JP2001338480A - Disk cartridge and recording/reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily treat a disk being used or already used as a novel disk without needing any complex operations in a recording/reproducing device. SOLUTION: This disk cartridge 10 for housing a disk recoding medium 12 containing data and management information for managing the recording/ reproducing operation of the data is provided with a movable identifier 1 for erroneous recording prevention, capable of inhibiting the writing of an information signal in the disk recording medium 12, and a total erasure identifier 2 provided separately from the movable identifier 1 for erroneous recording prevention, and capable of automatically initializing the disk recording medium 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disk cartridge in which a rewritable disk medium is rotatably stored in a main body, and a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a disk in the disk cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a disc formed in a disk shape such as an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc, during storage, has dust or dirt attached to a recording area on a recording and / or reproducing surface, or has scratches. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring, it is rotatably housed in a disk cartridge. As described above, the disk cartridge is used to protect the disk, but on the other hand, facilitates mounting the disk on the recording / reproducing apparatus.

The main body of such a disk cartridge is provided with an erroneous recording preventing member so that an information signal recorded on the disk is not erroneously erased. The erroneous recording prevention member is provided near the rear corner of the cartridge body. When the erroneous recording prevention member is at the first position for closing the erroneous recording detection hole, the erroneous recording prevention member prevents entry of the erroneous recording detection mechanism on the recording / reproducing apparatus side and enables writing of an information signal to the disk. State. When the erroneous recording prevention member is at the second position for opening the erroneous recording detection hole, the erroneous recording detection mechanism of the recording / reproducing apparatus is allowed to enter, and new writing of an information signal is disabled. .

Meanwhile, among the above-mentioned rewritable disks, a rewritable disk has an area (user TOC area) for managing a recorded area and an unrecorded area. This user TOC area is adapted to be rewritten in accordance with the contents of the data area each time an operation such as recording, editing, erasing or the like is completed or when the disc is taken out of the recording / reproducing apparatus.

For example, when recording a certain music on a disk capable of recording and reproducing music, the recording / reproducing apparatus searches for an unrecorded area on the disk from a user TOC area on the disk, and searches for an unrecorded area on the disk. The music data described above is recorded in the unrecorded area. When playing back the music recorded in this way, the area in which the music is recorded is determined from the user TOC, and the area is accessed for reproduction.

[0006]

As described above, when data is additionally recorded on a disc on which data has already been recorded, the recording / reproducing apparatus operates in accordance with the user T on the disc.
Recording is performed by searching for an unrecorded area on the disc from the OC area. When the user erases all data recorded on the disc and newly records data from the beginning of the disc, the user This can be realized by performing an editing operation and handling the recorded area so as not to exist on the disc, and it is not necessary to delete all the recorded data.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-65546 describes a method for initializing management information, that is, a user TOC, on a disk on which data and management information for managing data recording / reproduction operations are recorded. I have.

[0008] However, such a user TOC
Was performed by operating a recording / reproducing apparatus. In other words, the disc itself cannot set whether to use the entire area of the disc as a recordable area (including a recorded area) or only the unrecorded area of the disc as a recordable area. Was. Further, although the entire erasing operation using the user TOC can be simplified as compared with the case of erasing the entire disk, there is a trouble that the setting must be operated by the user.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a disk cartridge for storing a disk-shaped recording medium on which data and management information for managing the recording / reproducing operation of the data are recorded. A movable identifier for preventing erroneous recording that inhibits writing of an information signal on the disk-shaped recording medium and a movable identifier for preventing erroneous recording are provided separately, and permit automatic initialization of the disk-shaped recording medium. A disc cartridge having a full erase identifier is provided.

A disk cartridge for storing a disk-shaped recording medium in which data and management information for managing the data recording / reproducing operation are recorded,
A first position where the writing of the information signal to the disc-shaped recording medium is prohibited, a second position where the writing of the information signal to the disc-shaped recording medium is allowed, and the automatic initialization of the disc-shaped recording medium. There is provided a disk cartridge having a movable identifier provided so as to be movable in three positions from a permitted third position.

Further, there is provided a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a disk-shaped recording medium accommodated in a disk cartridge, wherein the identifier determining means detects an identifier provided on the inserted disk cartridge, and the identifier determining means comprises: When it is determined that the disk-shaped recording medium can be initialized, a system controller for instructing initialization of the disk-shaped recording medium, and initialization means for initializing the disk-shaped recording medium according to an instruction of the system controller And a recording / reproducing apparatus having:

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a disc cartridge and a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an area structure of a disk-shaped recording medium 12 stored in a disk cartridge according to the present invention. The innermost periphery of the disc-shaped recording medium 12 has a lead-in area, followed by a data area, and the outermost periphery has a lead-out area. The lead-in area is an area which is read first when the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is set in the recording / reproducing apparatus and the recording / reproducing operation is started, and includes a disk information area, a user TOC area, and a buffer zone. The data area is an area for recording desired data by the user, and the lead-out area is an area indicating that the end of the data has been reached. ing.

