of its own operating environment when it is normal, and an operating environment of its own at any time. Diagnosing means for diagnosing the presence or absence of an abnormality by comparing the information with the information held by the system information holding means; and when the diagnosing means diagnoses that an abnormality has occurred,
A computer system comprising: self-maintenance means for self-repairing the operating environment according to the contents of the backup data holding means only for a portion where an abnormality has occurred. 2. A computer system in which software is installed in hardware, wherein: software holding means for holding the software; and backup data holding means for holding backup data of its own operating environment including the hardware and software. A system information holding unit for holding information of its own operating environment, and comparing the operating environment with information held by the system information holding unit at any time to determine whether software has been updated Diagnostic means, and selecting means for selecting any of a state before update or a state after update when software is updated by the diagnostic means, and when software update is selected by the selecting means, The contents of the system file information holding means Updating the contents of the backup data holding means so as to conform to the updated operating environment; and updating the backup data holding means when the updating of the system file is not selected by the selecting means. A self-maintenance means for self-repairing the operating environment according to the contents of the means. 3. In a computer system in which software is installed in hardware, a software holding unit that holds the software, and a backup data holding unit that holds backup data of its own operating environment including the hardware and software. A system information holding unit that holds information of its own operating environment, and at any time, compares its own operating environment with the information held by the system information holding unit to diagnose the presence / absence of an abnormality and software. Diagnostic means for diagnosing whether or not the software has been updated; selecting means for selecting either a state before update or a state after update when the software has been updated by the diagnostic means; and Update is selected and the diagnostic means If an error has been diagnosed, the contents of the system file information holding means are updated according to the contents of the software holding means, and the contents of the backup data holding means are adapted to the updated operating environment. After the update, the operating environment is self-repaired according to the updated contents of the backup data holding unit only for the portion that needs to be repaired, and the updating of the system file is not selected by the selecting unit,
Self-maintenance means for self-repairing the operating environment in accordance with the contents of the backup data holding means only for a portion requiring repair when the diagnosis means has diagnosed that an abnormality has occurred. Characterized computer system.