JP2000259546A - Information processing device, its method and providing medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the failures which are caused after the hot swapping by recognizing that the peripheral device mounted on a device bay is replaced and storing the data on the replaced peripheral device. SOLUTION: For instance, various bay devices 3 can be mounted on a bay 13 of a notebook-sized computer and a user can mount his desired device 3 on the bay 13. The connector of the mounted device 3 is electrically connected to a connector 35, and the connector of a mounted second battery is electrically connected to a connector 42. When a power supply is turned on, the BIOS stored in a flash memory 47 is executed and a self-test POST is carried out. Furthermore, the device 3 mounted on the bay 13 is checked and the data on this device 3 are generated. Then the generated data are supplied and stored in a CMOS memory 38 and then read out as necessary by a processor 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a recording medium, and more particularly to, for example, a peripheral device installed in a device bay without shutting down a computer (while keeping it running). An information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of eliminating a problem that occurs when the computer is put into a sleep state such as a suspend state or a hibernation state after replacing the computer. In addition, it relates to a providing medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as computers have become lighter and smaller, a number of so-called notebook (or mini-note) computers which are convenient for carrying have been developed.

[0003] By the way, note-type computers are small in size.
isk Drive), CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Onl)
It is difficult to accommodate a large number of peripheral devices such as a y Memory) drive and an FDD (Floppy Disk Drive). Further, since a notebook computer is often used on the go, a battery (in this specification, a battery is also included in a peripheral device) in addition to the many peripheral devices as described above. ) May also want to be accommodated.

[0004] Therefore, a notebook computer is provided with a detachable mounting space for peripheral devices, called a device bay, whereby a user mounts a desired peripheral device in the device bay. Thus, the desired peripheral device can be used.

Conventionally, when a peripheral device (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a bay device) installed in a device bay (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a bay) is replaced, data on a bus inside a computer is destroyed by the exchange. Turn off (shut down) the computer, remove the bay device installed in the bay, insert another bay device in the bay, and then turn on the computer again to prevent (Restart).

However, shutting down or restarting a computer requires a great deal of time. When editing a document, the user saves the document before shutting down and restarts the computer. Later, an application for editing the document had to be launched, which was troublesome.

[0007] Therefore, there is a technique called hot swap (or hot plug) in which a bay device can be replaced while the computer is running (while running).

The contents of the hot plug (hot swap) are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-124206.

[0009]

By the way, data on a bay device installed in a bay is stored in a BIOS (Basic device).
sic Input Output System) is POST (Power On Self)
Test), and stored in the main memory, for example. Then, the data on the bay device is read out at the time of starting the computer, and furthermore, when necessary, and the bay device installed in the bay is recognized.

On the other hand, in the BIOS, after POST, the storage area of the main memory in which data on the bay device is stored is set to read only (read only), and a program for generating data on the bay device is set. Code may be erased from main memory.

In this case, it is difficult to rewrite the storage area of the main memory in which the data on the bay device generated at the time of the POST is stored. Therefore, the bay device attached to the bay is replaced by hot swap. After that, the main memory remains in a state in which the data on the bay device generated at the time of POST (therefore, the bay device attached to the bay at the time of startup) is stored.

As a result, in the computer, even though another bay device is mounted in the bay, processing is performed based on data on the bay device that was mounted at the time of startup. When the computer is put into a sleep state such as a suspend state or a hibernation state, the computer sometimes hangs or does not operate normally.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and is intended to eliminate a problem occurring after hot swap.

[0014]

An information processing apparatus according to the present invention stores recognition means for recognizing that a peripheral device installed in a device bay has been replaced, and data on the replaced peripheral device. Storage means.

The information processing method of the present invention includes a recognition step for recognizing that a peripheral device mounted in a device bay has been replaced, and a storing step of storing data on the replaced peripheral device. It is characterized by.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program including a recognition step for recognizing that a peripheral device installed in a device bay has been replaced, and a storage step for storing data on the replaced peripheral device. Is provided.

In the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the providing medium having the above configurations, it is recognized that the peripheral device mounted in the device bay has been replaced, and data on the replaced peripheral device is stored.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an example of an external configuration of a notebook computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The notebook computer is, for example, a VAIO ™ (trademark) series computer manufactured by Sony Corporation of the present applicant.
And a display unit 2.