Next, the lead-in area will be described in detail. In the disk information area of the above-described lead-in area, information unique to the disk-shaped recording medium 12, such as information on recording power and recording pulses required for recording and reproduction of the disk-shaped recording medium 12, is recorded in advance at the time of factory shipment. User T
The user TOC in the OC area is updated at a predetermined timing when the user records data on the recording / reproducing apparatus, and information such as a file name indicating an outline of the user data recorded on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 and the user data. Information such as the start address of the user data, the file size of the user data, and the capacity of the recorded area of the disk-shaped recording medium 12 are written.
Is consistent with the data in the data area.

By the way, since the user TOC is information indicating the existence of data in the data area, when erasing certain data, the information relating to the data to be erased in the user TOC area is erased without erasing the data itself in the data area. Then, the information indicating the existence of the data is
The data disappears from the OC area, and it appears as if the data is lost when viewed from the recording / reproducing apparatus. By utilizing this, by operating only the user TOC area, a high-speed erasing operation of data on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 becomes possible. In this case, although data actually remains in the data area of the disk-shaped recording medium 12, the recording / reproducing apparatus stores data related to information erased by the user TOC in the data area on the disk-shaped recording medium 12. Judge that it does not exist. When new data is recorded on the disc-shaped recording medium 12, the data is overwritten with the apparently nonexistent data as described above. It can be said that the data has been erased and the free space has increased.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a first embodiment of the disk cartridge according to the present invention. The disk-shaped recording medium 12 described above is rotatably housed in the disk cartridge 10, and a shutter 11 for protecting the disk-shaped recording medium 12 when the disk cartridge 10 is not inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus is provided. . A first movable identifier 1 is provided on the lower left side of the disk cartridge 10 in the figure, and a second movable identifier 2 is provided on the lower right side of the disk cartridge 10 in the figure.

The first movable identifier 1 is also used for a conventional floppy (registered trademark) disk, a mini disk, or the like. When the first movable identifier 1 is at the upper side in FIG. It enables recording on the stored disk-shaped recording medium 12, and when the first movable identifier 1 is at the lower side in the figure, the disk cartridge 10
Recording on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 stored in the storage device is prohibited. At this time, the recording / reproducing device detects the position of the first movable identifier and determines whether or not to perform the recording operation.

The second movable identifier 2 indicates whether or not the data on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 stored in the disk cartridge 10 is to be completely erased. In some cases, it does not work, and when it is on the lower side in the figure, the disk cartridge 10 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus, or
Is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus and prior to the first recording operation, all data recorded on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 stored in the disk cartridge 10 is erased.

At this time, the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is actually
Although the data in the upper data area may be erased, it is desirable to erase the entire data by initializing the user TOC area because the operation becomes faster. Hereinafter, in the embodiment of the present invention, the entire erase operation refers to initializing the user TOC area.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a second embodiment of the disk cartridge 10 according to the present invention. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the first movable identifier 1 and the second movable identifier 2 are shared by one movable identifier 100. Specifically, when the movable identifier 100 is at the first position on the lower side in the figure, recording on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is disabled, and when the movable identifier 100 is at the second position in the middle of the figure, the disk-shaped Recording on the recording medium 12 is enabled. When the movable identifier 100 is at the upper third position in the figure, all data on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is erased. Note that a protruding stopper is provided to prevent the movable identifier 100 from easily moving at each position.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the main parts of a disk cartridge 10 and a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a disk-shaped recording medium 12 stored in the disk cartridge 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. When the disc cartridge 10 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus, the identifier discriminating means 5 detects the state of the movable identifier 100 provided on the disc cartridge 10, and a shutter opening / closing mechanism (not shown) slides the shutter 11 provided on the disc cartridge,
The surface of the disc-shaped recording medium 12 is exposed so that the light spot from the optical head 7 of the recording / reproducing apparatus reaches the disc-shaped recording medium 12. In addition, the center hole of the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is set on a support portion directly connected to the spindle motor 6 so that the spindle motor 6 rotates the disk-shaped recording medium 12. Although the disk cartridge 10 is described in the second embodiment here,
Needless to say, the disk cartridge described in the first embodiment may be used.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. A spindle motor 6 for rotating a disk-shaped recording medium 12 housed in a disk cartridge 10; a semiconductor laser or an objective lens for irradiating a light-beam spot on the disk-shaped recording medium 12; Optical head 7 including a photodetector for detecting light
An RF amplifier 9 for calculating and amplifying a detection signal from the optical head 7, a signal processing unit 13 for processing an electric signal from the RF amplifier according to a use such as a reproduction signal, a servo signal, and an address signal; An interface unit 14 for inputting and outputting signals between the unit 13 and the outside;
The operation of the LD driver 15 for driving the semiconductor laser, the sled 16 for moving the optical head 7 in the radial direction of the disk-shaped recording medium 12, the operation of the spindle motor 6, the sled 16, and the objective lens driving unit of the optical head 7 are described. The system includes a servo circuit 8 for controlling the system, a system controller 17 for controlling the overall operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus, and an identifier discriminating means 5 for discriminating a state of a movable identifier of a disk cartridge inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. When the disk cartridge 10 in which the second movable identifier 2 in the first embodiment or the movable identifier 100 in the second embodiment (hereinafter referred to as an all-erasable identifier) is in the position of all erasure (initialization) is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus. Then, the identifier discriminating means 5 detects the state of the all-erased identifier (step S1). Next, it is checked whether or not the state of the all-erased identifier is the all-erased state (step S).
2).

