Patent
1996-01-18
1998-02-03
Lintz, Paul R.
395616, G06F 1730
Patent
active
057154627
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method of updating and restoring system files in a computer, and more specifically, to a method of achieving, by software, updating of system files which are forbidden by an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) in operation to be accessed and restoration thereof at the time of update failure.
BACKGROUND ART
Among system files used by an OS, for example, OS/2, WINDOWS or NT, of a computer, if a particular file is rewritten by some mistake, it is possible that a system controlled by that OS docs not function normally. In order to avoid an occurrence of such an error, in general, the OS, during operation, access=locks the files which may raise a problem when rewritten, so as to refuse inadvertent access, such as reading/writing, to the files from another OS, an application program (hereinafter referred to as AP) or the like.
On the other hand, in the system using the computer, necessity for updating system files frequently occurs for extending or improving a processing function. Such updating, for example, in the system having a plurality of terminal equipments connected to a host computer via a communication network, is required to be performed at once at the same timing for ensuring uniformity of operations of the respective terminal equipments. For dealing with this, it is preferable that new system files are transferred at once to the respective terminal equipments from the host computer so as to update the current system files, respectively, using AP's installed in advance in the respective terminal equipments. However, even if the new system files are transferred from the host computer, the system files which are access-locked as described above can not be accessed during the operation of the corresponding OS so that the updating thereof is rendered impossible.
Therefore, conventionally, when updating a system file which is access=locked by the OS, for example, a new system file from the host computer is stored in a hard disk (hereinafter referred to as HDD) of each terminal equipment under a different file name and an OS in operation is once stopped. Then, at an appropriate timing, an operator starts up the same system as that OS using a maintenance flexible disk (hereinafter referred to as FD) so as to enable an access to the foregoing locked system file, and thereafter, processes of renaming the new system file stored in the HDD and the like are performed so as to update the foregoing system file.
In case of a stand-alone system, since an operator managing the system is normally always present, the foregoing series of operations can be easily performed. However, in case of the terminal equipment connected to the host computer via the communication network, although a key operator is present, it is possible that there is no one who manages the system. In such case, it is necessary to send operators having managing ability of the system to places where the terminal equipments are installed every time the updating is performed.
Further, when a large number of the terminal equipments are connected to the host computer and the system files of the OS's of these terminal equipments are updated at the same time, operators having managing ability of the system should be present for all the terminal equipments, which raises a problem in view of operation cost.
Further, when the updating falls due to sector abnormality or the like while a plurality of files in the OS are updated in sequence by new files, it is necessary to once stop the updating to quickly restore the old files for the system preservation. However, if the old files are overwritten by storing the new files, it is impossible to restore the old files so as to raise a problem that logical matching between the files can not be achieved.
In view of the foregoing problems and the like, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method which can achieve updating and restoration of a system file which is access-locked by an OS, without a manual operation by an operator.
It is
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Abe Ken-ichi
Iwamoto Hiroki
Nakano Tomiya
Lintz Paul R.
NTT Data Communications Systems Corporation
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