JPH11265277A - Computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a computer system in which an operating system(OS) necessitating a processing such as the setting of information in operating a system can be used without using a storage medium such as a hard disk, and the normal re-activation of the operating system(OS) can be attained. SOLUTION: An operating system is divided into a first operating system part and a second operating system part. At the time of starting a computer system, the activating processing of the first operating system part stored in an OS storing means is executed, and a storage area prepared in a rewritable memory is formed according to a process included in the process of the activating processing of the first operating system part, and the activating processing of the developed second operating system part is executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a computer system such as a personal computer, and more particularly, to a computer system characterized by an operating system (OS).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an operating system (OS) such as Windows 95 (registered trademark, hereinafter the same) or the like is used.
In a conventional computer system used as a computer, the operating system (OS) is stored in a hard disk unit. Also, a program for starting the operating system (OS) is a ROM.
(Read only memory), and when the power of the computer system is turned on, the operating system in the hard disk is started (booted) according to the program in the ROM.

When the operating system (OS) is started, the computer system is operated according to the contents of the operating system (OS). For example, in the case of Windows 95 or the like, it is necessary to install various information during the operation of the system. Each time, the hard disk unit is accessed and information setting processing for the operating system (OS) is performed. Further, when terminating the operation of the system, the power supply is cut off after processing the operating system (OS) in the hard disk unit according to a predetermined procedure.

As described above, when Windows 95 or the like is used as the operating system (OS), it is necessary to access the hard disk storing the operating system (OS) when the system is started up, operated, and terminated.

[0005]

In particular, at the time of system operation and at the end of the operation, the operating system (O
In a conventional computer system which needs to access a hard disk storing S), there is room for improvement in operation reliability. That is, the hard disk has a mechanically operating portion, and when the use environment (temperature, vibration, humidity, etc.) is relatively poor, such as when the computer system is used at a production site such as a factory, the hard disk is likely to malfunction. When the hard disk malfunctions, normal system operation according to the operating system (OS) cannot be performed.

In order to improve such a drawback, Win
It is conceivable to store an operating system such as Windows 95 in a nonvolatile readable and writable semiconductor memory such as a flash memory. However, non-volatile readable and writable semiconductor memories such as flash memories generally have a limited number of writable times at present.
Not practical.

Further, in the above-described computer system, if the power is accidentally shut down during the operation of the system, the processing for the operating system (OS) required at the end of the operation is not performed, and the operating system in the hard disk unit is not executed. In some cases, the state of the system (OS) is undefined, which may hinder restarting. The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to set information during system operation without using a storage medium having a mechanically operating part such as a hard disk. It is possible to use a computer system that can use an operating system (OS) that requires processing such as the above, and that enables a normal restart of the operating system (OS) even if the power is accidentally shut down during system operation. To provide.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system according to the present invention, wherein an operating system required for the computer system stores an operating system in a rewritable memory. An OS storage that is separated into a first operating system part including a process for creating a storage area of the system and a second operating system part used for operation of the system and stores at least the first operating system part Means, first OS boot means for performing a boot process of the first operating system part stored in the OS storage means when the computer system is started, and the first operating system part included in the booted first operating system part Rewrite according to the above process OS expanding means for expanding the second operating system portion in a storage area created in a rewritable memory, and second OS starting means for executing a boot process of the second operating system portion expanded in a rewritable memory And configured to operate in accordance with the second operating system portion started by the second OS starting means.

In such a computer system, when the first OS boot means executes the boot processing of the first operating system portion stored in the OS storage means, the first OS started by the first operating system. A storage area for the operating system is formed in the rewritable memory. Then, the second operating system portion is developed in the storage area formed in the rewritable memory. A boot process for the second operating system portion expanded in the rewritable memory is executed by the second OS boot unit, and thereafter, the computer system starts the second OS booted from the rewritable memory as described above. Operated according to the operating system part.

[0010] When information needs to be set for the second operating system portion while the computer system is operated according to the second operating system portion, a rewritable memory is accessed, and the setting information is accessed. Is performed. When the system is restarted when the power of the system is accidentally shut off, the second operating system portion in the initial state is expanded in the rewritable memory according to the same procedure as described above, and the initial state is changed to the rewritable memory. The second operating system part starts normally.

The first operating system portion is a compact component that does not require processing for setting information, and the second operating system portion is
A process for setting information is necessary, and it is preferable that the component be a component that bears a user interface. For example, W
When using Windows 95 or the like as an operating system, the first operating system portion is made to correspond to a DOS (Disk Operating System) portion,
The above second operating system part is called a so-called Win
dos (registered trademark, the same applies hereinafter) main body.

