JP2004070678A - Information processor and resume error detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor which executes initialization of a memory as a resume error when a power source for operation of the memory is temporarily cut off during a suspend, and a resume error detection method. <P>SOLUTION: A power source monitoring device 205 sets a flag 205a showing a state of the memory initialization of the power source monitoring device 205 to "0" (a state that the main memory 201 needs initialization) when the operation power source of the main memory 201 is cut off temporarily during the suspend. As resume processing, the flag 205a showing the state of the memory initialization is checked first and when the state is "0", the result is determined as a a resume error, and initialization of the main memory 201 is executed immediately. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a resume function and holding contents of a memory in a suspended state, and a resume error detection method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in an information processing apparatus having a resume function and holding a memory in a suspended state, as a method of determining whether the storage content of the memory has changed during the suspend, a checksum of the memory is calculated at the time of suspend, The result of the calculation is saved, the checksum of the memory is recalculated at the time of resume, and it is determined whether or not the result of the calculation matches the value calculated at the time of suspend. ing. As this prior art, there is, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-88895.
[0003]
However, according to the technique disclosed in the above publication, when the power supply to the memory is cut off during the suspend, the memory cannot be operated normally.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, as a method of determining whether or not the storage contents of the memory have changed during suspension, a memory checksum is calculated and saved at the time of suspend, and a memory checksum is calculated again at the time of resume. A method is used in which it is determined whether the calculated value coincides with the calculated value, and if the value does not match, a resume error is generated. However, when the power supply to the memory is interrupted during the suspend, there is a problem that normal operation cannot be performed.
[0005]
SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and a resume error detection method that execute initialization of a memory as a resume error when the operating power of the memory is shut down during a suspend. The purpose is to:
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus having a resume function and retaining the contents of a memory in a suspended state, wherein a backup memory operated by a backup power supply, and a memory are initialized. Memory initialization means for setting a memory initialization completed flag indicating the initialization, check data generation means for generating check data of the contents of the memory at the time of suspend, and storing the check data in the backup memory; The power supply monitoring means for monitoring the operation power supply, and when detecting that the operation power supply has been cut off, releases the memory initialization flag, and the memory initialization flag is released by the power supply monitoring means during suspension. If the resume, the memory is initialized when resumed as a resume error. Characterized by comprising a control means.
[0007]
The resume error detection method of the present invention sets a memory initialized flag indicating that the memory has been initialized at the time of boot, and when it is detected that the operation power of the memory has been cut off during suspend, The memory-initialized flag is released, and if the memory-initialized flag is released during resume, the memory is initialized as a resume error.
[0008]
According to the present invention, when the operating power of the memory is temporarily shut off due to removal of the battery of the operating power supply or running out of the battery during the suspend, it is detected that the operating power has been shut off, and the memory error is detected as a resume error. Since the initialization is performed, the reliability of the resume can be improved.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0010]
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are diagrams illustrating a configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, it is assumed that the present invention is realized as a notebook personal computer.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a notebook personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state where a display unit is opened. This computer includes a computer main body 10 and a display unit 11. The display unit 11 incorporates an LCD panel 102. The LCD panel 102 is a main display device used as a display monitor of the computer. The display unit 11 is rotatably attached to the computer main body 10 between an open position and a closed position. The computer main body 10 has a thin box-shaped housing, on which a keyboard 103 and the like are arranged. A power switch 101 for turning on / off the power of the computer is provided on the side of the computer main body 10.
[0012]
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an internal system configuration of the notebook personal computer according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0013]
As shown in the figure, the computer includes a CPU 200, a main memory 201, a backup memory 202, a backup battery 203 as an operation power supply of the backup memory 202, a power supply device 204 for supplying an operation power supply to the entire computer, and a main memory 201. A power supply monitoring device 205 that monitors the supply state of the operation power supply, a display device 206, a battery 207 that supplies operation power of the computer via the power supply device 204, an AC adapter 208 connected to an AC power supply, and the like are provided. . An operating power supply VCC of the system, an operating power supply VMEM of the memory, and the like are supplied from the power supply device 204.
[0014]
The CPU 200 is provided for controlling the operation of the computer. The main memory 201 stores programs and data to be executed by the computer, and programs read into the main memory 201 from an external disk device or the like are executed under the control of the CPU 200.
[0015]
The backup memory 202 stores the state of the system at the time of suspending (not shown), and stores a suspend flag 202a indicating that the system is suspended and check data 202b of the main memory 201. A backup battery 203 is used as an operation power supply of the backup memory 202, and retains the memory even when the operation power supply of the computer is cut off. Here, the system status and the check data 202b are stored in the backup memory, but may be stored in the main memory.
[0016]
The power supply device 204 supplies electric power supplied from the battery 207 or the AC adapter 208 as an operation power supply of the computer. The power monitoring device 205 monitors the supply state of the operation power of the main memory 201, and has a memory initialization completed flag 205a indicating that the main memory 201 has been initialized.
[0017]
The display device 206 displays an execution result and a state of a program executed by the computer.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a boot process according to an embodiment of the present invention. The boot process of the computer will be described with reference to FIG.
[0019]
When the power switch 101 is pressed to start the computer, the main memory 201 is first initialized (step S300). After the power is turned on, the contents held in the main memory 201 are indefinite and need to be initialized. When the initialization of the main memory 201 is completed, a memory initialization completed flag 205a of the power monitoring device 205 indicating that the initialization of the main memory 201 has been performed is set to “1” (step S301). Here, the value of the memory initialized flag 205a will be described as “0” when the main memory 201 is not initialized and “1” when the initialized state is completed. There may be. When the initialization of the main memory 201 is completed, a startup process (step S302) is performed. The startup process is not different from the general startup process, and thus the description is omitted.
[0020]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a suspend process according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0021]
When a suspend request is made due to factors such as the depression of the power switch 101 and the instruction of the operator, the suspend processing shown in FIG. 4 is performed. In the suspend process, first, the current state of the system such as the display device 206 and the CPU 200 is stored in the backup memory 202 (step S310), and the suspend flag 202a of the backup memory 202 is set to “1” (step S311). Here, the value of the suspend flag 202a is described as "1" for the suspended state and "0" for the normal state, but may be other values. Further, a checksum of the main memory 201 is calculated to verify the contents of the main memory 201 (step S312), and is stored in the checksum 202b of the backup memory 202. Then, the main power of the computer is turned off. Here, the checksum 202b is stored in the backup memory 202, but may be stored in the main memory 201.
[0022]
FIG. 5 illustrates power supply monitoring when the operation power supply of the main memory 201 is temporarily cut off, for example, when the AC power supply is removed and the battery 207 is removed for the purpose of adding the main memory 201 in one embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a monitoring process performed by the device 205.
[0023]
When the operating power is restored after the operating power of the main memory 201 is temporarily shut off, the processing shown in FIG. 5 is performed, and the main memory 201 is temporarily turned off by the operating power of the main memory 201 being shut down. Is undefined, the memory initialization completed flag 205a of the power supply monitoring device 205 is set to "0" so that the main memory 201 needs to be initialized (step S320).
[0024]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the resume processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0025]
When a resume instruction is given by an operation such as pressing the power switch 101 of the computer during the suspend, the resume processing shown in FIG. 6 is performed.
[0026]
In the resume processing, first, it is checked whether or not the main memory 201 needs to be initialized by the memory initialization completed flag 205a of the power monitoring device 205 (step S330). When the memory initialization flag 205a is “1” (YES in step S330), the operation power of the main memory 201 is continuously supplied from the power supply device 204 during the suspension, and Since the contents have not been lost, the resume processing calculates the current checksum of the main memory 201 (step S331). Then, the resume process compares the current checksum with the checksum 202b calculated at the time of suspend and stored in the backup memory 202 (step S332). In the resuming process, when it is determined that the checksum is not an error (that is, they match) by this comparison (NO in step S332), the system state stored in the backup memory 202 is restored (step S333), and the backup memory is restored. The suspend flag 202a of 202 is set to “0” (the suspend flag is released) (step S334), and control is passed to the operating system (step S335).
[0027]
On the other hand, if the current checksum does not match the checksum 202b in step S332, the process proceeds to step S342. If the memory initialization flag 205a of the power monitoring device 205 is “0” in step S330, that is, if the main memory 202 needs to be initialized (NO in step S330), step S320 in FIG. The operation indicates that the operation power supply of the main memory 201 is temporarily shut off during suspension, and that the contents of the main memory 201 are indefinite. Therefore, the resume process executes the initialization of the main memory 201. (Step S340). Then, when the initialization of the main memory 201 is completed, the memory initialization completed flag 205a is set to “1” (step S341). Further, the suspend flag 202a of the backup memory 202 is set to "0" (step S342), and a resume error is notified to the operator by a method such as displaying an error message on the display device 206 (step S343). Then, normal startup processing is performed (step S344). The startup process is not different from the general startup process, and thus the description is omitted. Also, when a checksum error is detected in step S332, steps S342 to S344 described above are executed.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the state of the operation power supply to the memory is monitored during the suspend, and when the operation power supply to the memory is shut off, the resume of the memory is executed as a resume error to execute the initialization of the memory. Reliability can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an internal system configuration according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a cold boot process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a suspend process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process when the operation power is restored after the operation power of the main memory is cut off according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a resume process according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Computer Body 11 Display Unit 101 Power Switch 102 LCD Panel 103 Keyboard 200 CPU
201 Main memory 202 Backup memory 202a Suspend flag 202b Check sum 203 Backup power supply 204 Power supply device 205 Power supply monitoring device 205a Memory initialized flag 206 Display device 207 Battery 208 AC adapter

