KR20080085563A - Os image recording method and os booting method - Google Patents

Abstract

An OS booting method of a device having a main storage device and a data storage medium is provided. The method comprises: securing an OS image area of successive sectors in a data storage medium; Recording OS image size information in the start sector of the secured OS image area and recording the OS image in sectors of the secured OS image area; Writing the start sector position of the OS image area to the boot loader of the data storage medium; Reading a start sector position of an OS image area recorded in a boot loader at OS booting of the device; And loading the OS image from the consecutive sectors of the data storage medium into the main storage device based on the OS image size information recorded in the start sector of the OS image area having the read start sector position. Accordingly, the present invention can realize faster OS booting compared to the conventional OS booting method in which OS images are distributed and stored in a file format on a data storage medium.

Description

OS image recording method and OS booting method {OS image recording method and OS booting method}

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a conventional partitioning scheme.

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a general file searching process.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for recording an OS image according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a conceptual diagram for comparing and explaining an OS image recording method and a conventional OS image recording method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an OS booting method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an OS image recording method and an OS booting method.

Storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs) and flash memories have a partition structure as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, a master boot record (MBR) identifies where and how an operating system (OS) is located and stores information for loading an operating system into a main memory of a device such as a computer or a mobile terminal using a storage device. The master boot record is also called a partition sector, master partition table, or partition table. The storage device shown in FIG. 1 has four partitions and the information recorded in the master boot record (MBR) is used to access these partitions. Extended partition # 3 has an extended MBR (EMBR), which is used to access the secondary partitions (secondary partition # 5, secondary extended partition # 1, etc.) that make up the extended partition. .

2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a general file searching process in a storage device. A typical file search process begins with extracting partition information using the master boot record (MBR). The file system is used to interpret partitions based on the information in the partition table. Storage devices utilize a file system to store data in the form of files. Various file systems can be used for each partition. The file system names the files and indicates where they should be located on the storage device for storage or retrieval.

The FAT file system is used to interpret partitions formatted as file allocation tables (FAT). For FAT file systems, boot sector information is interpreted and the starting position of the FAT table and root directory is known. Using the information in the root directory, the starting cluster of the file is searched and the contents of the file can be accessed through a list search on the FAT table. For example, in FIG. 2, the file search process is performed by: 1) finding a directory "dir1" in which the file name "file1.txt" of the file content is stored in the root directory, and 2) through a directory entry of the cluster 90 that the directory points to. It is found that the cluster where file1.txt is stored is "cluster 200", and 3) the rest of file1.txt which is not stored in "cluster 200" is stored in cluster 201 using FAT table.

Conventionally, the OS image is stored in the form of a file. Therefore, like other files, OS images must be searched using the file system. Thus, when the OS image is stored in the form of a file, the boot loader must build a minimum file system in order to load the OS image into main memory and boot the OS. In the power-off state, the OS image is not stored in main memory, but in a hard disk drive, flash drive, and so on. A boot loader is used to load an OS image stored in data storage media such as a hard disk drive, flash drive, etc. into the main memory when the device is powered on. The boot loader builds a file system by collecting information related to clusters in which an OS image is stored through a file searching process as described with reference to FIG. 2. Once the file system is built, the boot loader loads file fragments that make up the OS image from the file locations on which the OS image is stored based on the built file system.

The loading speed of the OS image by the file system analysis is directly related to the search speed of the OS image file using the file system. However, since the file system must be built by the boot loader, it is inevitable to waste resources due to overhead. Also, the overhead for building and interpreting the file system directly affects the OS boot speed. Therefore, file system construction can be a big problem in a device where the program capacity is limited. Most file systems are vulnerable to power off during operation. This can also happen if the OS image cannot be found through the file system.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for storing an OS image that enables fast OS booting without building a file system on a boot loader.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an OS booting method using the OS image stored by the above-described storage method.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, (a) in the data storage medium, securing an OS image area consisting of consecutive sectors; (b) recording the OS image size information in the start sector of the OS image area secured in step (a) and recording the OS image in the sectors of the secured OS image area; And (c) recording the start sector position of the OS image area into the boot loader of the data storage medium.

In order to achieve another object of the present invention, an OS booting method of a device having a main storage device and a data storage medium on which an OS image is recorded is provided, which method comprises: (a) a data storage medium at the time of OS booting of the device; Reading the start sector position of the OS image area recorded in the boot loader of the; And (b) the OS having the starting sector position read in step (a) is loaded into the main storage device from the successive sectors of the data storage medium based on the OS image size information recorded in the starting sector of the unknown area. It includes a step.

