JP2001184148A - Computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily restore a computer system even when a fault or the like is generated in a hard disk actually executing data processing. SOLUTION: The computer system is provided with a mother board 2 loaded with at least a RAM, a CPU and a BIOS, 1st and 2nd hard disk drives(HDDs) 5, 6 connected to the mother board 2 through an IDE interface, a power supply 7 for supplying power to these HDDs 5, 6 and a CD-ROW 4 through a power supply cable 7a, and a power supply switching circuit 8 for controlling the switching of power supply from the power supply 7 to the HDDs 5, 6. The system is also provided with a case 9 to be a casing capable of storing the mother board 2, the HDDs 5, 6, etc., and a toggle switch 10 arranged on the outside of the case 9, electrically connected to the circuit 8 in the case 9 and allowing a user to manually switch power supply to the HDDs 5, 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an operating system (OS).
The present invention relates to a computer system in which a hard disk drive, which is an auxiliary storage device for installing a system and applications, is connected as a peripheral device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as a "PC") is composed of a PC having a CPU, a main storage device and the like built in a housing, and a keyboard, a display, a mouse and the like as input / output devices. Mainly composed. P
In the housing of the C body, a hard disk drive as an auxiliary storage device, a CD-ROM drive, and the like are further provided.
It is connected to and mounted on a so-called motherboard, which controls the entire system as a whole.

The hard disk is connected to the motherboard directly or through an interface card to an expansion bus slot of the motherboard. Therefore,
Hard disks are manufactured with various interface structures, and typical interface structures include IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) connection and SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) connection.

[0004] SCSI devices compatible with SCSI connection are capable of high-density and high-speed access. Conventionally, high-performance PCs have used SCSI devices. However, IDE devices achieve almost the same access speed and storage density as SCSI devices by new standardization such as E (Enhanced) -IDE, and moreover, most motherboards have interfaces directly attached to SCSI devices. In recent years, it has rapidly become popular because it is cheaper than devices.

Here, the connection structure of the IDE device to the motherboard will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the motherboard includes a primary IDE 51 and a secondary ID.
Two interfaces called E52 are provided as connectors, and each of these interfaces is further provided with:
By attaching the flat cable 53 provided with two connectors for the master and the slave, the master device 54,
A total of four IDE devices 56 and slave devices 55 and 57 can be connected. Each connected IDE device has
Power is supplied from a power source 59 through a power cable 58 of another system.

When a hard disk is connected as an IDE device, a hard disk drive that can be used for system startup, that is, a bootable current drive is a primary master and a slave in a general BIOS (Basic Input-Output System) setting. , Secondary master and slave are searched in that order, and are limited to the first searched hard disk drive.

[0007]

However, the above-mentioned conventional computer system has the following problems. That is, in the computer system, a hard disk that stores an OS program necessary for booting the system or an application program describing the processing contents of the computer has a failure due to disturbance such as vibration, power failure, noise, or the life of the hard disk itself. Cannot be started in the event of a failure or the like due to a failure.

In this case, in order to recover the system, the operation of removing a part of the cabinet of the housing accommodating the hard disk, the operation of replacing with a new hard disk including the electric wiring operation, the OS program for the new hard disk, It is necessary to install application programs. Therefore, especially for a user who is not very familiar with computer-related knowledge, replacing a hard disk is a time-consuming and difficult task.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and a computer capable of easily restoring a system even when a failure or the like occurs in a hard disk on which data processing is actually performed. It is intended to provide a system.

[0010]

To achieve the above object, a computer system according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
It is characterized by comprising a plurality of hard disks and power switching means for switching power supply to each of the hard disks.

According to the computer system of the present invention, for example, even when a failure occurs in a hard disk on which data processing is actually performed, the supply of power to the failed hard disk is stopped and the OS program and the like are stopped. Can supply power to another hard disk stored in advance, so that the other hard disk is recognized as a bootable current drive that can newly perform data processing on the system side, The system can be easily restored.

A computer system according to a second aspect of the present invention is the computer system according to the first aspect, further comprising connection control switching means for switching a relationship between a master and a slave of each hard disk. I do.

According to the computer system of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the computer system of the first aspect, the hard disk connected to the slave can be recognized by the system as if it were a hard disk connected to the master. So, for example, a failed hard disk is connected to the system as master,
Even when another hard disk that performs new data processing is connected as a slave, the system can be easily restored without requiring a physical connection switching operation.

Further, in the computer system according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the computer system according to the first or second aspect, the switching by the power switching unit and the connection control switching unit is invalidated according to an operation state of the system. It is characterized by further comprising means for performing the following.

According to the computer system according to the present invention, in the invention according to the first or second aspect, for example, during the operation of the system, the user erroneously switches the power supply to the hard disk, or switches the power supply to the master / slave. Even if the switching has been performed, these switchings are invalid during the operation of the system, so that there is no possibility that the system will be adversely affected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the computer system of the first or second aspect, the power switching means and the connection control switching means have at least a mechanical switch. The switch is provided outside the housing that houses the motherboard.

