Altering computer configuration to emulate additional volume

An invention comprising a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of altering a computer configuration having an original volume with a first data storage capacity to appear to an operating system of the computer configuration to include an additional volume having a second, selected data storage capacity, wherein data appears to be written to and/or read from the additional volume, the method including,

• (a) a step for representing to an operating system of the computer configuration the presence of the additional volume having the selected storage capacity and addresses for reading data therefrom and writing data thereto,
• (b) a step for writing data to an address of the volume by either, (i) writing the data to an address of a data store with which the volume address is associated, wherein the data store is maintained on the original volume and includes a data storage capacity that is less than the original volume, or (ii) writing the data to an address of the data store with which no volume address is associated, and associating the volume address with that data store address, and
• (c) a step for reading data from a volume address by either, (i) reading the data from a data store address with which the volume address has been associated in accordance with said writing step, or (ii) returning data that has not been written to the volume in accordance with said writing step.

An invention comprising a computer configuration including computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of altering a computer configuration having an original volume with a first data storage capacity to appear to an operating system of the computer configuration to include an additional volume having a second, selected data storage capacity, wherein data appears to be written to and/or read from the additional volume, the method including,

• (a) a step for representing to an operating system of the computer configuration the presence of the additional volume having the selected storage capacity and addresses for reading data therefrom and writing data thereto,
• (b) a step for writing data to an address of the volume by either, (i) writing the data to an address of a data store with which the volume address is associated, wherein the data store is maintained on the original volume and includes a data storage capacity that is less than the original volume, or (ii) writing the data to an address of the data store with which no volume address is associated, and associating the volume address with that data store address, and
• (c) a step for reading data from a volume address by either, (i) reading the data from a data store address with which the volume address has been associated in accordance with said writing step, or (ii) returning data that has not been written to the volume in accordance with said writing step.

An invention comprising a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing a method of altering a computer configuration having an original volume with a first data storage capacity to appear to an operating system of the computer configuration to include an additional volume having a second, selected data storage capacity, wherein data appears to be written to and/or read from the additional volume, the computer-executable instructions including,

• (a) means for representing to an operating system of the computer configuration the presence of the additional volume having the selected storage capacity and addresses for reading data therefrom and writing data thereto,
• (b) means for writing data to an address of the volume by either, (i) writing the data to an address of a data store with which the volume address is associated, wherein the data store is maintained on the original volume and includes a data storage capacity that is less than the original volume, or (ii) writing the data to an address of the data store with which no volume address is associated, and associating the volume address with that data store address, and
• (c) means for reading data from a volume address by either, (i) reading the data from a data store address with which the volume address has been associated in accordance with said writing step, or (ii) returning data that has not been written to the volume in accordance with said writing step.