In order to achieve the above another object of the present invention, an OS booting method of a device having a main storage device and a data storage medium is provided, which method comprises: (a) an OS image composed of consecutive sectors in the data storage medium; Securing an area; (b) recording the OS image size information in the start sector of the OS image area secured in step (a) and recording the OS image in the sectors of the secured OS image area; (c) writing the start sector position of the OS image area to the boot loader of the data storage medium; (d) reading a starting sector position of an OS image area recorded in a boot loader at OS booting of the device after step (c); And (e) loading the OS image into the main storage device from successive sectors of the data storage medium based on the OS image size information recorded in the start sector of the OS image area having the start sector position read in step (d). Steps.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An OS image recording method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for recording an OS image according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, a data storage medium such as a hard disk drive and flash memory is partitioned and formatted (step S301). As a method of partitioning and formatting a data storage medium, Korean Patent Application No. 2006-15910 entitled "Quick Format Method for Storage Products" may be used. In all data storage media, a file system is constructed, the data storage media is formatted to fit the file system, and the storage media is managed based on the file system. If the data storage medium is partitioned to have multiple partitions, the partition in which the OS image will be stored is selected and the selected partition is formatted. If the file system for the partition in which the OS image of the data storage medium is to be determined by performing step S301, step S303 is performed.

In step S303, an OS image area made up of consecutive sectors is secured in the data storage medium. Specifically, the storage capacity for the OS image is determined based on the size of the OS image. Every directory entry in the file system contains an address for the first cluster of files. The corresponding cluster entry in the file allocation table contains the address for the next cluster. If the cluster is the last cluster in the file, the corresponding cluster entry contains an EOF marker. Therefore, the file system can be used to determine the clusters that will store the OS image. After the storage capacity for the OS image is determined, successive clusters for storing the OS image are determined based on the storage capacity for the OS image and the file system of the partition in which the OS image is to be stored. At this time, an area consisting of successive clusters is always set as a space for storing the OS image. The reason is that when the OS image is recorded in successive clusters, the OS image can be read from the successive clusters if only the first cluster and the last cluster of successive clusters are known. Also, in that case, the boot loader does not need to build a file system in order to load the OS image into the main storage device when the OS is booted. An unavailability indication is made to cluster entries in the file allocation table corresponding to the determined successive clusters. Examples of the unusable indication may include a bed cluster or bed sector indication (BAD), an end of file (EOF) indication, or a reserved indication. By this display, the OS image area becomes unavailable to the user from the next boot.

Next, the OS image size information is recorded in the start sector of the OS image area secured in step S303, and the OS image is recorded in the sectors of the secured OS image area (step S305). Specifically, the starting sector position of the OS image area is calculated using the file allocation table and successive clusters for the OS image. OS image size information is recorded at the start sector position of the calculated OS image area. Thereafter, the OS image is recorded from the start sector to the end sector of the OS image area.

Next, the start sector position of the OS image area is recorded in the boot loader of the data storage medium (step S307). This completes the OS image recording method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In the description related to FIG. 3, the OS image area is secured after performing partitioning and formatting. However, this operation is not a limitation of the present invention. Therefore, if a tool capable of recording the starting sector position of the OS image area in the boot loader can be used during operation of the device, the steps of partitioning and formatting can be omitted from the exemplary method of the invention described in connection with FIG. Note that there is.

4 is a conceptual diagram for comparing and explaining an OS image recording method and a conventional OS image recording method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the directory entry 401 of Fig. 4A, "file.txt" is a file name, and the number 2 represents an address of the first cluster constituting file.txt. The symbol in the box of the cluster entry 403 indicates the address of the next cluster, and the number outside the box is the cluster number. The upper part of FIG. 4 (a) shows that the directory entries constituting the file allocation table and the clusters constituting "file.txt" are connected by the cluster entries. Also, the lower part of Fig. 4 (a) shows that the BAD marked clusters for the OS image area do not have an address for the next cluster in each of the cluster entries. 4 (b) shows an example of arrangement of clusters constituting the file allocation table.

Referring to the upper part of Fig. 4A, the directory entry of file.txt is connected to cluster 2 by the address "2". Therefore, cluster 2 is the first cluster that stores file data in file.txt. Since the cluster entry of the file allocation table corresponding to cluster 2 has the address "3", cluster 3 becomes the second cluster which stores the file data of file.txt. In this way, the file data of file.txt can be recorded in the clusters (clusters 2 to 11) connected by the arrows shown at the top of FIG. 4 (a). The conventional OS image recording method records the OS image in clusters in the same manner as described with respect to file.txt. In the case of recording an OS image recorded using a conventional file recording method, in the cluster arrangement diagram of FIG. 4 (b), clusters 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 are clusters in which OS image files are recorded Can be used. Therefore, conventionally, when booting the OS, as described with reference to FIG. 2, the OS image file can be recognized and the OS image can be loaded into the main memory only by establishing a minimum file system.

