TW201804284A - Booting method - Google Patents

Abstract

A booting method is provided. A plurality of logical block addresses (LBAs) of storage device are set to a plurality of virtual block ranges by a booting firmware. The virtual block ranges include a default range, a recovery range and a normal range. The booting firmware is used to read the default range so as to execute a pre-boot program. Afterward, the pre-boot program reads the normal range to determine whether an operating system (OS) is abnormal. The recovery range is read to obtain recovery data and the recovery data is used to restore the OS when determining the OS is abnormal. The OS is loaded after the booting firmware completes a booting procedure when determining the OS is not abnormal.

Description

Boot method

The invention relates to a booting method, and in particular to a booting method which can prevent the operating system from being damaged and cannot be booted normally.

Most of the current disk drive architectures use a single logical block address (LBA) to provide operating systems and software for spatial addressing. However, such a design is quite a problem for users who want to install multiple operating systems. Conveniently, each operating system cuts a magnetic area as a Pre-boot Operating System connected to the Basic Input Output System (BIOS). However, in the case of establishing multiple operating systems, these operating systems will attempt to rewrite the original pre-launch operating system, causing confusion in the division of the disk drive.

The invention provides a booting method, which can avoid the problem that the main operating system is destroyed and the booting cannot be started.

The booting method of the present invention includes: setting, by using a boot firmware, a plurality of logical block addresses of the storage device into a plurality of virtual block ranges, wherein the virtual block range includes a preset range, a reply range, and a regular range; The firmware reads the preset range to execute the pre-launch program; the normal range is read by the pre-launch program to determine whether the operating system in the normal range is abnormal; when it is determined that the operating system is abnormal, the response range is read through the pre-launch program. Obtain the reply data, and use the reply data to restore the operating system; and when it is determined that the operating system has no abnormality, load the operating system after the booting firmware executes the booting process.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the step of setting a logical block address of the storage device to a virtual block range through the boot firmware, each virtual block range and a logical block address corresponding thereto are established. The mapping relationship is used to read from the location corresponding to the storage device by referring to the mapping relationship when reading each virtual block range.

In an embodiment of the invention, the number of the virtual block address of each virtual block range is set from 0.

In an embodiment of the invention, the preset range is set to be read in advance during the booting phase.

In an embodiment of the invention, the pre-launching program is an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) shell.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when it is determined that the operating system is abnormal, a prompt option is issued; when the prompt option is enabled, the reply data is read by the pre-launch program to obtain the reply data, and the reply data is used to restore the operating system.

In an embodiment of the invention, in the case of loading the operating system, the physical address corresponding to the preset range and the reply range in the storage device is invisible.

Based on the above, based on the original logical block address structure, a layer of virtual logical block address is established, and the corresponding magnetic area can be designated to be booted during the booting phase, and the operating system is verified to be abnormal, and the main operating system can be avoided. The problem is that it is destroyed and cannot be turned on.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the electronic device 100 includes a firmware storage unit 110 , a processor 120 , and a storage device 130 . The processor 120 is coupled to the firmware storage unit 110 and the storage device 130.

The firmware storage unit 110 is, for example, a read only memory (ROM) or a flash memory. The boot firmware 111 is stored in the firmware storage unit 110. The boot firmware 111 is, for example, a Basic Input Output System (BIOS). The storage device 130 is, for example, a solid state drive (SSD) or the like.

The processor 120 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), an image processing unit (GPU), a physical processing unit (PPU), a programmable microprocessor (Microprocessor), Embedded control chip, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) or other similar devices.

2 is a flow chart of a booting method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 simultaneously, when the electronic device 100 is powered on, the processor 120 reads the boot firmware 111 from the firmware storage unit 110 to execute the booting process, and then loads the operating system to be executed from the storage device. To system memory (not shown).

During the booting process, in step S205, a plurality of logical block addresses (LBAs) of the storage device 130 are set to a plurality of virtual block ranges by the boot firmware 111. The logical block address is a general mechanism for describing the block in which the data on the storage device 130 is located. In general, a logical block is usually 512 or 1024 bytes, and is usually numbered from 0 to define a block, such as LBA 0, LBA 1, etc., and so on.

Here, the virtual block configuration data is set in advance, for example, in the boot firmware 111, and the virtual block configuration data records the number of virtual block ranges to be set and the size of each virtual block range. The number of virtual block ranges is, for example, three, that is, a preset range, a reply range, and a regular range. However, this is merely an example and is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the number of virtual block ranges may also be two or more.

The processor 120 executes the boot firmware 111 to divide the plurality of logical block addresses (for example, LBA 0 to LBA 255) originally defined by the storage device 130 into a plurality of virtual block ranges based on the virtual block configuration data, and Each virtual block range is numbered from 0.

For example, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of setting a virtual block range according to an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the plurality of logical block addresses originally defined by the storage device 130 are LBA 0 to LBA 255. Referring to FIG. 3, the storage device 130 stores a pre-launch program 310, a reply data 320, and an operating system 330. For example, the storage device 130 has a capacity of 256 GB and reserves 16 GB of capacity in advance (not visible in the case of a general operating system) to store the pre-launch program 310 and the reply data 320, and the remaining 240 GB is provided as The space in which the operating system is installed. That is to say, the capacity of the storage device 130 that can be seen by a general user is 240 GB, and the space for storing the pre-launch program 310 and the reply data 320 is invisible.

When the boot process is executed through the boot firmware 111, the boot firmware 111 redefines the storage design 130 into a plurality of virtual block ranges based on the virtual block configuration data stored in the firmware storage unit 110, and establishes each one. The mapping relationship between the virtual block range and the logical block address corresponding thereto is used to read from the location corresponding to the storage device 130 with reference to the mapping relationship when reading each virtual block range.

