JP2002324012A - Information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing system that can perform save and return processing of hibernation corresponding to a plurality of work environments. SOLUTION: This invented information processing system, in an information processing system in which an operating system supports a hibernation processing function, has at least a hibernation area selection means 170 that, at the startup of the operating system, makes a user designate which hibernation area is to be used for the startup, a return control means 120 that examines the information on the designated hibernation area, and if the previous termination of the operating system has been terminated by a hibernation interrupt, performs the return processing using the information on the designated hibernation area, and a save control means 130 that, in a hibernation area corresponding to a current user, selectively stores the data representing the operating state of the system and the hibernation data including the modification data, for a storage device, due to the operation that the user has performed during the use.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an information processing system, and more particularly, to an information processing system having a hibernation processing function in an operating system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, hibernation processing functions in personal computers have been performed by a system BIOS, but recently, an operating system (OS) has come to support them. Here, the hibernation processing function refers to the system state (System memory, Video Mem
ory, register settings of each device in the system) on a non-volatile medium (generally a hard disk)
It is a technology that can return. The advantage of using this is that
While the power is consumed while the suspend is weak, the power consumption can be reduced to zero after the evacuation, the sound is quiet, and the work can be resumed immediately from the evacuation work state when returning. In addition, hibernation processing function
The benefits of support include the following:・ Reduced development man-hours for System BIOS.・ Realization of hibernation processing function on desktop personal computer. If the system BIOS supports hibernation, it is necessary to describe in the system BIOS what information to save and restore. In the case of a desktop type personal computer, the information to be saved differs depending on the connected device (for example, ISA, PCI, AGP card).
IOS support is generally not possible. When supported by the OS, if the driver of each card supports the hibernation processing function, hibernation processing can be performed by issuing an instruction to the driver from the OS.・ Easy creation, deletion, and resizing of the hibernation area. If the System BIOS supports the hibernation processing function, it is necessary to use a BIOS vendor-specific utility to create, delete, and resize the hibernation area. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes time and there is a risk of failure if the user is unfamiliar. However, when supported by the OS, the hibernation area can be a file accessible from the OS, which facilitates creation, deletion, and resizing.

[0003]