At this time, it is not in the all-erased state (step S
2 (N direction), normal recording / reproducing processing becomes possible. On the other hand, when it is in the all-erased state (Y direction in step S2), a message such as "would you like to erase all data" is displayed asking whether to erase all data (step S3).

In response to this, it is checked whether or not an operation of deleting all data is performed by inputting a remote control device or voice (step S4).

When an operation of erasing all data is performed (Y direction in step S4), the user TOC of the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is initialized and all erasure is performed. On the other hand, if an operation that all data should not be erased is performed (N direction in step S4), a message such as "Are you sure you want to cancel all erasure?" S5) It is checked whether or not to erase all data (step S6).

At this time, when the operation of stopping the entire erasure is performed (Y direction in step S6), the normal recording / reproducing process can be performed. On the other hand, if the operation of stopping all erasure is rejected (N direction in step S6), the process returns to step S3 and the process is repeated again.

As described above, only by setting the entire erasure identifier of the disk cartridge 10 at a predetermined position, the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is automatically initialized when the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is set in the recording / reproducing apparatus. Will be

In the above-described recording / reproducing apparatus, a message for confirmation is displayed to the user at the time of performing all erasing. Even if it is inserted, erroneous erasure can be prevented. Also, it goes without saying that voice or LED lighting may be used instead of the above-mentioned confirmation message.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another operation example of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. The second movable identifier 2 in the first embodiment or the movable identifier 100 in the second embodiment (hereinafter referred to as an all-erased identifier) is completely erased (initialized).
Is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus, the identifier discriminating means 5 detects the state of the all-erased identifier (step S11). Next, it is checked whether or not the state of the all-erased identifier is the all-erased state (step S1).
2).

At this time, it is not in the all-erased state (step S
12 (N direction), normal recording / reproduction becomes possible.
In the case of the first embodiment, a normal recording / reproducing process can be performed according to the state of the first movable identifier 1 indicating recording enable / disable.

On the other hand, when the all-erased identifier is in the all-erased state (Y direction in step S12), the apparatus enters the all-erase waiting state for performing the all-erased operation prior to the new recording operation (step S13). At this time, the system controller 17 stores whether the recording operation has never been performed since the disk cartridge 10 was inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus, or whether the recording operation has been performed.

Next, it is checked whether or not the recording / reproducing apparatus is in the recording mode (step S14). If it is not in the recording mode, step S14 is repeated periodically, and if it is determined that it is in the recording mode, it is checked whether the recording operation has been performed once after the next insertion of the disk cartridge 10 into the recording / reproducing apparatus. (Step S15) When the recording operation has been performed (N direction in Step S15), the recording is started in the free area of the data area on the disc-shaped recording medium 12, as in the normal recording operation.

On the other hand, if the recording operation has never been performed since the disk cartridge 10 was inserted, the user TOC area on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is initialized before starting the recording operation through the next operation. Become

First, a message such as "Do you want to delete all data?" Is displayed asking whether to delete all data (step SS16).

On the other hand, it is checked whether or not an operation to delete all data is performed by inputting a remote control device or voice (step S17).

