JP2000322307A - Recording and reproducing device and driving control method for recording medium and program supplying medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent deflag processing from being frequently operated to a storage medium equipped with a flash memory, and to prevent a memory life from being shortened. SOLUTION: When the start of a deflag operation is instructed in a step S12, whether or not the deflag instruction is issued to a flash memory is judged in a step S14, and when it is judged that the deflag instruction is issued to the flash memory in the step S14, a notice is displayed in a step S15, and whether or not the deflag operation should be executed to the flash memory is judged in a step S16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus for writing / reading data using at least a flash memory as a recording medium, a drive control method for the recording medium, and a program supply medium. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus suitable for a memory card built in a small case having a shape, a drive control method of a recording medium, and a program supply medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a semiconductor memory built in a small case such as a card or a stick has been used as one of removable recording media in a digital still camera, a digital video camera, a personal computer, or the like. Things have been commercialized. The semiconductor memory contained in these small cases is an EE called a so-called flash memory (Flash Memory).
PROM is used. In the following, a removable recording medium in which a flash memory is built in a small case such as a card or a stick will be referred to as a flash memory card.

[0003]

By the way, in a personal computer, for example, a so-called defragmentation process for rearranging and organizing data recorded on a hard disk or another rewritable recording medium is possible. The defragmentation process in the personal computer is also possible for the flash memory card.

However, the flash memory used in the flash memory card has a limit on the number of times of reading and writing. If reading and writing by defragmentation are repeated in addition to normal data reading and writing, the memory life is greatly affected. I will. That is, if the defragmentation process is repeated, the number of normal data read / write operations, which is the original purpose of use, is reduced.

In a personal computer,
For example, when a drive that drives a flash memory card is recognized as a hard disk drive, there is a possibility that a defragmentation process is periodically performed by, for example, a scheduler attached to an OS (operation system) of the personal computer. is there. In such a case, the flash memory card is subjected to the defragmentation process many times over a long period of time, and the memory life is extremely shortened.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and by preventing frequent defragmentation of a recording medium having a flash memory, the memory life is extended. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus, a recording medium drive control method, and a program supply medium that can prevent shrinkage.

[0007]

A recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is a recording apparatus that uses at least a flash memory as a recording medium and writes and reads data to and from the recording medium. When a defragmentation instruction for rearranging data is input, the defragmentation instruction determining means for determining whether the defragmentation instruction is directed to the flash memory, and the defragmentation instruction is transmitted to the flash memory. The above-mentioned problem is solved by having a defragmentability determining unit for determining whether a defragmentation operation can be performed on the flash memory.

[0008] A drive control method for a recording medium according to the present invention is a drive control method for a recording medium for writing and reading data to and from a recording medium composed of a flash memory, and rearranges data recorded on the recording medium. When the instruction of the defragmentation operation is input to the flash memory, it is determined whether or not the instruction of the defragmentation operation is for the flash memory. The above-mentioned problem is solved by determining whether or not a defragmentation operation can be performed on.

A program supply medium according to the present invention is a program supply medium for supplying a computer program for drive control of a recording medium for writing and reading data to and from a recording medium comprising a flash memory. When a defragmentation instruction for rearranging recorded data is input, a defragmentation instruction determining step of determining whether the defragmentation instruction is for the flash memory; and The present invention solves the above-described problem by supplying a computer program including a defragmentation execution availability determining step of determining whether or not a defragmentation operation can be performed on the flash memory when the flash memory is used.

That is, according to the present invention, when a command for a defragment operation is issued to a flash memory, whether or not the defragment operation is performed is clearly indicated to a user, and the life of the flash memory may be shortened by the execution of the defragmentation operation. The user is made aware of the fact.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments to which the recording / reproducing apparatus, recording medium drive control method, and program supply medium of the present invention are applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a new driver software for making a card-shaped or stick-shaped removable recording medium (flash memory card) incorporating a flash memory as a semiconductor memory, for example, a personal computer. This conceptually illustrates a process until the local drive ID of the personal computer is determined by the installation.

In FIG. 1, an OS 1 of a personal computer firstly includes a flash memory card 2
Is loaded into a predetermined slot (for example, a dedicated slot corresponding to a flash memory card) or the like, first, at step S1, the flash memory card 2
Make a driver request.