As shown in FIG. 3, the boot firmware 111 re-divides the LBA 0 to LBA 255 into a preset range R1, a reply range R2, and a regular range R3. Further, the numbers of the preset range R1, the reply range R2, and the regular range R3 are all set from 0. Here, the preset range R1 includes VLBA 0, which corresponds to the LBA 0 defined by the storage device 130. The reply range R2 includes VLBA 0 to VLBA 3, which correspond to LBA 1 to LBA 4 defined by the storage device 130. The regular range R3 includes VLBA 0 - VLBA 250, which corresponds to LBA 5 - LBA 255 defined by storage device 130.

After the virtual area range is set, in step S210, the preset range R1 is read through the boot firmware 111 to execute the pre-start program 310. Here, the preset range R1 is set to a position that is previously read in the booting phase. For example, when the boot firmware 111 reads the preset range R1, it can read the pre-start program 310 from the position corresponding to the LBA 0 defined by the storage device 130 with reference to the mapping relationship.

The pre-launch program 310 is, for example, an extendable firmware interface shell (EFI Shell). The extendable firmware interface shell is similar to a low-level operating system and has the ability to manipulate all hardware resources. The extendable firmware interface shell is an independent function in the firmware that operates in a manner similar to a small operating system platform.

Next, in step S215, the normal range R3 is read by the pre-start program 310 to determine whether the operating system 330 in the normal range R3 is abnormal. For example, in the case where the pre-launch program 310 is executed, a set feature command is transmitted through the pre-start program 310, thereby switching to the normal range R3 and referring to the mapping relationship of the regular range R3, as defined by the storage device 130. The position of the LBA 5 to LBA 255 is read from the operating system 330. Further, it is determined by the pre-start program 310 whether or not the work system 330 is abnormal.

When it is determined that the operating system is abnormal, in step S220, the reply data 320 is obtained by reading the reply range R2 by the pre-starting program 310, and the operating system 330 is restored by using the reply data 3202. For example, the set feature command is transmitted through the pre-start program 310, thereby switching to the reply range R2 and referring to the mapping relationship of the reply range R2, and the reply data 320 is read from the position corresponding to the LBA 1 to LBA 4 defined by the storage device 130. The reply profile 320 is, for example, a restored image of the operating system 330. After the operating system 330 is restored, the power is turned back on, and step S205 is re-executed in the booting phase.

Further, when the pre-starting program 310 determines that the operating system is abnormal, a prompt option may be issued for the user to determine whether or not to reply. When the prompt option is enabled, the reply data 320 is obtained by reading the reply range R2 through the pre-start program 310, and the resume system 320 is restored by using the reply data 320.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the operating system has no abnormality, in step S225, after the booting firmware 111 executes the booting process, the operating system 330 is loaded. In addition, in the case of loading the operating system 330, the physical address of the storage device 130 corresponding to the preset range R1 and the reply range R2 is invisible. That is to say, in the case of FIG. 3, the capacity provided by the storage device 130 for access by the user is only LBA 5 to LBA 255. The LBA 0 to LBA 4 of the storage device 130 are not visible. The user can establish a multiple operating system when the operating system is started, that is, the user can partition the range of LBA 5 to LBA 255 to establish a multiple operating system.

In summary, the present invention establishes a layer of virtual logical block address based on the original logical block address structure, and can specify a corresponding magnetic area for booting during the booting phase, and verify whether the operating system is abnormal. Therefore, even if the operating system is destroyed by the user, the restoration operation can be performed through the startup process, thereby preventing the operation system from being damaged and causing the problem that the startup cannot be started.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Electronic devices
110‧‧‧ firmware storage unit
111‧‧‧Starting firmware
120‧‧‧ processor
130‧‧‧Storage equipment
310‧‧‧Pre-launch program
320‧‧‧Reply information
330‧‧‧Operating system
R1‧‧‧Preset range
R2‧‧‧Reply range
R3‧‧‧ formal range
S205～S225‧‧‧Starting method steps

1 is a block diagram of an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a flow chart of a booting method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a schematic diagram of setting a virtual block range according to an embodiment of the invention.

S205~S225‧‧‧Starting method steps

Claims (7)

A booting method includes: setting, by a boot firmware, a plurality of logical block addresses of a storage device into a plurality of virtual block ranges, wherein the virtual block ranges include a preset range, a reply range, and a a normal range; reading the preset range through the boot firmware to execute a pre-launch program; reading the normal range through the pre-launch program to determine whether an operating system in the normal range is abnormal; when determining the job When the system is abnormal, the reply range is read by the pre-launch program to obtain a reply data, and the reply data is used to restore the operating system; and when it is determined that the operating system has no abnormality, the booting process is executed in the booting firmware. After that, load the operating system. The booting method of claim 1, wherein the step of setting the logical block addresses of the storage device to the virtual block ranges through the boot firmware comprises: establishing each of the virtual blocks And a mapping relationship between the block range and the corresponding logical block addresses, so that when each of the virtual block ranges is read, the mapping relationship is read and the position corresponding to the storage device is read. The booting method of claim 1, wherein the number of virtual block addresses of each of the virtual block ranges is set from 0. The booting method of claim 1, wherein the preset range is set to be read in advance during the booting phase. The booting method of claim 1, wherein the pre-launching program is an extendable firmware interface shell. The booting method of claim 1, wherein when determining that the operating system is abnormal, the method comprises: issuing a prompt option; and when the prompting option is enabled, reading the reply range by the pre-launching program Obtain a reply data and use the reply data to restore the operating system. The booting method of claim 1, wherein in the case of loading the operating system, the physical address of the storage device corresponding to the preset range and the reply range is invisible.