The OS storage means for storing the first operating system part is a CD-ROM or EP-R
A read-only recording medium such as OM or a readable / writable recording medium such as a hard disk, a flash memory, or a magneto-optical disk (MO) can be used. The second operating system part can be configured to be stored in the computer system in advance, or can be configured to be supplied from the outside via a communication line or the like.

When the second operating system part is stored in advance in the computer system, the present invention provides, for example, the second operating system part in the computer system, wherein The OS storing means is stored separately from the first operating part.
It is possible to have a means for copying the second operating system part stored in the S storage means to a predetermined area of the rewritable memory.

In the system, the OS storage means includes:
The recording medium (for example, EP-ROM) for storing the first operating system part and the recording medium (CD-ROM) for storing the second operating system part may be configured separately. It is also possible to configure the same storage medium (for example, a hard disk) in which the storage area of the part and the storage area of the second operating system part are separated.

In view of the fact that the updated second operating system part can be stored during the operation of the system, the present invention provides the present invention in which the second operating system part includes the first operating system part. In the system stored in the OS storage unit separately from the part, the OS storage unit has a readable and writable recording medium, and is rewritable when ending the operation according to the second operating system part. It is possible to provide a means for writing back the second operating system portion developed in a predetermined area of the memory to the OS storage means.

In such a system, when the system is restarted, the updated second operating system portion stored in the OS storage means is started. In the computer system, a predetermined area of the rewritable memory can be configured to be allocated to a virtual disk unit. As this rewritable memory, for example, a RAM (random access memory) can be used. In this case, the rewritable memory is allocated as a RAM disk in the system.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic hardware configuration of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As this computer system, for example, an IBM (registered trademark) -PC / AT compatible machine is used.

In FIG. 1, the computer system includes a CPU 10, a main memory (RAM) 12, a ROM 14, a hard disk unit 16, a CD-ROM drive unit 18, a ZIP
It has a disk drive unit 20, a display unit 22, and an input unit 24. The CPU 10 executes various processes according to programs stored in the main memory 12 and the ROM 14. The main memory 12 has a capacity of, for example, 32 Mbytes, and stores various programs to be executed by the CPU 10. ROM 14 is
It stores data necessary for processing by the CPU 10, a minimum startup (boot) program necessary for system startup, and the like. Further, the computer system includes a hard disk unit 16, a CD-ROM as an auxiliary storage device.
A drive unit 18 and a ZIP disk drive unit 20 are provided, and the CPU 10 has a hard disk unit 16, a CD-ROM 100 set in the CD-ROM drive unit 18, and a ZIP disk 150 set in the ZIP disk drive unit 20.
Various information inside can be used.

In this example, Windows 95 is used as an operating system (OS), and the operating system (OS) is stored in the ZIP disk 150. The operating system (OS) is separated into a DOS portion (hereinafter, referred to as a primary operating system) and a so-called Windows main body portion (hereinafter, referred to as a secondary operating system) and is stored in the ZIP disk 150 in advance.

The ZIP disk drive unit 20 is, for example, an IDE (Integrated Device Electr).
onics) Data read / write control is performed via the interface. Each file of the primary operating system (DOS part) is modified, for example, as shown in FIGS. That is, MSDOS. In SYS, as shown in FIG. 5, a modification is made so as not to leave a boot history, and a file CONFIG. In the SYS, as shown in FIG. 6, various drives are specified, and the size (MB) of the RAM disk drive is specified. In this example, R
AM specifies the size of the disk drive to be 16 MB. In order to avoid an error at the time of starting the operation system (OS), IFSHLP. SYS and SETVER. EXE is forcibly read.

A batch file AUTOEXEC. In the BAT, as shown in FIG.
Specify a ZIP disk drive and add a secondary operating system (Windows) to the RAM disk drive.
The description for copying the body part) is made. Further, the registry file of Windows 95 is modified, for example, as shown in FIG. In this example, each file boot drive is specified, a ZIP disk drive (C drive) is specified for a file of the primary operating system (DOS part), and a file (Win) of the secondary operating system is specified.
The RAM disk drive (D drive) is designated for the “docs body part”.

When the power of the computer system is turned on, the CPU 10 executes a boot process of the operating system in accordance with a boot program stored in the ROM 14. This activation process is, for example,
This is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG. FIG. 3 visually shows a procedure of processing in the system, and FIG. 4 conceptually shows a mutual relationship between main hardware components constituting the system.