When an operation of erasing all data is performed (Y direction in step S17), the user TOC of the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is initialized and all erasure is performed (step S18). Recording is started from the beginning of the data area on the recording medium 12. On the other hand, if an operation that all data must not be erased is performed (N direction in step S17), "record in a free area indicating that recording is to be performed in a free area of the data area on the disc-shaped recording medium 12" A message such as "Do you want to continue?" Is displayed (step S19), and it is checked whether or not recording to an empty area is to be performed (step S20).

At this time, if an operation to stop recording in the empty area is performed (N direction in step S20),
The recording operation is stopped. On the other hand, when an operation of performing recording in a free area is performed (Y direction in step S20), recording is started in a free area of the data area.

As described above, even when the all-erased identifier provided on the disk cartridge 10 is set at the position of all-erased, the data recorded in the data area of the disk-shaped recording medium 12 stored in the disk cartridge 10 is reproduced. In this case, the disk-shaped recording medium operates without any problem, and the disk-shaped recording medium can be initialized only when the first recording operation is performed after the disk cartridge 10 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing still another operation example of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. When the disk cartridge 10 in which the second movable identifier 2 in the first embodiment or the movable identifier 100 in the second embodiment (hereinafter referred to as an all-erasable identifier) is in the position of all erasure (initialization) is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus. Then, the identifier discriminating means 5 detects the state of the all-erased identifier (step S21). Next, it is checked whether or not the state of the all erasure identifier is the all erasure state (step S22).

At this time, it is not in the all-erased state (step S
22 (N direction), normal recording / reproduction becomes possible.
In the case of the first embodiment, a normal recording / reproducing process can be performed according to the state of the first movable identifier 1 indicating recording enable / disable.

On the other hand, when the all-erased identifier is in the all-erased state (Y direction in step S22), it is checked whether or not the recording operation has been performed once after the disk cartridge 10 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus. (Step S23) If the recording operation is not performed (N direction of step S23), the normal recording / reproducing process is performed.

On the other hand, if the recording operation has been performed (Y direction in step S23), a full erasure standby state for performing the full erasure operation prior to the new recording operation is entered (step S2).
4). At this time, the system controller 17 stores whether the recording operation has never been performed since the disk cartridge 10 was inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus, or whether the recording operation has been performed.

Next, it is checked whether or not the recording / reproducing apparatus is in the recording mode (step S25). If the mode is not the recording mode, step S25 is periodically repeated. If the mode is determined to be the recording mode, a message such as "Erase all data. Do you want to continue?" Is performed (step S26).

On the other hand, it is checked whether or not an operation of deleting all data is performed by inputting a remote control device or voice (step S27).

When an operation of erasing all data is performed (Y direction in step S12), the user TOC of the disk-shaped recording medium 12 is initialized and all erasure is performed (step S28). Recording is started from the beginning of the data area on the recording medium 12. On the other hand, if an operation that all data should not be erased is performed (N direction in step S27), "record in the free area of the data area on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 indicating that recording is to be performed in the free area" A message such as "Do you want to continue?" Is displayed (step S29), and it is checked whether or not recording to an empty area is to be performed (step S30).

At this time, if an operation to stop recording in the empty area is performed (N direction in step S30),
The recording operation is stopped. On the other hand, when an operation of performing recording in a free area is performed (Y direction in step S30), recording is started in a free area of the data area.

The difference between the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 and the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is that, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the recording operation has never been performed after the disk cartridge 10 was inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus. That is, it is determined that the recording operation has been performed before the recording mode is instructed. In this case, once the recording operation has been performed, the entire erasure is not in a standby state, and the operation of the system controller 17 can be easily separated.

Also, by combining the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 and the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, it is determined whether or not the recording operation has been performed once or the recording operation has been performed after the disk cartridge 10 is inserted. May be performed before the instruction is issued, and may also be performed when the recording mode is instructed.

Incidentally, all erasure identifiers are assigned to the second movable identifier 2 as shown in FIG.
When the first movable identifier 1 indicating that recording is not possible is provided, it is possible to prioritize the operation of the recording / reproducing device derived from the state of the two movable identifiers 1 and 2.

In FIG. 9, a first movable identifier 1 indicating recording enable / disable as shown in the first embodiment and a second movable identifier indicating total erasing enable / disable are separately provided. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a part of a flowchart showing an operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus when the recording / reproducing apparatus is in operation. FIGS. 7 and 8 show the flowchart of FIG.
It is possible to cope by inserting between the middle. It is checked whether the first movable identifier 1 indicating recordable / unrecordable is in a record-disabled state (step S31), and if not, priority is given to this state of the second movable identifier 2 Performs an operation of ignoring even if the data is completely erased. In many cases, data on the disk-shaped recording medium 12 set to a state where recording is not possible for the user is important. Therefore, it is necessary to permit only reproduction and not perform all erasure or recording. This is effective in simplifying operation and protecting data.

