Semiconductor memory card access apparatus, a computer-readable recording medium, an initialization method, and a semiconductor memory card

A semiconductor memory card that has a memory area comprising a plurality of sectors and manages data in each group of 2j sectors (j being 0 or a positive integer) as a cluster, and one or more clusters as a file, each group of 2j consecutive sectors in the memory area forming a block (i being 0 or a positive integer), and the block being a smallest unit on which data erasure can be performed, said semiconductor memory card comprising:

• a first area, including two or more blocks, used for recording volume management information;
• and
• a second area, being formed from blocks following the first area, used for recording user data;
• the volume management information including a master boot record, a partition table, partition boot sector information, a file allocation table, and a root directory entry, the file allocation table indicating, for each file, links between clusters corresponding to the file, wherein the master boot record and the partition table are recorded in a first sector of a first block of the first area, and with a predetermined number of sectors skipped, the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry are recorded in subsequent sectors in order to align an end of the first area with an end of the root directory entry, wherein the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry are recorded in at least one block which is different from the first block.

A semiconductor memory card having a memory area that includes a protected area that can only be accessed by a device connected to said semiconductor memory card once an authenticity of the connected device has been verified, and a user data area that can be accessed by the connected device regardless of whether or not the authenticity of the connected device has been verified, wherein the protected area and the user data area include a plurality of sectors, and data is managed in each group of 2j sectors (j being 0 or a positive integer) as a cluster, and one or more clusters as a file, each group of 2i consecutive sectors forming a block (i being 0 or a positive integer), and the block is a smallest unit on which data erasure can be performed and at least one of the protected area and the user area of the memory area of said semiconductor memory card comprising:

• a first area, including two or more blocks, used for recording volume management information;
• and
• a second area, being formed from blocks following the first area, used for recording user data;
• the volume management information including a master boot record, a partition table, partition boot sector information, a file allocation table, and a root directory entry, the file allocation table indicating, for each file, links between clusters corresponding to the file, wherein the master boot record and the partition table are recorded in a first sector of a first block of the first area, and with a predetermined number of sectors skipped, the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry are recorded in subsequent sectors in order to align an end of the first area with an end of the root directory entry, wherein the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry are recorded in at least one block which is different from the first block.

An initialization method for initializing a computer to perform file access on a semiconductor memory card that has a memory area comprising a plurality of sectors by managing data in each groups of 2j sectors (j being 0 or a positive integer) as a cluster, and managing one or more clusters as a file, each group of 2i consecutive sectors in the memory area forming a block (i being 0 or a positive integer), and the block being a smallest unit on which data erasure can be performed, said initialization method comprising:

• calculating a size of volume management information based on a number of clusters in the memory area that are to be managed, the volume management information including a master boot record, a partition table, partition boot sector information, a file allocation table, and a root directory entry, the file allocation table indicating, for each file, links between clusters corresponding to the file;
• reserving a first area used for recording the volume management information, and a second area used for recording user data, the first area having a data size larger than the calculated volume management information and including two or more blocks, and the second area being formed from blocks following the first area;
• and
• recording the volume management information in the first area, and the user data in the second area, and recording the master boot record and the partition table in a first sector of a first block of the first area, skipping a predetermined number of sectors and then recording the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry in subsequent sectors in order to align an end of the first area with an end of the root directory entry, wherein the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry are recorded in at least one block which is different from the first block.

A recording medium storing a program in a computer-readable format for initializing a computer to have file access performed on a semiconductor memory card that has a memory area comprising a plurality of sectors by managing data in each group of 2j sectors (j being 0 or a positive integer) as a cluster, and managing one or more clusters as a file, each group of 2i consecutive sectors in the memory area forming a block (i being 0 or a positive integer), and the block being a smallest unit on which data erasure can be performed, the program operable to enable the computer to perform the following:

• calculating a size of volume management information based on a number of clusters in the memory area that are to be managed, the volume management information including a master boot record, a partition table, partition boot sector information, a file allocation table, and a root directory entry, the file allocation table indicating, for each file, links between clusters corresponding to the file;
• reserving a first area used for recording the volume management information, and a second area used for recording user data, the first area having a data size larger than the calculated volume management information and including two or more blocks, and the second area being formed from blocks following the first area;
• and
• recording the volume management information in the first area, and the user data in the second area, and recording the master boot record and the partition table in a first sector of a first block of the first area, skipping a predetermined number of sectors and then recording the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry in subsequent sectors in order to align an end of the first area with an end of the root directory entry, wherein the partition boot sector information, the file allocation table, and the root directory entry are recorded in at least one block which is different from the first block.