The main body 1 includes a keyboard 11, a touch pad 12, a bay 13, and a PCMCIA (Personal Computer).
Memory Card International Association) Slot 1
4 and the like are provided.

The keyboard 11 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 1 and is operated when inputting various commands and data. The touch pad 12 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 1 below the keyboard 11 (front side), and is operated when a mouse cursor is moved, clicked, and dragged. The bays 13 are provided on the front sides on both left and right sides of the main body 1, and various bay devices 3 can be attached and detached. FIG. 1 shows only the bay 13 provided on the right side surface of the main body 1. PCMCI
The A slot 14 is provided at the back side of the right side of the main body 1 so that a network card and other devices can be attached and detached.

The display unit 2 has one side thereof as a center of rotation.
It can rotate (open and close) with respect to the main body 1 via a hinge, and FIG. 1 shows a state where the display unit 2 is opened. Then, the display unit 2 displays LC
D (Liquid Crystal Display) 2A is provided,
Various kinds of information are displayed there in response to a command from the main body 1. In addition, for example, when carrying, the display unit 2 is closed so that the LCD 2A and the keyboard 1 face each other, so that it is possible to form a notebook that is convenient for carrying.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the electrical configuration of the notebook computer shown in FIG.

The processor 21 is, for example, a P
An entium (trademark) processor or the like is connected to the host bus 22. The host bus 22 further includes:
The north bridge 23 is connected, and the north bridge 23 is also connected to the PCI bus 26. The north bridge 23 is composed of, for example, a 400BX manufactured by intel and controls the processor 21 and the main memory 25. The north bridge 23 and a south bridge 28 described later constitute a so-called chipset.

The north bridge 23 is further connected to a secondary cache memory 24 and a main memory 25. The secondary cache memory 24 includes the processor 21
Is designed to cache data for use. Although not shown, the primary cache memory is built in the processor 21.

The main memory 25 is, for example, a DRAM
(Dynamic Read Only Memory), and stores a program to be executed by the processor 21 and data necessary for the operation of the processor 21.

The video controller 27 is connected to the PCI bus 2
6, and controls the display of the LCD 2A based on the data supplied via the PCI bus 26.

The PC bus 26 is connected to the PCMCIA slot 14 via a PCMCIA controller 48, and further connected to the south bridge 28. Note that, in the present embodiment, the PCMCIA slot 14
Two slots are provided.

The south bridge 28 is made of, for example, PIIX4E manufactured by intel, and has various I / Os (Inpu
t / Output) has been made to control. That is, the south bridge 28 is an IDE (Integrated Drive Elect).
Ronics) controller / configuration register 29, timer circuit 30, and is configured in the IDE interface 31, etc., and devices connected to the IDE bus 43 ₁ and _{43 2, ISA / EIO (Industry} Standar
d Architecture / Extended Input Output) It controls devices connected via a bus 36 and an I / O interface 37.

The IDE controller / configuration register 29 has two IDs, a so-called primary IDE controller and a secondary IDE controller.
It is composed of an E controller, a configuration register and the like (both not shown).

The primary IDE controller is an IDE
Via the bus 43 _1, it is connected to the connector 32, the connector 32, the master HDD33 is connected.
The secondary IDE controller is connected to the IDE bus 4
3 ₂ , and a Q switch 34, which is connected to a connector 35 provided inside the bay 13.
5 includes, in the bay 13, an ID such as a CD-ROM drive, a second HDD, or an FDD.
When a bay device 14, which is an E device, is mounted, a connector (not shown) of the mounted bay device 14 is electrically connected.

The master HDD 33 has an OS (Operating System).
ating System), for example, Microsoft Windows
ws98 (trademark) is recorded (installed). Further, the master HDD 33 is also installed with an application program “Sony Notebook Setup” (hereinafter appropriately referred to as SNS) for performing hot swap processing for performing hot swap with a simple operation.