In FIG. 2, first, the starting drive (ZI
P. in the root directory of the P disk drive unit 20). SYS (a file in which device drivers for controlling basic peripheral devices are collected) is read into the main memory 12 (S1). MSDOS (registered trademark). In the root directory of the boot drive.
SYS (a file describing functions such as process control, memory management, and peripheral device support; see FIG. 5) is read into the main memory 12 (S2). At this point, an attempt is made to read a resist file in the Windows directory of the RAM disk drive, but this process fails because the RAM disk drive has not been defined yet (S3). Next, CONFIG. SYS (a text file for setting the operating environment of the system, see FIG. 6) is read into the main memory 12 (S4). Here, for example, various device drivers (HIMEM.SYS, RAMDRI)
VE. SYS, IFSHLP. SYS, SETVER.
EXE, CD-ROM device driver, etc.) are developed on the main memory 12 (S4). And RAMD
RIVE. According to the SYS (see FIG. 6), for example, a 16 MB RAM disk is defined in the main memory 12 (RAM) (see FIG. 3).

Thereafter, COMMAND.COM located in the root directory of the boot drive is used. COM (a program file for interpreting and executing a basic command; a command interpreter) is read into the main memory 12 (S
5). Thus, COMMAND. When the COM is read into the main memory 12, AUTOEXEC.COM in the root directory of the boot drive is further added. The BAT (a batch file that is automatically executed at startup, see FIG. 7) is read into the main memory 12 (S6). This AUTO
EXEC. Various processes are executed according to each execution file of the BAT. At this time, the secondary operating system (Windows main body) stored in the boot disk (ZIP disk 150) is copied to the RAM disk drive defined on the main memory 12 as described above (see FIG. 3).

The processing in steps S1 to S6 described above is the activation processing of the primary operating system (DOS section). Secondary operating system (Windows main body) in RAM disk drive as described above
Is copied, the startup processing of the secondary operating system is subsequently executed (in FIG. 3). In other words, WIN. COM (a program file for executing a command) is stored in another area (RAM
(S7).
Then, Windows in the RAM disk drive
The remaining start-up steps of s95 are executed, and the start-up process is completed (S8).

When the startup process is completed as described above, the secondary operating system (the Windows main body) of the operating system is stored in the RAM disk (in the main memory 12), and the computer is operated according to the secondary operating system. The system operates. In the process, when a request to set information in the secondary operating system is made, the necessary information writing process is performed on the secondary operating system in the RAM disk (in the main memory 12) (see FIG. 3). ). As described above, during the operation of the computer system, the secondary operating system is sequentially updated in the RAM disk (in the main memory 12).

The operator operates the input unit 24 (mouse,
When the shutdown operation of the system is performed using the keyboard, the power supply of the system is cut off. At this time,
The secondary operating system stored in the RAM disk (main memory 12) is cleared. as a result,
Next, when starting the system, the operating system (OS) is executed according to the same procedure as described above, and the secondary operating system in the initial state is set to the RA.
It is copied to the M disk (main memory 12). Then, the operation of the computer system is started according to the secondary operating system in the initial state.

As described above, the computer system which always operates according to the secondary operating system in the initial state is particularly useful for constructing a system such as an arcade game in which the settings are not required to be changed in the initial state. is there. In the computer system as described above, even if the power is accidentally shut off, the operating system in the initial state is always stored in the ZIP disk 150. Can be done without problems.

If the updated secondary operating system stored in the RAM disk (main memory 12) is written back to the ZIP disk 150 when the system is shut down, the updated secondary operating system ( It is possible to operate the computer system according to the Windows main body. This secondary operating system (Windows main part)
The process at the time of system shutdown including the process of writing back to the P disk 150 is executed, for example, according to the procedure shown in FIG.

While the system is operating according to the secondary operating system in the RAM disk,
When the CPU 10 obtains the end request of the secondary operating system based on the system shutdown operation by the user (S11), the updated part of the secondary operating system developed on the RAM disk is stored in the ZIP.
A process for writing back to the disk 150 is executed (S12). Then, after the termination process for the secondary operating system on the RAM disk is executed (S13), the power supply of the computer system is shut down (system shutdown) (S14).

When the system is started next time by shutting down the system in accordance with the above procedure, the operating system is started in the above-described procedure, and as a result, the ZI is updated in the updated state.
The secondary operating system stored on the P disk 150 is expanded on the RAM disk. Therefore, the next time the system is started up, it operates according to the updated secondary operating system (the Windows main part).