Next, the OS1 of the personal computer
When the driver software 3 for the flash memory card 2 is installed by, for example, a CD-ROM or a floppy disk, the plug-and-play (Plug & Play) is performed at step S2.
Is recognized as an HDD, and a local drive ID is determined in step S3. The driver software 3
Can also be downloaded via a communication line.

Here, the ID of the local drive ID is
The name is obviously different from the ID name of the existing HDD. Therefore, after that, the flash memory card 2
Can be recognized by the OS1.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a system configuration of a main part of a personal computer according to the present invention.

In FIG. 2, the OS 1 of the personal computer executes a defragmentation command 1 for a recording medium as one of various processes, for example, in response to an instruction from a user.
Perform Step 3. At this time, when the driver 14 of the flash memory card 2 recognizes that the defragmentation instruction 13 is for the flash memory card 2, the driver 14 of the flash memory card 2 displays the screen 20 of the display 10 of the personal computer.
At the top, a notice as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed via the OS1.

The cautionary statement shown in FIG. 3 is, for example, "The defragmentation operation overuses the flash memory. It may shorten the life. At this time, the “YES” button 21 and the “NO” button 2
2. A "QUIT" button 23 is also displayed. "YES"
The button 21 is a virtual button for the user to instruct the driver 14 to execute (continue) the defragmentation from the keyboard, the mouse 11 or the like via the OS 1, and the “NO” button 22 stops the defragmentation This is a virtual button for the user to instruct the driver 14 to interrupt (interrupt) from, for example, the keyboard or mouse 11 via the OS 1. The “QUIT” button 23 is used by the user to release the keyboard from the defrag operation. This is a virtual button for instructing the driver 14 from the device 11 or the like via the OS 1.

By displaying the cautionary statement shown in FIG. 3 on the display 10, the user can recognize that the defragmentation of the flash memory card 2 affects the life of the flash memory. It is possible to execute (continue) or stop (interrupt) the defragmentation.

FIG. 4 shows the flow of operation of the OS 1 and the driver 14 when performing the above-described processing.

In FIG. 4, for example, when an instruction for setting a defragment is given by the user using the keyboard or the mouse 11, the OS 1 sets an initial defragmentation screen (not shown) on the screen of the display 10 as step S11. Is displayed.

Here, the user issues an instruction to start defragmentation using the keyboard or the mouse 11. Upon receiving an instruction to start defragmentation from the user via the keyboard or the mouse 11 in step S12, the OS 1 selects a drive in accordance with the defragmentation (start) instruction 13 in the next step S13.

Next, in step S14, the driver 14 of the flash memory card 2 determines which drive the defragmentation instruction 13 issued from the OS 1 indicates. That is, the driver 14 of the flash memory card 2 at this time determines whether or not the defragmentation instruction 13 is for the flash memory card 2.

In the determination in step S14, the OS
Defragment instruction 13 from flash memory card 2
If the driver 14 determines that the driver 14 has been activated (YES in step S14), the driver 14 proceeds to step S14.
As 15, a screen 20 of a notice sentence as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display 10.

Next, the driver 14 determines whether or not to execute the defragmentation of the flash memory card 2 in step S16. That is, on the display screen of the display 10 shown in FIG.
It is determined whether the “O” button 22 or the “QUIT” button 23 has been pressed (for example, a mouse click).

In this step S16, when the user instructs to execute the defragmentation of the flash memory card 2 (when the "YES" button 21 is pressed), the driver 14
Continues the defragmentation as step S17. afterwards,
The driver 14 determines whether or not the defragmentation has been completed in step S18. At this time, the driver 14 also checks again whether or not there is another flash memory. Here, when there is another flash memory, that is, when all the defragmentation of the flash memory is not completed, step S
Returning to the process of step 13, the above process is performed. If it is determined in step S18 that the defragmentation of all the flash memory lines has been completed (completed), the process is terminated. After the defragmentation is completed in step S18, the process may return to step S11.

On the other hand, in step S16, when the user instructs to suspend the defragmentation or exit from the defragmentation operation (when the "NO" button 22 or the "QUIT" button 23 is pressed), the driver 14 suspends the defragmentation operation. Alternatively, the process exits from the defragmentation operation. This allows
The screen returns to the initial defragmentation screen of step S11 by the OS1.

Also, in the determination of step S14, O
When it is determined that the defragmentation instruction 13 from S1 is not for the flash memory card 2 (step S14)
If the determination is No, the driver 14 does not perform any processing. In this case, another driver (for example, an HDD driver or an FDD driver) to which the defragmentation instruction 13 has been issued from the OS 1 continues the defragmentation operation of the hard disk, floppy disk or the like as step S19. Thereafter, these drivers determine whether or not the defragmentation has been completed in step S20. At this time, the drivers also re-check whether or not there is another hard disk or floppy disk. Here, when there are other hard disks or floppy disks, that is, when the defragmentation of these disks has not been completed, the process returns to step S13 and the above-described processing is performed. After the defragmentation is completed in step S20,
You may make it return to step S11.

In the above-described embodiment, the defragmentation instruction 13 from the OS 1 to the flash memory card 2
The example in which the driver 14 displays a notice such as that shown in FIG. 3 on the screen of the display 10 every time is performed,
It is also possible to display the warning message once every predetermined number of times of defragmentation start for the flash memory card 2. This predetermined number can be set arbitrarily.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the user can be made aware that the defragmentation of the flash memory card 2 affects the life of the flash memory. The execution of the defragmentation operation can be prevented, and the life of the flash memory card can be prevented from being shortened.

[0031]

As apparent from the above description, in the recording / reproducing apparatus, the recording medium drive control method, and the program supply medium of the present invention, the defragmentation operation for rearranging the data recorded on the recording medium is performed. It is determined whether or not the instruction is for the flash memory, and when the defragmentation instruction is for the flash memory, it is determined whether or not the defragmentation operation can be performed on the flash memory. It is possible to prevent frequent defragmentation of the medium and prevent the memory life from shortening.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a process from installation of driver software of a flash memory card to determination of a local drive ID.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration example of a main part of the personal computer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an attention sentence on a display screen.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations of an OS and a flash memory card driver when performing a defragmentation operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 OS, 2 flash memory card, 3 driver software, 10 display, 11 keyboard and mouse, 13 defragmentation instruction, 14 flash memory driver, 20 notice screen, 21 “Y
ES ”button, 22“ NO ”button, 23“ Q
UIT ”button

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A recording / reproducing apparatus that uses at least a flash memory as a recording medium and writes / reads data to / from the recording medium, wherein a command for a defragmentation operation for rearranging data recorded on the recording medium is input. A defragmentation instruction determining means for determining whether or not the defragmentation instruction is for the flash memory; and a defragmentation operation for the flash memory when the defragmentation instruction is for the flash memory. Recording / reproducing apparatus, comprising: a defragmentation execution availability determination unit configured to determine whether or not execution is possible. 2. When the instruction of the defragmentation operation is directed to the flash memory, the defragmentability determining unit generates an attention image signal for asking whether the defragmentation operation affects the flash memory and whether the defragmentation is executable. 2. The recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording and reproducing apparatus outputs the data. 3. A recording medium drive control method for writing and reading data to and from a recording medium comprising a flash memory, wherein a command for a defragmentation operation for rearranging data recorded on the recording medium is input. Determining whether the instruction for the defragmentation operation is for the flash memory, and determining whether the defragmentation operation for the flash memory is executable when the instruction for the defragmentation operation is for the flash memory. A drive control method for a recording medium, comprising: 4. When the instruction of the defragmentation operation is directed to the flash memory, an attention sentence image signal for asking the influence of the defragmentation operation on the flash memory and whether or not the defragmentation can be performed is generated and output. The drive control method for a recording medium according to claim 3. 5. A program supply medium for supplying a computer program for drive control of a recording medium for writing and reading data to and from a recording medium comprising a flash memory, wherein the data recorded on the recording medium is rearranged. When a defragmentation instruction is input, a defragmentation instruction determining step of determining whether the defragmentation instruction is for the flash memory; and when the defragmentation instruction is for the flash memory, A program supply medium for supplying a computer program including a defragmentability determination step of determining whether a defragmentation operation can be performed on the flash memory. 6. The defragment execution availability determination step includes a step of generating and outputting a cautionary sentence image signal asking whether the defragmentation operation affects the flash memory and whether the defragmentation execution is possible. The program supply medium according to the above.