In the case where a plurality of users share a single computer, a hibernation area is assigned to each user, and the OS is provided with a function of switching the hibernation area. In addition, different environment settings can be realized by one computer for each user. JP-A-7-200112
The publication discloses an information processing system including a CPU, a volatile main memory, and a non-volatile external storage device and capable of realizing a plurality of work environments. Means for prompting the user to input; (b) means for generating a hibernation interrupt signal in response to the occurrence of a predetermined state; (c)
Means for saving, in response to the hibernation interrupt signal, data (hibernation data) describing an operation state of a system in an area on the external storage device determined based on the identifier; (d) An information processing system that supports a multi-hibernation function, including means for powering off the above-described system, provides a hibernation (multi-hibernation) and wake-up method corresponding to a plurality of work environments. . However, the hibernation processing function of this information processing system only keeps the operating state of the system for each user, and does not save changes to the external storage device in use. Will get up. 1. The user A uses the computer to perform the hibernation process, and evacuates to the hibernation area for the user A. 2. Next, the user B uses the same computer to change to a disk, perform hibernation processing, and save the hibernation area for the user B. Or shut down. 3. User A performs a return process from hibernation. At this time, when returning using the information saved in the hibernation area for the user A, the System Memory, Video M
emory, there is a high risk of inconsistency between the register state of each device and the contents of the disk. This is because the former content is changed by the user A, and the latter content is changed by the user B. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing system capable of performing a hibernation saving and restoring process corresponding to a plurality of work environments in order to solve the above-described problem.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing system in which an operating system supports a hibernation processing function. A hibernation area selecting means for allowing the user to specify which hibernation area is to be activated, and the information of the specified hibernation area is checked. A return control means for performing a return process using the information of the hibernation area, and a hibernation interrupt to the hibernation area corresponding to the current user, the data indicating the operation state of the system and the operation performed by the user at the time of use. That is a retraction control means for selectively saving hibernation data including changed data to the storage device, wherein at least provided. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the first aspect, the hibernation area is created in one or both of a partition and a file managed by the operating system. . According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the first or second aspect, the evacuation control unit determines whether the system is stopped by hibernation or the system is stopped by shutdown. Is stored. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the first, second or third aspect, the evacuation control means stores information on a user who can use the hibernation area and a usable level of the user. It is characterized by doing. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the fourth aspect,
When the user's available level is a user who has administrator authority for the operating system, the system further comprises hibernation area creation means for creating a plurality of hibernation areas. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the evacuation / discard determination unit wants to leave any result of the change made by the user. And hibernation data to be saved or discarded based on the answer. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the sixth aspect, when the evacuation / discard determination unit determines that all of the information is discarded, the termination processing is performed without saving the hibernation data. I do.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the sixth aspect, when the save / destroy determination unit determines that all changes made by the user during use are to be saved, the system of Data representing an operation state and data changed to a storage device by an operation performed by a user during use are stored in the hibernation area. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the sixth aspect, when the evacuation / discard determination unit determines that a part of the change made by the user during use is to be saved, the operation state of the system is determined. Is stored in the hibernation area, among the data indicating the save and the change data to the storage device by the operation performed by the user at the time of use. Further, claim 1 of the present invention
0 is the information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the hibernation area selecting means prevents the hibernation area from being selected unless the current user is an available user of the specified hibernation area. . Claim 11 of the present invention is:
5. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the return control unit returns the hibernation data when the available level of the user in the hibernation area selected by the hibernation area selection unit does not match the available level of the current user. It is characterized in that all processing is forcibly discarded without performing processing. According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing system according to the first aspect, when the information processing system is terminated by a normal shutdown, the evacuation control unit performs a normal shutdown to a hibernation area of the current user. Is written as information indicating the end due to.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The construction and operation of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (1) Configuration of Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing system (hereinafter, abbreviated as the present system) according to an embodiment of the present invention. On the system board of this system, bus 1, C
PU2, memory 3, non-volatile memory 4, keyboard 5,
A power switch 6, a display 7, and the like are mounted.
The CPU 2 executes operation control and data processing (for example, an application program and an operating system (OS)) of the entire system. Memory 3 is
The system communicates with the CPU 2 via the bus 1 and is used as a main memory of the present system, and stores an operating system, hibernation software, an application program to be processed, user data created by the application program, and the like. The non-volatile memory 4 communicates with the CPU 2 via the bus 1,
It is mainly composed of a magnetic disk device, and stores hibernation data when hibernation processing is performed, and stores various application programs and operating systems. Keyboard 5
Communicates with the CPU 2 via the bus 1 and notifies the CPU 2 of information such as a key code corresponding to the pressed key.
A hibernation transfer switch 51 is also attached to the switch, and when this switch is pressed, the hibernation process is performed and the power is turned off. Power switch 6
Communicates with the CPU 2 via the bus 1 and controls the power on / off of the system. When the power switch 6 is turned on, the AC adapter or the internal battery supplies various signals in the system. Supply operating power to the module. When the power switch 6 is turned off, the supply of the operating power to each module in the system is stopped after the power off command is issued from the CPU 2. The display 7 communicates with the CPU 2 via the bus 1 and displays screen data drawn in the video memory on a display monitor. In addition to the above hardware elements, various input / output devices are connected, and device drivers for those input / output devices operate.
The illustration is omitted for the purpose of simplifying the description.

(2) Data Structure of Hibernation Area Hereinafter, the case where the non-volatile memory 4 is a magnetic disk device will be described, but the same can be considered for a semiconductor memory or an optical medium. The magnetic disk drive 4 is composed of the parts as shown in FIG. Boot sector Normally used area This area is where the operating system and application programs are installed. In principle,
No changes are allowed for this part.

The hibernation area for each user This area may be either a file or a partition under the control of the operating system. FIG. 3 shows the data structure of the hibernation area, which includes a header, a system memory save area, a video memory save area, a save area for each device, and a disk change save area. The header includes a shutdown flag indicating whether the previous termination was a shutdown or terminated by a hibernation process,
The user using the hibernation area and the user level of the user are stored. In this system,
An administrator level that can create and delete the hibernation area and allow each user to use it, and a user level that has some restrictions on the access authority to the magnetic disk device on which the operating system and application programs are installed and the use of this system It is defined that there are users. The user level is, for example,
How much changes to the system for each user (whether to create files only or allow application installation, etc.)
Set whether to accept. The disk change save area saves a disk change temporary storage area that holds the contents of the magnetic disk device changed by the user. The system memory save area, the video memory save area, and the save area for each device have a header having a flag indicating whether each area is valid or invalid, and is saved only when this flag is valid. To restore the data. The disk change save area saves only files to be restored. Therefore, when there is no disk change save area, this area is left empty. Disk change temporary storage area This is an area for temporarily storing the changes made to the magnetic disk device 4 within the range of the user level while each user is using the present system. This area may be a file or a partition under the control of the operating system. FIG. 4 shows the data structure of the disk change temporary storage area, which is composed of a header (category information, file name, path) and file contents for each file. The user writes data generated during the execution of the program into this area.