In the above example, the ZIP disk 15 set in the ZIP disk drive unit 20
0 corresponds to the OS storage means, and corresponds to step S1 shown in FIG.
The processing from S6 to S6 corresponds to the first OS boot means, and the AU
TOEXEC. The processing in step S6 for copying the secondary operating system to the RAM disk drive in accordance with the predetermined execution file of the BAT corresponds to the OS expansion means, and the processing in steps S7 and S8 shown in FIG. Corresponds to activation means. Further, the processing in step S12 shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to a means for writing back the second operating system part developed in a predetermined area of the rewritable memory to the OS storage means.

In the above example, the operating system (OS) is stored in the ZIP disk 150 set in the ZIP disk drive unit 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. Operating system (OS)
Is a hard disk unit 16 or a CD-R
CD-ROM set in OM drive unit 18
100 may be stored. In addition, only the secondary operating system (the Windows main body) is stored in the CD-ROM 100, and the primary operating system (the DOS part) is stored in the hard disk unit 16 or the ZIP disk 150.
It is also possible to store the secondary operating system and the secondary operating system on different recording media.
In this case, the present invention can be applied to a computer system having a hardware configuration in which the primary operating system (DOS portion) cannot be started from the CD-ROM 100.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, according to the present invention, the predetermined storage area of the rewritable memory created in the process of starting the first operating system portion stored in the OS storage means. After the second operating system portion is expanded and the booting process of the second operating system portion in the rewritable memory is performed, the operation according to the second operating system portion is performed. Therefore, even without using a storage medium having a mechanically operating part such as a hard disk,
It becomes possible to use an operating system (OS) that requires processing such as information setting during system operation. Further, even if the power is accidentally shut down during the operation of the system, the second operating system part that may have been updated during the operation of the system is not stored in an indefinite state. OS) can be restarted normally.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an operating system startup process;

FIG. 3 is a diagram visually illustrating a procedure of a process in the system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing a mutual relationship between main hardware components constituting the system.

FIG. 5 shows a setting file MSDOS. It is a figure which shows the example of correction of SYS.

FIG. 6 shows a setting file CONFIG. It is a figure which shows the example of correction of SYS.

FIG. 7 shows a setting file AUTOEXEC. It is a modification example of BAT.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of modifying a registry file of Windows 95.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a procedure for writing back a secondary operating system from a RAM disk drive to a ZIP disk.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 CPU 12 Main memory 14 ROM 16 Hard disk unit 18 CD-ROM drive unit 20 ZIP disk drive unit 22 Display unit 24 Input unit 100 CD-ROM 150 ZIP disk

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 22, 1999

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claim 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system according to the present invention, wherein an operating system necessary for the computer system is installed in a rewritable memory. OS storage means which is separated into a first operating system part including a process for creating a storage area of the first operating system part and a second operating system part used for operating the system and stores at least the first operating system part A first OS boot unit for performing a boot process of a first operating system part stored in the OS storage unit when the computer system is booted; and the first OS boot unit included in the booted first operating system unit. Can be rewritten according to the process Co When you create a store area in memory
The storage according to the first operating part
And a second OS startup means for performing the OS deployment means for deploying said second operating system portion to the area, the startup process of the second operating system portion that is expanded in a rewritable memory, said second It is configured to be operated according to the second operating system part started by the OS starting means.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

In such a computer system, when the first OS boot means executes the boot processing of the first operating system part stored in the OS storage means, the booted first operating system part is executed. a Therefore, the storage area of the operating system is formed in the rewritable memory, the second operating system portion is expanded in the rewritable memory such storage area formed. A boot process for the second operating system portion expanded in the rewritable memory is executed by the second OS boot unit, and thereafter, the computer system starts the second OS booted from the rewritable memory as described above. Operated according to the operating system part.

Claims (4)

[Claims] An operating system required for a computer system includes a first operating system portion including a process for creating an operating system storage area in a rewritable memory, and a second operating system used for operating the system. An OS storage unit that is separated into a system unit and stores at least the first operating system unit; and a boot process that starts up the first operating system unit stored in the OS storage unit when the computer system starts up. One OS booting means; an OS expanding means for expanding the second operating system part in a storage area created in a rewritable memory according to the process included in the activated first operating system part; Yes Second OS boot means for performing boot processing of a second operating system part loaded on a functional memory, and operated according to the second operating system part started by the second OS boot means. Computer system. 2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein said second operating system part is stored separately from said first operating part in said OS storage means, and said OS development means is stored in said OS storage means. Computer system having means for copying the written second operating system part to a predetermined area of a rewritable memory. 3. The computer system according to claim 2, wherein said OS storage means has a readable and writable recording medium, and has a rewritable memory when ending operation according to said second operating system part. Computer means for writing back a second operating system part developed in a predetermined area to the OS storage means. 4. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein a storage area of said second operating system in said rewritable memory is allocated as a virtual disk unit.