According to the computer system according to the present invention, in addition to the effects of the computer system according to the first or second embodiment, a motherboard, a hard disk, etc., when a failure occurs in a hard disk on which data processing is actually performed. It is possible to substantially eliminate the work of removing a part of the cabinet of the housing in which the is housed, the work of replacing with a new hard disk including the work of electrical wiring, and the like, and facilitate the system recovery. .

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a PC main body which is a main part of a computer system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and a diagram schematically showing a hard disk switching function of the computer system.

As shown in these figures, a PC body 1 of the computer system has a RAM as a main storage device.
(Random Access Memory), a motherboard 2 on which at least a CPU, a BIOS, and the like are mounted, a floppy disk drive 3, a CD-ROM drive 4, and a first hard disk drive (hereinafter, referred to as "HDD") connected to the motherboard 2 through an interface. 5)
And the second HDD 6 and these HDDs 5, 6 and CD-
A power supply 7 for supplying power to the ROM 4 through a power cable 7a, a power supply switching circuit 8 for controlling switching of power supply from the power supply 7 to the HDDs 5 and 6, and screws for fixing a side panel, a top panel, and the like to a frame. By doing so, a case 9 as a housing capable of accommodating these motherboards and HDDs, and a case 9
Is electrically connected to the power supply switching circuit 8 inside the case 9;
It mainly comprises a three-contact type toggle switch 10 for a user to manually switch the power supply to the HDDs 5 and 6, and input / output devices (not shown) such as a CRT, a keyboard, and a mouse.

The motherboard 2 has HDDs 5, 6 and a CD.
-Interface (I / F) for connecting ROM4
Primary IDE11 and Secondary IDE1
2 is provided as a connector. This IDE11,
12, a flat cable (FC) 13 provided with two connectors for a master and a slave is attached to the first HDD 5 as a primary master device.
However, a CD-ROM 4 is connected to the motherboard 2 as a secondary master device, and a second HDD 6 is connected to the motherboard 2 as a secondary slave device.

The BIOS searches for a hard disk drive that can be used for starting the system, that is, a bootable current drive in the order of a primary master, a slave, a secondary master, and a slave, and searches the first hard disk drive for the current drive. Recognize as

Next, the HDD switching function of the computer system of the present embodiment will be described.

The power supply switching circuit 8 supplies power from the power supply 7 to the first HDD 5 only, and supplies power to only the second HDD 6 by mechanical switching of the toggle switch 10 by the user. Three power supply modes, a second mode, and a third mode for supplying power to both the first and second HDDs 5 and 6 can be realized. In this embodiment, the first mode is set by default.

Further, in the present embodiment, the first HDD 5 stores at least an OS program necessary for starting the system and an application program describing the processing contents of the computer. The HDD 5 stores the application program under the control of the OS. It is provided as a drive for actually performing data processing based on a program (hereinafter referred to as “APL”).

On the other hand, the second HDD 6 also stores an OS program and an APL program. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, since the first mode in which the power from the power supply 7 is supplied only to the first HDD 5 in the initial setting is selected, the power is supplied to the second HDD 6. Not supplied. Therefore, the BIOS is able to use the first HD
D5 is recognized as the current drive.

Here, for example, vibration,
When a failure occurs due to the influence of disturbance such as a power failure or noise, or a failure occurs due to the life of the hard disk itself, the system cannot be started once. However, the toggle switch 10 is switched, and the second mode, that is, the power of the power source 7 is reduced. By setting the mode for supplying only to the second HDD 6 and restarting the system, the BIOS recognizes the second HDD 6 in which the OS program and the APL program are already stored as the current drive. As a result, the system can be easily restored. Further, in this case, since power is not supplied to the second HDD 6 before the mode switching, there is no possibility that the life of the second HDD 6 itself is affected.

As described above, according to the computer system of the present embodiment, the supply of power to the first and second HDDs 5 and 6 can be switched, so that the HDD that was actually performing data processing fails. In this case, the power supply to the failed HDD can be stopped, and the power can be supplied to another hard disk in which the OS program and the like are stored in advance. Accordingly, the switched new hard disk is recognized as a bootable current drive capable of newly performing data processing on the system side, thereby facilitating system recovery.

According to the computer system of the present embodiment, the power supply to the first and second HDDs 5 and 6 can be switched outside the case 9.
The operation of removing the side panel, the top panel, and the like, the operation of replacing with a new HDD including the electric wiring operation, and the like can be substantially deleted, and the system can be easily restored.

(Second Embodiment) A computer system according to the second embodiment is different from the computer system according to the first embodiment in that a power supply switching circuit 8 is provided as shown in FIG. A switching circuit 21 is provided, and a master / slave switching cable 22 is added.