(3) Functional Configuration of the Present System FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a functional configuration showing main functions of the present system. This system includes a hibernation area control unit 100, a disk access control unit 200, and a user level management unit 300. Further, the hibernation area control unit 100 includes a save / discard determination unit 110, a return control unit 120, a save control unit 130,
The disk access control means 200 includes a disk change temporary storage area control means 140, a disk change save area control means 150, a hibernation area creation means 160, and a hibernation area selection means 170. Access monitoring means 220 is included. The hibernation area control means 100 includes a hibernation transition switch 5
When "1" is pressed, the hibernation data for the user currently used is controlled to be saved, and when the power switch 6 is pressed, the hibernation data is restored. Evacuation / destroy determination means 1
10. When ending the system, the user inquires of the user what work result he / she wants to keep, and based on the answer, the system memory, video memory, register contents of each device, What to evacuate ". The restoration control unit 120 restores only the saved data whose header flag is valid in each of the system memory save area, the video memory save area, and the save area of each device, and saves the data in the disk change save area. To restore the files The save control unit 130 saves the corresponding data in the hibernation area for the areas (the system memory save area, the video memory save area, the save area for each device, and the disk change save area) determined by the save / discard determination unit 110. I do. For the saved data, a valid flag is set in the header of the saved area. For data that is not saved, an invalid flag is set in the header of the save area.

Disk change temporary storage area control means 140
Controls reading of all files corresponding to the user in the disk change temporary storage area of the nonvolatile memory 4. The disk change save area control unit 150 controls writing of the file read by the disk change temporary save area control unit 140 to the disk change save area in the hibernation area. The hibernation area creating means 160 is activated by a user at the administrator level of the system to create a plurality of hibernation areas. After the power switch 6 is pressed, the hibernation area selection unit 170 allows the user to select a hibernation area registered in the nonvolatile memory 4. The disk access control means 200
It controls overall access to the non-volatile memory 4. The disk change temporary storage area access unit 210 controls access to the disk change temporary storage area of the nonvolatile memory 4. At this time, the user level management means 300 monitors whether the user's access is appropriate for the user level. The disk access monitoring unit 220 is a file for managing creation / update of a user's data file, installation of an application, and system settings (for example, a registry file in Microsoft Windows which is an operating system manufactured by Microsoft Corporation in the United States).
Always monitor for updates. User level management means 300
Checks the user level for access to the hibernation area, the magnetic disk device, and the like to see if the user has appropriate authority.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present system will be described. (4) Creation of Hibernation Area (Hibernation Area Creation Means 160) First, a user having a system administrator level (system administrator) assigns a user ID, its password, and user to all users who use this system. User registration is performed by setting the level. In addition to this user registration, a plurality of hibernation areas are created in the nonvolatile memory 4. In the header of the hibernation area of each user, a user who can use the hibernation area (for example, a user group) and the user level of the user are set, and the other areas are created with empty contents. By storing the operation status before the power is turned off in the hibernation area, interruption / return can be performed according to the work status of each user.

(5) Activation of the present system Next, the operation of the present system when the power switch 6 is turned on will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the power switch 6 is turned on (step S100), POST (Power
r On SelfTest), the system is initialized by the System BIOS (step S110), the boot sector is read from the boot storage device of the nonvolatile memory 4, and the boot of the operating system is started (step S110).
120). A user using the present system logs in with his / her user ID and selects a hibernation area registered in the nonvolatile memory 4 that suits his / her work environment (step S130). At this time, the hibernation area selectable by the user can be limited by the user level management means 300. For example, only the hibernation area that can be used by the logged-in user may be displayed, and the user may be selected from the hibernation area. Alternatively, the header of the selected hibernation area is within the range of available users and the user level. You may be made to check whether or not. further,
When a hibernation area is not selected or an inaccessible area is selected, an appropriate hibernation area accessible by the user level of the logged-in user is allocated. The header is read from the hibernation area selected by the user (step S140), and the shutdown flag in the header is checked (step S150). If the shutdown flag was previously turned off by the hibernation process, the system returns from the hibernation as follows. System memory, video memory,
Only the save area where each header in the save area of the register state of each device has a valid flag is read and the return processing is performed (step S160).
If this flag is invalid, the operating system performs an initialization process. The disk change save area is restored by copying the data of the file in the save area to the disk change temporary save area as a file having the path and file name in the header of each file in the save area (step S170). ). on the other hand,
If it is determined in step S150 that the shutdown flag is due to the power-off, the normal start of the operating system is started.