The ISA / EIO bus 36 further includes an I
The / O interface 37 is connected. The I / O interface 37 is a CMOS (Complementary Metal Ox)
An ideSemiconductor memory 38 is built in and functions as an interface for various inputs and outputs. That is, the touch pad 12 or the keyboard 11 is connected to the I / O interface 37 via the connector 44 or 45, respectively.
A signal corresponding to each operation of the keyboard 2 or the keyboard 11 is output to the ISA / EIO bus 36. Further, a flash memory 47 is connected to the I / O interface 37 via a connector 46, and outputs data (program) stored in the flash memory 47 to an ISA / EIO bus 36.
The data on the SA / EIO bus 36 is supplied to the flash memory 47 for storage.

The CMOS memory 38 has a bay 13
The data about the bay device 3 attached to the storage device is stored. Also, the flash memory 47
Stores a BIOS (program thereof) and the like.

The I / O interface 37 is further connected to a power supply control circuit 39 and to a connector 42 via a Q switch 41. The power supply control circuit 39 is connected to the built-in battery 40, supplies necessary power to each block, and controls the charging of the built-in battery 40 and the second battery as the bay device 3. ing. Further, the power control circuit 39 is connected to a connector 42 provided inside the bay 13. When a second battery as the bay device 3 is mounted in the bay 42, the connector 42 is connected to the connector 42. The connector (not shown) of the second battery is electrically connected.

The I / O interface 37 controls the power supply control circuit 39 when the second battery is installed in the bay 13 so that the built-in battery 40 can be used.
And a second battery. Further, the I / O interface 37
Obtains the remaining capacity of the built-in battery 40 and the second battery via the Q switch 41.

Here, as described above, various bay devices 3 can be mounted in the bay 13, so that a user can mount a desired bay device 3 in the bay 13. From this, the bay 13 can be referred to as a multi-purpose bay.

In the notebook computer configured as described above, when the power is turned on, the flash memory 4
7 is executed and the self-test (P
OST (Power On Self Test) is performed. further,
At this time, the bay device 3 attached to the bay 13
(However, it may not be mounted) is checked, and data on the bay device 3 is generated. This data is supplied to and stored in the CMOS memory 38, and is read out by the processor 21 when necessary.

[0039] Then, under the control of the IDE controller / configuration register 29 (primary IDE controller), from the master HDD 33, via the IDE bus 43 _1, OS (here, for example, as described above, Windows98) of the program Is read, expanded on the main memory 25 and executed. This allows Wi
The ndows 98 starts up, and becomes ready for execution of application programs and other various processes.

Next, a hot swap process for performing a hot swap with a simple operation will be described.

When a user performs a hot swap, the user
Operate the "Start" button on the taskbar displayed on the desktop of ndows98 and select the item "Program" in it. When the item "Program" is selected,
Various application programs registered there are displayed, and the SNS (Sony NotebookSet)
up) (as described above, here, the application program “SNS” is stored in the master HDD 33).
Is already installed).

In this case, the application program “SNS” installed in the master HDD 33
Are developed in the main memory 25 and executed by the processor 21. Thereby, for example, a window (dialog box) as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed (opened) on the LCD 2A.

Then, in the window shown in FIG. 3, the "multipurpose bay" tab is selected, and the "remove" button in the tab is operated. In this case, the following hot swap processing is performed.

That is, FIG. 4 shows a flowchart for explaining the hot swap processing.

When the "remove" button is operated, the application program "SNS" displays a message "Please wait" on the LCD 2A, and then, in step S1, a Windows 98 device manager (generally, a Windows 98 Select the icon "System" in the control panel, and select the "Device Manager" tab in the window displayed thereby to start the IDE device installed in the bay 13. A request is made to disable the second IDE controller to be controlled (provided by the IDE controller / configuration register 29 as described above).

In response to this request, the second IDE controller is disabled in the device manager. When the second IDE controller is disabled, the device driver of the bay device 3 mounted on the bay 13 is unloaded, and as a result, the bay device 3 mounted on the bay 13 is disabled. If the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 is a second battery, the second I
Only the DE controller is disabled.

Thereafter, in step S2, the SNS calls a power-off processing routine of the BIOS, and if the bay device 3 installed in the bay 13 is a device other than the second battery, the SNS The power is turned off.