On the other hand, according to the OS image recording method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in the cluster entries of the file allocation table for the OS image, as shown at the bottom of FIG. Record it. In particular, as shown in Fig. 4B, clusters in which an unusable indication (BAD or EOF) constituting the OS image area are recorded are continuously located. Therefore, the OS image recording method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention does not need to use a file allocation table to know what clusters make up the OS image. Instead, the OS image can be read from the data storage medium only with information relating to the start sector (or start cluster) position of the OS image area and the size of the OS image.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an OS booting method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

When the device having the main storage device and the data storage medium on which the OS image is recorded starts OS booting, the device first reads the start sector position of the OS image area recorded in the boot loader of the data storage medium (step S501). . Thereafter, the device reads the OS image from successive sectors and loads it into the main storage device based on the OS image size information recorded in the start sector of the OS image area having the start sector position read from the boot loader (step S503). Operations of steps S503 and S505 may be performed by the boot loader.

In the above description, an example in which OS image size information is recorded in the start sector of the OS image has been described. However, this description does not limit the present invention. Alternatively, the end sector position of the OS image area may be recorded in the start sector of the OS image.

In the foregoing description, the physical configuration of the present invention has not been described. However, devices such as computers and mobile devices with main storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) and data storage media such as hard disk drives, flash memory and the like can be used to implement the methods according to the invention. In order to realize the method according to the present invention, it is required to change an existing program or software in accordance with the boot loader of the data storage medium, the partition and the format so as to be suitable for the implementation of the present invention. Thus, it will be appreciated that modifications of the known techniques to be suitable for the present invention to boot the OS using the OS image and write the OS image to successive clusters or sectors will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

As described above, according to the present invention, the OS image is recorded in a continuous storage area such as continuous clusters or sectors rather than in the form of a file. Therefore, upon OS booting, the present invention can load an OS image into the main storage without the boot loader constructing a file system. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the waste of the boot loader when the OS boots. As a result, faster OS booting can be realized as compared to the conventional OS image recording method in which OS images are distributedly recorded on a data storage medium. The OS can be booted quickly in situations where it is difficult to build a file system, especially on systems with very limited resources such as mobile devices. In addition, since the cluster entries of the file allocation table corresponding to the OS image area are not displayed by the bed cluster display, the OS image area can be protected after the OS boot. In addition, when the OS image is managed as an OS image file through the file system of the data storage medium, the contents of the file system may be damaged by instability due to sudden power off of the file system. In this case, the present invention can boot the OS without eliminating the possibility that the OS boot is impossible or abnormally delayed.

Claims (5)

(a) securing an OS image area of successive sectors in a data storage medium; (b) recording the OS image size information in the start sector of the OS image area secured in step (a) and recording the OS image in the sectors of the secured OS image area; And (c) recording the starting sector position of the OS image area to a boot loader of the data storage medium. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) (a1) determining a storage capacity for the OS image based on the size of the OS image; (a2) determining successive clusters for storing the OS image based on the storage capacity for the OS image determined in step (a1) and the file system of the partition in which the OS image is to be stored; And (a3) making an unavailable mark on cluster entries in a file allocation table corresponding to successive clusters determined in step (a2). The method of claim 2, wherein step (b) (b1) calculating a starting sector position of the OS image area using the file allocation table and successive clusters for the OS image; (b2) recording the OS image size information at the start sector position of the OS image area calculated in step (b1); And (b3) OS image recording method comprising the step of recording the OS image from the start sector to the end sector of the OS image area. In the OS booting method of a device having a main storage device and a data storage medium recording an OS image, (a) reading the start sector position of the OS image area recorded in the boot loader of the data storage medium when the OS is booted; And (b) loading the OS image into the main storage device from successive sectors of the data storage medium based on the OS image size information recorded in the start sector of the OS image area having the start sector position read in step (a); OS boot method comprising a. In the OS booting method of a device having a main storage device and a data storage medium, (a) securing an OS image area of successive sectors in a data storage medium; (b) recording the OS image size information in the start sector of the OS image area secured in step (a) and recording the OS image in the sectors of the secured OS image area; (c) writing the start sector position of the OS image area to the boot loader of the data storage medium; (d) reading the start sector position of the OS image area recorded in the boot loader of the data storage medium upon OS booting of the device after step (c); And (e) loading the OS image from the consecutive sectors of the data storage medium into the main storage device based on the OS image size information recorded in the start sector of the OS image area having the start sector position read in step (d). OS boot method comprising a.

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