Claims (5)

An information processing apparatus having a resume function and holding contents of a memory in a suspended state,
A backup memory operated by a backup power supply;
Memory initializing means for initializing the memory and setting a memory initialized flag indicating that the memory has been initialized;
Check data generating means for generating check data of the content of the memory at the time of suspend and storing the check data in the backup memory;
Power supply monitoring means for monitoring the operation power supply of the memory, and when detecting that the operation power supply is shut off, cancels the memory initialization completed flag;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a resume control unit that initializes the memory at the time of resuming as a resume error when the power initialization unit clears the memory initialization flag during suspension. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory initialization completed flag is provided in the power supply monitoring unit. If the memory-initialized flag is not cleared, check data in the memory is calculated at the time of resuming, and the calculated check data is compared with the check data stored in the backup memory. The information processing device according to claim 1. Set a memory initialized flag indicating that the memory was initialized at boot time,
When detecting that the operation power supply of the memory is cut off during the suspend, the memory initialization flag is released,
A resume error detection method, wherein the memory is initialized as a resume error if the memory initialized flag is cleared during resume. If the memory initialized flag is not cleared at the time of resume, check data of the memory is calculated and compared with the check data of the memory stored in the backup memory at the time of suspend. 5. The resume error detection method according to claim 4, wherein initialization is performed.

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