1. A method for an error recovery process in a disk-drive device, said method comprising:
starting said error recovery process in response to an error which has occurred in a process corresponding to a command from a host to access a disk;
receiving a new read command from said host during said error recovery process;
interrupting said error recovery process in accordance with preset conditions and reading out data from said disk at an address designated by said read command; and
transferring said read-out data to said host.
2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein
said error recovery process sequentially carries out error recovery operations stored in a table; and
said error recovery process has been interrupted between two error recovery operations.
3. The method recited in claim 1, said method further comprising:
referring to a command type of said received read command; and
determining whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on said command type.
4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein
conditions to interrupt said error recovery process comprise a condition that an available buffer space for read data is sufficient for said data of said read command.
5. The method recited in claim 1, said method further comprising:
determining whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on said process details of a next error recovery operation;
wherein said error recovery process sequentially carries out error recovery operations stored in a table.
6. The method recited in claim 5, wherein
conditions not to interrupt said error recovery process comprise a condition that said next error recovery operation attempts to write data while continuing to follow a target track of an immediately preceding error recovery process operation.
7. The method recited in claim 1, said method further comprising:
referring to a command type of said error recovery process; and
determining whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on said command type.
8. The method recited in claim 1, said method further comprising:
determining whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on a number of performed error recovery operations;
wherein said error recovery process sequentially carries out error recovery operations stored in a table.
9. The method recited in claim 1, said method further comprising:
determining whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on remaining time before time-out of a command of said error recovery process.
10. The method recited in claim 1, said method further comprising:
determining whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on an available buffer space for data selected from the group consisting of write data and read data;
wherein a command of said error recovery process is a write command.
11. A disk-drive device comprising:
a motor for spinning a data storage disk;
a head for accessing said disk;
a moving mechanism for supporting said head and moving said head along a radial direction of said disk; and
a controller, said controller configured to interrupt an error recovery process in accordance with preset conditions, to read out data from said disk at an address designated by a new read command and to transfer said read-out data to a host if said read command is received from said host during said error recovery process in response to an error which has occurred in a process corresponding to a command from said host to access said disk.
12. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
said controller is configured to sequentially carry out a plurality of error recovery operations of said error recovery process stored in a table and to interrupt said error recovery process between two error recovery operations.
13. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
said controller is configured to refer to a command type of said received read command and to determine whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on said command type.
14. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
conditions to interrupt said error recovery process comprise a condition that an available buffer space for read data is sufficient for said data of said read command.
15. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
said controller is configured to sequentially carry out error recovery operations of said error recovery process stored in a table and to determine whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on process details of a next error recovery operation.
16. The disk-drive device of claim 15, wherein
conditions not to interrupt said error recovery process comprise a condition that said next error recovery operation attempts to write data while continuing to follow a target track of an immediately preceding error recovery process operation.
17. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
said controller is configured to refer to a command type of said error recovery process and to determine whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on said command type.
18. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
said controller is configured to sequentially carry out error recovery operations of said error recovery process stored in a table and to determine whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on a number of performed error recovery operations.
19. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
said controller is configured to determine whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on remaining time before time-out of a command of said error recovery process.
20. The disk-drive device of claim 11, wherein
a command of said error recovery process is a write command, and
said controller is configured to determine whether to interrupt said error recovery process based on an available buffer space for data selected from the group consisting of write data and read data.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An inspection support apparatus comprising:
a data acquisition section for acquiring output data being output from a processing circuit to be inspected, and for preserving the output data in a data bank, using a reference clock being output from said processing circuit together with the output data;
an operation discrimination section for discriminating suspension of said reference clock at the sampling intervals of the output data; and
a clock information register for preserving a discrimination result obtained by said operation destination section.
2. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a sampling timer for generating a sampling request signal, a signal for instructing the acquisition of the output data being output from said processing circuit, being asserted each time the sampling interval of the output data elapses, and being negated subsequently after the output data is preserved in said data bank.
3. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, based on the sampling request signal, said operation discrimination section discriminates whether or not said reference clock is suspended.
4. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when the sampling request signal is not negated after a certain time elapses following the assertion of the sampling request signal, said operation discrimination section discriminates that said reference clock is suspended.
5. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said data bank is comprised in correspondence to said clock information register, and the inspection support apparatus comprises a plurality of pairs of said data banks and said clock information registers.
6. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the number of output data preservable in said data bank is identical to the number of discrimination results in said operation discrimination section to be preserved in said clock information register.
7. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of pairs of said data banks and said clock information registers are used by being exclusively switched over.
8. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein two pairs of said data banks and said clock information registers are comprised, and after the preservation of the entire discrimination results to one of said clock information register is completed in said operation discrimination section, a switchover is performed so as to preserve a subsequent discrimination result acquired in said operation discrimination section into said other clock information register.
9. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an address register for setting an address to be measured, wherein said data acquisition section acquires an output data related to an access to the address being set in said address register, from among output data being output from said processing circuit.
10. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a clock generation section for generating a clock different from said reference clock, wherein the preservation of the discrimination result in said operation discrimination section into said clock information register is performed using the clock generated in said clock generation section.
11. The inspection support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an analysis processing section for acquiring a suspension position and a suspension period of said reference clock, based on the information preserved in said clock information register.
12. An inspection support method comprising:
successively acquiring preserved information from a clock information register preserving, at the sampling intervals of output data, information related to the state of a reference clock being output from a processing circuit by an inspection support apparatus which acquires and preserves into a data bank, the output data being output from said processing circuit to be inspected, and
deciding whether or not said reference clock has been suspended.
13. The inspection support method according to claim 12, further comprising outputting a suspension position and a recovery position of said reference clock, based on the decision result of the suspension of said reference clock using the information preserved in said clock information register.
14. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to:
decide whether or not a reference clock has been suspended by successively acquiring preserved information from a clock information register preserving, at the sampling intervals of output data, information related to the operating state of a reference clock being output from a processing circuit by an inspection support apparatus which acquires and preserves into a data bank, the output data being output from the processing circuit to be inspected; and
calculate a suspension position and a recovery position of the reference clock, based on the decision result.
15. The computer program product according to claim 14, further comprising control logic for causing a computer to calculate a suspension period of the reference clock.