(6) Start of Use After the activation of the operating system or the return from hibernation is completed, the user performs work using this system. At this time, the disk access monitoring means 220
Monitors the creation and update of data files, the installation of applications, and the update of files that manage system settings (for example, the registry file in Microsoft Windows, an operating system manufactured by Microsoft Corporation in the United States). The user level management means 300 also monitors use exceeding the user level. This changed part is recorded in the user-specific disk change temporary storage area of the nonvolatile memory 4 through the disk change temporary storage area access means 210 under the control of the disk access control means 200. This allows the user to access the file without being aware that the file is in the change unit temporary storage area.

(7) Selection of termination processing When the present system is terminated, how to deal with the changes being used by the user (creation of the data file on the disk, operation setting of the system) is as follows. It can be divided into four cases. Discard any changes made while in use. Keep any changes you made while using it. Keep some changes made during use. Shutdown due to normal power off, not hibernation. When the hibernation transition switch 51 is pressed or the power switch 6 is turned on, the evacuation / discard determination unit 110 is activated, and the user is inquired about "what work result should be left?" One of the above four states is selected by determining "system memory, video memory, register contents of each device, and what to save in the changed portion of the disk". As an example of this determination, for example, when it is selected to leave only the work result of installing the application program, the system memory, the video memory,
Since it is not necessary to save the contents of the register of each device, it is determined that "only the changed portion of the disk needs to be saved". Also, for example, if the user uses the Internet using a modem, after going offline, while the browser software is running, the user may save the current state and immediately return to the Internet when returning from hibernation. I want to reconnect to. "
Since the record of the last application activation, etc., is often saved in a file, it is determined that "it is necessary to save all the changed parts of the system memory, the video memory, the registers of each device, and the disk." . However, in the case of a user having a user level set by the system administrator as "the user makes a change that is not reflected and wants to discard all changes," the user level management means 300 restricts the user and sets a mandatory You can also force all changes to be discarded.

(8) Execution of End Process The save process of hibernation data executed by turning off the power switch 6 or pressing the hibernation shift switch 51 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. First, it is checked whether or not the hibernation transition switch 51 has been pressed (Step S).
200). When the power is turned off, a flag indicating that the shutdown has been completed by turning off the power is set in the header of the hibernation area corresponding to the user (selected when the user starts the system after logging in), and then the power is turned off. Perform off processing. on the other hand,
In step S200, the hibernation transfer switch 51
Is pressed, the user is inquired about which of the data changed during use is to be stored, and the answer is classified into one of the above-mentioned types (step S21).
0). It is determined whether this type is to discard all changed data (step S220). If all of them are to be discarded, there is no need for a save process, so other processes (such as closing an open file and notifying a device of a termination process) are executed. Further, the shutdown flag in the header of the hibernation area of this user is determined by the hibernation process, and an invalid flag is set in the header of each save area, or the shutdown is terminated as the shutdown flag in the header of the hibernation area. Is set, and power-off processing is performed. According to this type, the processing speed is increased as compared with the conventional shutdown and hibernation. On the other hand, step S
If all the changed data is not discarded in 220, it is determined whether or not all the changed data is reflected (step S230). Here, when it is determined that all are reflected, the contents of the system memory, the video memory, and the register of each device are stored in the corresponding save area of the hibernation area.
At this time, a flag indicating that the save data is valid is set in the header of each save area (step S240). Further, regarding the changed part of the disk contents changed by the user, each file is stored in the disk change save area of the hibernation area with the data structure of FIG. 4 (step S25).
0). Finally, a power-off process is performed after setting a flag indicating that the termination process has been performed by the hibernation process as a shutdown flag in the header of the hibernation area.

If it is determined in step S230 that not all of the data is to be reflected, it is determined that the data is to be partially reflected (step S300). In step S260, the shutdown flag is set in the hibernation area. Do. A process for partially reflecting this will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Step S310 for system operation status data (system memory, video memory, contents of registers of each device)
In step S340, it is determined whether the evacuation is necessary, and necessary evacuation is saved in the hibernation area. First,
For example, it is determined whether it is necessary to save the system memory based on the determination result of the standby / discard determination unit 110 (step S310, step S3).
20). If it is determined that the save processing is necessary, the contents of the system memory are written to the save area corresponding to the hibernation area, and a valid flag is set in the header of the save area (step S330). When saving is not required, an invalid flag is set in the header of the corresponding saving area in the hibernation area. By executing the above-mentioned repetition also for the contents of the video memory and the register of each device, it is possible to save necessary data on the operating state of the system. The data changed during use by the user in the disk change temporary storage area is
In steps S350 to S390, it is determined whether or not the evacuation is necessary, and the necessary evacuation is saved in the hibernation area. First, a change in each file that has occurred during use is read from the disk change temporary storage area (step S350). By comparing the file determined to be necessary by the standby / discard determination unit 110 with the header of each read file, it is determined whether the file needs to be saved (steps S360 and S3).
70). Only when it is determined that saving is necessary, the read file is written to the disk change saving area in the hibernation area. If the save is not required, the file is not written to the hibernation area. Therefore, those that are determined to be unnecessary do not perform the evacuation processing,
Processing speeds up.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention,
During the hibernation process, the save data (system memory, video memory, register contents of each device) and the changes made by the administrator and each user to the magnetic disk device etc. are also stored in the hibernation area for each user's work environment. By recording, the hibernation saving and restoring processes corresponding to a plurality of work environments can be performed. In addition, since the type of data to be saved can be set as the information of the hibernation area, if the type is set to “discard the change in use”, (1) “the unnecessary files increase while using” However, the file cannot be deleted because it is not sure which file can be deleted. ”Or (2)“ The system startup may become slow or fail during repeated application installation. But cannot return to the original state. " In addition, when the type is set to “all or partly discarded”, the evacuation time can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a data structure of a nonvolatile memory of the present system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a hibernation area.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a data structure of a disk change temporary storage area.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the present system.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing when the present system is started.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a save process of a hibernation process of the present system.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow when a part of a hibernation process of the present system is performed as a save process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bus 2 CPU 3 Memory 4 Non-volatile memory (magnetic disk device) 5 Keyboard 6 Power switch 7 Display 51 Hibernation transition switch 100 Hibernation area control means 110 Evacuation / discard determination means 120 Return control means 130 Evacuation control means 140 Disk change temporary storage Area control means 150 Disk change save area control means 160 Hibernation area creation means 170 Hibernation area selection means 200 Disk access control means 210 Disk change temporary storage area access means 220 Disk access monitoring means 300 User level management means

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An information processing system in which an operating system supports a hibernation processing function. A hibernation area selecting means for allowing a user to specify which hibernation area to use when starting up the operating system; The hibernation area information is checked, and when the previous end of the operating system is terminated by the hibernation interrupt, the return control means for performing the recovery process using the information of the designated hibernation area, and the current user in response to the hibernation interrupt. Evacuation control for selectively saving hibernation data including data indicating the operation state of the system and data changed to a storage device by an operation performed by a user at the time of use in a corresponding hibernation area An information processing system comprising at least means. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the hibernation area is created in one or both of a partition and a file managed by the operating system. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the save control unit stores information for distinguishing whether to stop the system by hibernation or to stop the system by shutdown. An information processing system, comprising: 4. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the save control unit saves information on a user who can use the hibernation area and an available level of the user. An information processing system characterized by the following. 5. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the hibernation area creating means for creating a plurality of hibernation areas when the user's available level is a user having administrator authority of the operating system. An information processing system comprising: 6. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the save / destroy determination unit inquires which result of the change made by the user is desired to remain, and An information processing system, which determines which hibernation data is saved or discarded based on an answer. 7. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein when the evacuation / discard determination unit determines that all of the information is discarded, a termination process is performed without saving the hibernation data. 8. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein when the save / destroy determination unit determines that all changes made by the user during use are to be saved, data indicating an operation state of the system and data at the time of use are stored. An information processing system, wherein data changed to a storage device by an operation performed by a user is stored in the hibernation area. 9. The information processing system according to claim 6, wherein when the evacuation / discard determination unit determines to save a part of the change made during use by the user, the data indicating the operation state of the system and the usage information are used. An information processing system characterized in that data determined to be evacuated among data changed to a storage device by an operation performed by a user from time to time is saved in the hibernation area. 10. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the hibernation area selecting means prevents the hibernation area from being selected when the current user is not a usable user of the specified hibernation area. Information processing system. 11. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein the return control unit is configured to determine whether a user's available level in the hibernation area selected by the hibernation area selecting unit does not match the current user's available level. An information processing system for forcibly discarding all hibernation data without performing a return process. 12. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein, when the information processing system is terminated by a normal shutdown, the evacuation control unit transmits information to the hibernation area of the current user that the processing is terminated by a normal shutdown. An information processing system characterized by writing.