Then, the process proceeds to step S3, in which the SNS
A message indicating that the bay device is replaceable is displayed on the LCD 2A, and a “replacement completed” button is displayed, and the process proceeds to step S4. Here, this message allows the user to recognize that the bay device can be replaced.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not the replacement of the bay device 3 has been completed, that is, whether or not the bay device installed in the bay 13 has been removed and another bay device has been installed. If it is determined in step S4 that the replacement of the bay device 3 has not been completed,
That is, when the “replacement completion” button is not operated,
The NS recognizes that the replacement of the bay device has not been completed, and returns to step S4.

If it is determined in step S4 that the replacement of the bay device 3 has been completed, that is, if the "replacement completed" button has been operated, the SNS recognizes that the replacement of the bay device 3 has been completed. Then, the process proceeds to step S5, calls a BIOS power-on processing routine for turning on the power of the bay device 3 newly installed in the bay 13, and proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, a request is made to the device manager to set the secondary IDE controller to the enabled state, whereby the secondary IDE controller is enabled in the device manager, and hot swapping is performed. The process ends.

Therefore, the user can easily perform the hot swap simply by activating the application program “SNS”, exchanging the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 and operating the “exchange completed” button. it can.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The power-off process by the BIOS in step S2 in FIG. 4 will be described.

In the power-off process, first, in step S11, data on the bay device 3 installed in the bay 13 stored in the CMOS memory 38 is read, and the bay device 3 is checked. Is done. Here, as described above, POST
The data for the bay device 3 generated at the time is
Although the data is stored in the MOS memory 38,
The data on the bay device 3 generated at that time can be stored in the main memory 25 as in the related art. However, in this case, in step S11 of the hot swap processing which is performed first after the computer is started, the bay device 3 is read from the main memory 25.
Will be read out.

When the check of the bay device 3 is completed in step S11, the process proceeds to step S12,
The data on the bay device 3 read out at 11 is stored in the CMOS memory 38 just in case. Then, the process proceeds to step S13, and based on the result of the check of the bay device 3 in step S11, the bay device 3 mounted on the bay 13 is changed to an IDE device controlled by the IDE controller (here,
For example, it is determined whether it is a second HDD, FDD, CD-ROM drive, or the like.

If it is determined in step S13 that the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 is not an IDE device, the process skips steps S14 and S15 and proceeds to step S16.

In step S13, the bay 13
If it is determined that the bay device 3 attached to the device is an IDE device, the process proceeds to step S14,
It is determined whether the DE device is an HDD (second HDD).

In step S 14, the bay device 3, which is an IDE device, installed in the bay 13
If it is determined that the HDD is not the HDD, the process skips step S15 and proceeds to step S16.

Also, in step S14, bay 13
If it is determined that the bay device 3 that is the IDE device attached to the HDD is an HDD, step S15
Then, a standby (Standby) command instructing stop of the subsequent processing is transmitted to the HDD. As a result, the HDD enters a park state.
It should be noted that the standby command is not necessarily required to be transmitted, but is preferably transmitted from the viewpoint of stabilizing the operation.

[0060] Then, the process proceeds to step S16, a hard reset of the IDE bus 43 ₂ the secondary IDE controller controls are applied, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the secondary IDE controller is disabled, the process proceeds to step S18, and the
The power of the bay device 3 attached to is turned off,
To return. As a result, the bay device 3 mounted on the bay 13 becomes detachable from the bay 13. In step S18, the power is actually turned off only when the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 is a device that requires power supply. Battery 1 is in bay 1
In the case where the power supply is mounted on the device 3, the power supply is only controlled to be turned off, and the control is not actually turned off (a device that does not need to be supplied with power cannot be turned off).

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The power on process by the BIOS in step S5 in FIG. 4 will be described.

[0062] In the power-on processing, first, in step S21, a hard reset of the IDE bus 43 ₂ the secondary IDE controller controls are applied, the process proceeds to step S22, the secondary IDE controller is disabled state. Note that, before the power-on process is performed, the power-off process shown in FIG. 6 is performed before that.
Since the E controller is disabled, the secondary IDE controller does not need to be disabled again in the power-on processing (because the secondary IDE controller has already been disabled). To do it.