As described in detail above, the movable identifier for all erasure determination is provided, and by setting this, the data on the disk-shaped recording medium is initialized when the disk cartridge 10 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus. And the disk can be handled more easily. However,
It is necessary to pay close attention to the entire erase operation, since all the recorded data is lost.

Therefore, means for visually recognizing that the all-erasable movable identifier is set in the all-erased state is provided so that the recording / reproducing operation can be performed with the all-erasable movable identifier set to the all-erased state by mistake. It is possible to prevent data from being accidentally erased by being inserted into the device. FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which the all-erasable movable identifier according to the present invention is visually represented. FIG. 10A shows a state in which the all-erasable movable identifier is set not to be initialized.
In this state, the side without the all-erasable movable identifier is in a perforated state, and the identifier determining means 5 of the recording / reproducing apparatus determines the state of the all-erasable movable by the presence or absence of the perforated portion. On the other hand, in FIG.
This is the position where the initialization is performed, which is the reverse of that shown in FIG. In this state, the perforated portion is covered with the all-erasable movable identifier. At the same time, a warning display appears on the side opposite to the movable identifier as shown in the figure, and the user visually recognizes that initialization is performed when the disk cartridge 10 is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus in this state. I have. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation where the all-erasable movable identifier is erroneously inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus while being set to the all-erased state.

If this warning display is clearly different in color so that it can be clearly distinguished from the color of the cartridge, errors can be further reduced.

As described above, by providing means for visually appealing that the all-erased identifier is set to the all-erased state, it is possible to erroneously insert the all-erased identifier into the recording / reproducing apparatus with the all-erased identifier set to the all-erased state. This has the effect of preventing erroneous erasure of data.

Further, before performing the initialization operation, a message to the effect that initialization is performed is displayed on a display portion provided in the recording / reproducing apparatus or a display device to which the recording / reproducing apparatus is connected, thereby prompting the user for confirmation. By doing so, there is an effect that erroneous erasure can be prevented even when the disk cartridge is set to the initialization state by mistake.

[0056]

As described above in detail, according to the disk cartridge and the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, whether or not to initialize the disk-shaped recording medium stored in the disk cartridge can be set by the disk cartridge. When the cartridge set in the initialized state is inserted into the recording / reproducing apparatus, the initialization can be automatically performed, so that complicated operation on the recording / reproducing apparatus is not required, and the used or used cartridge is used. This makes it possible to easily handle the disc as a new disc.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an area structure of a disk-shaped recording medium stored in a disk cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a first embodiment of a disk cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a second embodiment of the disk cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a main part of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing still another operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a part of a flowchart showing the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus when there are two movable identifiers according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an external view of an all erase identifier of the disk cartridge according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st movable identifier 2 2nd movable identifier 5 identifier discrimination means 6 spindle motor 7 optical head 8 servo circuit 9 RF amplifier 10 disk cartridge 11 shutter 12 disk-shaped recording medium 13 signal processing unit 14 interface 15 LD driver 16 thread 17 System controller 100 movable identifier

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A disk cartridge for storing a disk-shaped recording medium on which data and management information for managing the recording / reproducing operation of the data are stored, wherein a data signal of the information signal to the disk-shaped recording medium is stored. A disk cartridge comprising: an erroneous recording prevention movable identifier that inhibits writing; and an all-erasable identifier that is provided separately from the erroneous recording prevention movable identifier and that permits automatic initialization of the disk-shaped recording medium. 2. A disk cartridge for storing a disk-shaped recording medium in which data and management information for managing the recording / reproducing operation of the data are stored, wherein a data signal of the information signal to the disk-shaped recording medium is stored. A first position where writing is prohibited, a second position where writing of an information signal to the disk-shaped recording medium is permitted, and a third position where automatic initialization of the disk-shaped recording medium is permitted. What is claimed is: 1. A disk cartridge comprising a movable identifier movably provided between two positions. 3. A recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a disk-shaped recording medium stored in a disk cartridge, comprising: an identifier determining means for detecting an identifier provided on the inserted disk cartridge; When it is determined that the disk-shaped recording medium can be initialized, a system controller for instructing initialization of the disk-shaped recording medium, and initialization means for initializing the disk-shaped recording medium according to an instruction of the system controller And a recording / reproducing apparatus having: