US 5,710,941 A · System for substituting protected mode hard disk driver for real mode driver by trapping test transfers to verify matching geometric translation

Abstract

A protected mode operating system utilizes a protected mode hard disk driver which bypasses an existing real mode hard disk driver on computer systems in which the real mode hard disk driver performs geometry translation of hard disk addresses. The protected mode hard disk driver determines a geometry translation based on geometry data retrieved from the computer systems' hard disk, then verifies whether the geometry translation is utilized by the existing real mode hard disk driver by trapping accesses to hard disk input/output ports, and issuing read requests to the existing real mode hard disk driver at plural hard disk addresses.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A computer system, comprising:

a processor for running one or more programs including an operating system program, the processor having a real mode of operation and a protected mode of operation;
a data storage device having a recordable medium for storing data;
a data storage device controller for controlling storage of data on the recordable medium;
one or more input/output ports coupling the processor and the data storage device controller;
a real mode dryer executing on the processor for transferring data in the real mode of operation of the processor between the programs and the data storage device controller via the input/output ports;
and
a protected mode dryer executing on the processor and being operative to analyze accesses to the input/output ports by the real mode driver for a plurality of test data transfers so as to verify whether a geometry translation is utilized by the real mode driver, the protected mode driver being operative in place of the real mode driver to transfer data in the protected mode of operation of the processor between the programs and the data storage device controller utilizing the geometry translation if the protected mode driver verifies that the geometry translation also is utilized by the real mode driver.

4 more elements

An operating system for a computer having a hard disk drive, a disk port coupled to the hard disk drive, and a real mode driver in communication with the hard disk drive through the disk port, the operating system comprising:

a protected mode disk port driver having code for bypassing the real mode driver to perform data transfers directly with the hard disk drive utilizing a transfer mode;
a transfer mode verifier comprising code for verifying whether the real mode driver utilizes the transfer mode in performing data transfers with the hard disk drive;
and
a driver initializer in communication with the transfer mode verifier and protected mode disk port driver, the driver initializer having code for enabling the protected mode disk port driver to bypass the real mode driver to perform data transfer directly with the hard disk drive utilizing the transfer mode if the transfer mode verifier verifies that the real mode driver utilizes the transfer mode in performing data transfers with the hard disk drive.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

System for substituting protected mode hard disk driver for real mode driver by trapping test transfers to verify matching geometric translation

Life of this patent

System for substituting protected mode hard disk driver for real mode driver by trapping test transfers to verify matching geometric translation

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17