Thereafter, the flow advances to step S23, where
The power of the bay device attached to is turned on, and the process proceeds to step S24. Note that, also here, step S1 in FIG.
8, the power is actually turned on only when the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 is a device that requires power supply. When a battery or the like is installed in the bay 13, control for turning on the power is performed only, and the power is not actually turned on. Absent).

In step S24, the secondary IDE controller is enabled, and the process proceeds to step S25, in which I is controlled by the secondary IDE controller.
Hard reset of the DE bus 43 ₂ is released. Then, the process proceeds to step S26, where the bay device 3 attached to the bay 13 is checked, and the process proceeds to step S27. In step S27, data on the bay device 3 obtained (generated) as a result of checking the bay device 3 is written to the CMOS memory 38, and the process proceeds to step S28, where the data is written to the CMOS memory 38 in step S27. Based on the data, the IDE controller /
The configuration register of the configuration register 29 is set to a value suitable for the bay device 3 mounted on the bay 13.

Then, the process proceeds to a step S29, wherein the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 is set to the HD based on the data written in the CMOS memory 38 in the step S27.
D (second HDD) is determined. In step S29, when it is determined that the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 is not an HDD, for example, a CD-ROM drive, an FDD, a CD-R (CDR)
If it is an ecordable drive, battery, or the like, steps S30 and S31 are skipped, and the process returns.

In step S29, the bay 13
If it is determined that the bay device 3 attached to the HDD is an HDD, the process proceeds to step S30, and the HDD is
For example, it is determined in step S27 whether or not the device is compatible with DMA (Ultra-Direct Memory Access).
The determination is made based on the data written in the OS memory 38. In step S30, the HDD determines whether the U-DMA
If it is determined that the data does not correspond to the above, the process skips step S31 and returns.

On the other hand, in step S30, the HDD
Is determined to be compatible with U-DMA, the process proceeds to step S31, and a command for setting a transfer mode is transmitted to the HDD (the HDD mounted in the bay 13). Thus, a transfer mode suitable for the HDD is set, and the process returns.

As described above, since the data on the bay device 3 after the replacement is stored in the CMOS memory 38, after the hot swap, the notebook computer is brought into a sleep state such as a suspend state or a hibernation state. If you do or otherwise,
By referring to the data stored in the S memory 38, it is possible to correctly recognize what kind of bay device 3 is installed in the bay 13, and as a result, the computer hangs up. And preventing normal operation from being performed.

That is, for example, in a personal computer manufactured by a general company, a get and save routine for acquiring and saving a DMA (Direct Memory Access) mode of a second HDD during hibernation is incorporated in the BIOS. May have been

In this case, for example, from the second HDD,
If a hot swap to a device other than the HDD such as a battery (including a case where the second HDD is removed and nothing is installed in the bay 13) is performed, conventionally, the BIOS , Second HD
In order to recognize that D is mounted, in the get & save routine, a command for acquiring the DMA mode (hereinafter referred to as a get command) is transmitted to the bay device 3 mounted in the bay 13 and not the HDD. You.
Now, since the bay device 3 is not an HDD, even if it receives a get command, it cannot respond to it, so that the BIOS waits for a response and the computer hangs up.

On the other hand, when the data on the bay device 3 after replacement is stored in the CMOS memory 38, the BIOS refers to the data and stores the bay device 3 in the bay 13 which is currently mounted. It can recognize what device 3 is, so the bay device 3
The above-described hang-up can be avoided by performing processing to transmit the get command only when the HDD is used.

Further, for example, when a computer is started with an HDD which is an IDE device installed in the bay 13, a spin down command for instructing the IDE device to stop the rotation of the HD is issued to the BIOS during hibernation. (Spin down) command may be sent.

In this case, hot swap from an IDE device to a bay device 3 other than the IDE device (simply,
Conventionally, when the IDE device is removed and the bay 13 is empty,
The BIOS recognizes that an IDE device is installed in the bay 13, and thus sends a spin-down command to the bay device 3 installed in the bay 13 and not being an IDE device. Now, the bay device 3 is IDE
Since it is not a device, even if a spin-down command is sent, no response to it is returned, so the BIOS
Waits for a response and the computer hangs.

On the other hand, when the data on the bay device 3 after replacement is stored in the CMOS memory 38, the BIOS refers to the data and stores the bay device 3 in the bay 13 which is currently mounted. It can recognize what device 3 is, so the bay device 3
The above-described hang-up can be avoided by performing processing to transmit a spin-down command only when the device is an IDE device.

Further, for example, in the BIOS, when suspending by a hot key (Hot Key), for the bay device 3 attached to the bay 13, a state (Power) for changing the power management state for the bay device 3 is set. Management State) command.

Therefore, when the computer is started in the bay 13 with, for example, an HDD mounted therein, the HDD is hot-swapped from the HDD to a bay device 3 other than the HDD (simply, the HDD is removed and the bay 13 is removed). (Including the case where nothing is installed in the bay 13), conventionally, the BIOS recognizes that the HDD is installed in the bay 13 and therefore, a state command for the HDD is installed in the bay 13. Transmitted to the bay device 3 which is not the HDD. Now, the bay device 3 is HD
Since it is not D, even if a state command for HDD is transmitted, no response to it is returned.
Waits for a response and the computer hangs.

On the other hand, when the data on the bay device 3 after the replacement is stored in the CMOS memory 38, the BIOS refers to the data to store the bay device 3 in the bay 13 which is currently mounted. Can recognize what device 3 is, and therefore its bay device 3
The above-mentioned hang-up can be avoided by performing processing so as to transmit a state command.

Further, for example, the BIOS setup (B
In some cases, it is possible to set whether to monitor access to a device on a screen of a program for setting various devices related to the IOS. Here, when monitoring is called access on,
The case where monitoring is not performed is referred to as access off.

On the other hand, if a state in which no processing is performed in the computer continues for a predetermined time, the computer is suspended or hibernated. Timer suspend or timer hibernation is performed. In the state where no processing is performed, the timer is counted, and when a predetermined count value is reached, the computer is put into a suspend or hibernation state, but when an access is made to a device that is turned on, The timer is reloaded (timer reload).
The timer is reset to the initial value, and the counting of the timer is started again. It should be noted that the timer is not reloaded even if the access-off device is accessed.

Therefore, for example, it is assumed that the HDD is turned on and the CD-ROM drive is turned off (generally,
(In most cases, this is the default setting.)
For example, when a computer is started up with an HDD installed in the bay 13 and a hot swap is performed from the HDD to a CD-ROM drive, timer suspend and timer hibernation are conventionally set. However, the BIOS erroneously recognizes that the HDD whose access is turned on is installed in the bay 13, while the Wi-Fi of the OS used in the present embodiment is incorrect.
In the ndows 98, the timer is reloaded periodically to correctly recognize that a CD-ROM drive is installed in the bay 13, and a problem occurs in which the suspend or hibernation state does not occur for a long time.

That is, in Windows 98, it is generally set to use the auto run function ("CD-ROM" of the device manager of Windows 98).
(In the "Settings" tag of the device properties in "Auto Insert" is checked.)
In many cases, Windows 98 that correctly recognizes that a CD-ROM drive is installed in the bay 13 generates an interrupt by polling in order to confirm whether a CD-ROM is set in the CD-ROM drive. appear.

In this case, the BIOS erroneously recognizes that the HDD whose access is turned on is installed in the bay 13, and the interrupt from Windows 98 accesses the HDD that is not actually installed. And reloads the timer. as a result,
In fact, despite the access-off CD-ROM drive being installed in bay 13,
It does not enter suspend or hibernation for a long time.

On the other hand, when the data on the bay device 3 after the replacement is stored in the CMOS memory 38, the BIOS refers to the data to store the bay device 3 currently mounted in the bay 13. It is possible to recognize that the device 3 is a CD-ROM drive that has been turned off, and therefore, the CD-ROM that has been turned off by the autorun function of Windows98.
Even when the drive is accessed, the timer is not reloaded, and if no processing is performed in the computer for a predetermined time, the computer enters a suspend or hibernation state.

Further, for example, when the computer is started up with an HDD having a high transfer rate inserted in the bay 13, the configuration register of the IDE controller / configuration register 29 corresponds to the high transfer rate at the time of POST. The settings are made.

In this case, from the HDD, F which has a low transfer speed
When hot swap is performed on DD, conventionally,
Since the BIOS recognizes that an HDD with a high transfer rate is installed in the bay 13, a problem may occur in data exchange with an FDD that is actually installed and has a low transfer rate.

On the other hand, when the data on the bay device 3 after the replacement is stored in the CMOS memory 38, the BIOS refers to the data to store the bay device 3 in the bay 13 which is currently mounted. The device 3 can recognize that the FDD has a low transfer speed. Therefore, by resetting the configuration register based on the recognition result, the above-described problem can be avoided.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the case where the present invention is applied to a portable notebook computer, the present invention can also be applied to, for example, a desktop computer.

In the present embodiment, the application program “SNS” is recorded on the master HDD and provided.
The “NS” can be provided by being recorded on a recording medium other than the HDD, such as a CD-ROM, or can be provided via a transmission medium such as a satellite line or the Internet. It is also possible.

Further, in the present embodiment, the operation of the “replacement completion” button recognizes that the replacement of the bay device 3 has been completed. However, whether or not the replacement of the bay device 3 has been completed is determined. Alternatively, for example, it is also possible to electrically or mechanically detect the attachment or detachment of the bay device 3 to / from the bay 13 and to automatically recognize the detection based on the detection result.

Further, in the present embodiment, the I / O
The data on the bay device 3 mounted on the bay 13 is stored in the CMOS memory 38 of the controller 37. However, the data on the bay device 3 mounted on the bay 13 is the same as the other data. Readable and writable storage medium (for example, main memory 2
5 or the master HDD 33).

[0091]

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus, the information processing method, and the providing medium of the present invention, it is recognized that the peripheral device installed in the device bay has been replaced.
Data about the replaced peripheral device is stored. Therefore, for example, after hot-swapping to replace peripheral devices installed in the device bay while the power is on,
Problems can be avoided by performing processing based on the stored data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a configuration example of an embodiment of a notebook computer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical configuration of the notebook computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a photograph of an intermediate gradation displayed on a display showing a window displayed when an application program is activated.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a hot swap process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating details of power-off processing in step S2 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating details of power-on processing in step S5 of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 body, 2 display, 2A LCD, 3 bay device, 11 keyboard, 12 touch pad, 13 device bay, 14 PCI slot,
Reference Signs List 21 processor, 22 host bus, 23 north bridge, 24 secondary cache memory, 25
Main memory, 26 PCI bus, 27 video controller, 28 south bridge, 29 IDE controller / configuration register, 30
Timer circuit, 31 IDE interface, 32
Connector, 33 master HDD, 34 Q switch, 35 connector, 36 ISA / EIO bus,
37 I / O interface, 38 CMOS memory, 39 power control circuit, 40 built-in battery,
41 Q switch, 42 connector, 43 _1, 43 ₂
IDE bus, 44 to 46 connector, 47 flash memory, 48 PCMCIA controller

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Sakuma 6-7-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Toru Konishi 6-35-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Stock In-company (72) Inventor Junko Saito 6-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation F-term (reference) 5B014 EA01 EB03 HC03 HC13

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus having a device bay in which a peripheral device can be mounted, comprising: recognition means for recognizing that a peripheral device mounted in the device bay has been replaced; and a peripheral device after replacement. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a storage unit that stores data on the storage unit; and a processing unit that performs processing based on the data stored in the storage unit. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit performs a process for putting the apparatus into a sleep state based on data stored in the storage unit. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recognition unit recognizes replacement of the peripheral device while the device is activated. 4. An information processing method for an information processing apparatus having a device bay in which a peripheral device can be mounted, wherein: a recognition step for recognizing that a peripheral device mounted in the device bay has been replaced; An information processing method, comprising: a storage step of storing data on a peripheral device to be performed later; and a processing step of performing processing based on the data stored in the storage step. 5. A providing medium for providing a computer program for causing a computer having a device bay in which a peripheral device can be mounted to perform a predetermined process, wherein the peripheral device mounted in the device bay has been replaced. A providing medium for providing a computer program including a recognition step for recognizing a device, and a storage step for storing data on the peripheral device after replacement.