In this embodiment, the first HDD 5 that actually performs data processing in the initial state as a primary master device
However, the second HDD 6 in which the OS program and the APL program are already stored as the primary slave device is
A CD-ROM 4 is connected to the motherboard 2 as a secondary master device.

The power supply / connection control switching circuit 21 is activated by the user by mechanically switching the toggle switch 10.
As in the embodiment, the first and second HDDs from the power source 7
5 and 6 can be switched, and at the same time, the master /
Via the slave switching cable 22, the connection control relationship between the first HDD 5 as the primary master device and the second HDD 6 as the primary slave device can be switched. The jumper setting of the master / slave of the second HDD 6 is set in advance to the master.

For example, when a failure or the like occurs in the first HDD 5, the system cannot be started once. However, the toggle switch 10 is switched and the power of the power source 7 is reduced to the second HDD 6.
Switch to the mode to supply only to. Here, since the supply of power to the first HDD 5 as the master device is stopped, the state becomes the same as the state where only the second HDD 6 as the slave device is connected to the primary IDE 11. However, the power supply / connection control switching circuit 21 can simultaneously switch the power supply and the master / slave connection control relationship at the same time, so that by restarting the system, the BIOS stores the OS program and the APL program already. The second HDD 6 is recognized as the current drive. As a result, the system can be easily restored.

As described above, the computer system according to the present embodiment can cause the system (BIOS) to recognize the HDD connected to the slave as an HDD connected to the master. Even when another HDD that is connected to the system and performs new data processing is connected as a slave, the system can be easily restored without requiring a physical connection switching operation.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a detection unit 23 that monitors the operation state of the system and a detection unit that detects the detection state of the detection unit 23 so that the switching by the power / connection control switching circuit 21 can be disabled according to the operation state of the system. A control unit 24 for substantially preventing switching by the power / connection control switching circuit 21 according to the result may be provided. Accordingly, for example, even when the user accidentally switches the supply of power to the HDDs or switches between master and slave during the start-up or operation of the system, these changes are made during the start-up or operation of the system. Switching is invalidated, there is no danger of affecting the system.

In this embodiment, the device to be switched is an HDD, but not only an HDD but also a CD-ROM,
The present invention may be applied to switching of any IDE device such as a CD-R, an MO, and a PD.

Further, of course, 4 which can be used for IDE connection
HDD connected to all four interfaces
The system may be configured so that switching control can be performed on D, or the switching control of the present invention may be applied to another interface such as SCSI.

[0038]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the computer system according to the present invention, for example, even when a failure occurs in a hard disk on which data processing is actually performed, the supply of power to the failed hard disk is stopped and a system control program (OS)
Power can be supplied to another hard disk in which data is stored in advance, so that the other hard disk is recognized as a bootable current drive capable of newly performing data processing on the system side. Thus, the system can be easily restored.

According to the computer system according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the computer system according to the first aspect, the hard disk connected to the slave is provided to the system as if it were a hard disk connected to the master. Because it can be recognized, for example, even if a failed hard disk is connected to the system as a master and another hard disk that performs new data processing is connected as a slave, physical connection switching work is required Without this, the system can be easily restored.

Further, according to the computer system according to claim 3 of the present invention, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, for example, the user erroneously switches the power supply to the hard disk during the operation of the system, Alternatively, even if the master / slave switching is performed, these switchings become invalid during the operation of the system, so that there is no possibility that the system will be adversely affected.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system according to the first or second aspect, further comprising: a motherboard which is used when a failure occurs in a hard disk on which data processing is actually performed; ,
Work to remove a part of the cabinet of the housing that houses the hard disk, etc., and work to replace the new hard disk, including electrical wiring work, can be substantially eliminated, and the system can be easily restored. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary perspective view showing a PC main body which is a main part of a computer system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view schematically showing a hard disk switching function of the computer system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view schematically showing a hard disk switching function of a computer system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another switching function different from the hard disk switching function shown in FIG. 2 or 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating connection of peripheral devices in a conventional computer system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... PC main body 1 2 ... Motherboard 5 ... 1st hard disk drive (HDD) 6 ... 2nd hard disk drive 7 ... Power supply 7a ... Power supply cable 8 ... Power supply switching circuit 9 ... Case 10 ... ... Toggle switch 11 ... Primary IDE 12 ... Secondary IDE 13 ... Flat cable (FC) 21 ... Power supply / connection control switching circuit 22 ... Master / slave switching cable 23 ... Detection unit 24 ... Control unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A computer system comprising: a plurality of hard disks; and power switching means for switching power supply to each of the hard disks. 2. The computer system according to claim 1, further comprising connection control switching means for switching a relationship between a master and a slave of each hard disk. 3. The computer system according to claim 1, further comprising means for invalidating switching by said power switching means and said connection control switching means in accordance with an operation state of the system. Computer system. 4. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the power switching unit and the connection control switching unit have at least a mechanical switch, and the switch is provided outside a housing that houses the motherboard. A computer system, which is provided.