Abstract: According to at least one embodiment, a magnetic disk apparatus includes a magnetic disk, a nonvolatile memory, a determination module, a write module, and a read module. The determination module determines whether the off-track write occurs on a first data sector during a write mode. The write module writes first data in the nonvolatile memory if the determination module determines that the off-track write occurs on the first data sector. The read module reads the first data from one of the magnetic disk and the nonvolatile memory based on a determination result of the determination module.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a memory controller includes a bank controller including a queuing part queuing commands associated with a bank and having a first flag associated with each of the commands, the bank controller executing the commands in order, a data controller transferring write data to the bank when a particular command to be executed among the commands is a write command associated with one of physical addresses in the bank, and a parity controller generating parity data for restoring the write data based on a value of a first flag associated with the particular command, before execution of the particular command is completed.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided a device including a non-volatile memory and a controller. The non-volatile memory includes a memory cell array and an internal buffer. The controller is configured to, after failure of an error correcting process of first data read from the memory cell array, store second data generated from the first data in the internal buffer and read the stored second data from the internal buffer to perform the error correcting process.

Abstract: According to at least one embodiment, a magnetic disk apparatus includes a magnetic disk, a nonvolatile memory, a determination module, a write module, and a read module. The determination module determines whether the off-track write occurs on a first data sector during a write mode. The write module writes first data in the nonvolatile memory if the determination module determines that the off-track write occurs on the first data sector. The read module reads the first data from one of the magnetic disk and the nonvolatile memory based on a determination result of the determination module.

Abstract: A data process can be performed without lowering the data processing efficiency even when the sector length of the host device side is different from the sector length of the hard disk side. Partial data or whole data of a second data block which is based on a long sector defined on the hard disk side and surrounds the starting end and terminating end addresses of a first data block based on a host-defined sector is read from the hard disk and written to a flash memory before the data process using the flash memory as a cache is performed based on the command.

Abstract: A data process can be performed without lowering the data processing efficiency even when the sector length of the host device side is different from the sector length of the hard disk side. Partial data or whole data of a second data block which is based on a long sector defined on the hard disk side and surrounds the starting end and terminating end addresses of a first data block based on a host-defined sector is read from the hard disk and written to a flash memory before the data process using the flash memory as a cache is performed based on the command.

Abstract: Commands are provided for storing data in a plurality of different types of storage media, thereby eliminating the storage errors of important data and improving usability. A storage device comprises a host interface, a hard disk interface acting as an interface to a hard disk, a flash memory interface acting as an interface to a flash memory, a command analyzing section which analyzes the contents of a command inputted from the host interface, and a data write operation processing section which performs a data write operation on both of the hard disk and the flash memory when the command analyzed in the command analyzing section is a predetermined command for write-through acting as a command for writing data into a plurality of media.

Abstract: A write medium is selected so as to realize the fastest operation after data including a write command has been received from the host device. A storage device comprises a host interface, a cache memory interface, a hard disk interface, a flash memory interface, a command analyzing section which analyzes the contents of a command inputted from the host interface, a state determining section which determines into which of the cache memory and flash memory data can be written faster based on the relationship between the write data size and the free space of the cache memory if the command analyzed in the command analyzing section is a write command, and a media selecting section which determines a data write destination according to the determination result of the state determining section.

Abstract: This arithmetic device includes: a first memory to store a first program; a first arithmetic module to read the first program from the first memory to execute the first program; a second memory to store a second program which is embedded in processing of the first program and called from the first arithmetic module and executed, and whose access speed is lower than the first memory; a third memory storing data temporarily and whose access speed is higher than the second memory; a second arithmetic module to read the second program from the second memory and store in a third memory; and a third arithmetic module to read the second program from the third memory to execute the second program, in accordance with a call from the first arithmetic module to execute the first program.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a processor, a cache, and a cache controller. The processor is configured to output a memory access request for accessing an entity of a variable stored in a variable-storage region provided in a memory by using first or second memory address. Both the first and second memory addresses are allocated to the variable-storage region. The cache is configured to store some of data items stored in the memory. The cache controller is configured to access the memory or the cache by using a memory address designating the variable-storage region, in accordance with one of the first and second memory addresses which is included in a memory access request coming from the processor.

Abstract: An information recording device is a device for writing data to a disk-shaped recording medium and a cache memory and has a memory storing connection information showing a presence or an absence of a connection of an external power source; a determiner determining whether to write data recorded only in the cache memory to the disk-shaped recording medium based on the connection information; and a writer writing data recorded only in the cache memory to the disk-shaped recording medium according to the determination result.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, the present invention provides a storage device that sophisticatedly utilizes the characteristics of a nonvolatile cache memory and a hard disk, and compensates defects of the hard disk drive side to improve the reliability of the device. The storage device includes a host interface, a command analyzing section, a memory that stores request information which permits or forcibly forbids accessing the hard disk, a device state determining section that determines the request information of the memory, and a media access determining section that, when the determination result of the device state determining section indicates the “forbiddance”, forbids accessing the hard disk, and, when the determination result of the device state determining section indicates the “permission”, permits the accessing based on the analysis result of the command analyzing section and unique determination result.

Abstract: According to exemplary embodiments, there is provided an information storage apparatus having a non-volatile memory device in which a data erase block is larger than a data write block, the apparatus includes an erase device to effect erase in the non-volatile memory device on the basis of a write command from a host, a clean block pointer that stores an address of an erase area in the non-volatile memory device, and information indicative of a position of a write block in the erase area, up to which data is written, a determination device to determine, based on the clean block pointer, whether data associated with the write command is writable in the erase area in the non-volatile memory device, which is erased by the erase device, and a write device to write the data associated with the write command in the erase area, when the determination device determined that the data is writable.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a flash memory and an SDRAM having higher information writing and reading speeds are provided as caches with respect to a hard disk. When a free space corresponding to a size of information to be written is not present in the SDRAM and forming in the SDRAM the free space corresponding to the size of the information is predicted, higher one of a speed of writing the information in the SDRAM and a speed of writing the information in the flash memory is determined, and the information is written in a memory having the higher speed.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, when a command which requests to specify addresses and cancel pinned attribute information is input, the address to which the pinned attribute information is assigned is changed so that unpinned attribute information is associated with this address, among the addresses specified by the command. This permits information in an area corresponding to the address specified by the command to be written into a disk-shaped recording medium when executing a function of writing, into the disk-shaped recording medium, data in an area corresponding to the address of the unpinned attribute information in a cache memory.

Abstract: A write medium is selected so as to realize the fastest operation after data including a write command has been received from the host device. A storage device comprises a host interface, a cache memory interface, a hard disk interface, a flash memory interface, a command analyzing section which analyzes the contents of a command inputted from the host interface, a state determining section which determines into which of the cache memory and flash memory data can be written faster based on the relationship between the write data size and the free space of the cache memory if the command analyzed in the command analyzing section is a write command, and a media selecting section which determines a data write destination according to the determination result of the state determining section.

Abstract: Commands are provided for storing data in a plurality of different types of storage media, thereby eliminating the storage errors of important data and improving usability. A storage device comprises a host interface, a hard disk interface acting as an interface to a hard disk, a flash memory interface acting as an interface to a flash memory, a command analyzing section which analyzes the contents of a command inputted from the host interface, and a data write operation processing section which performs a data write operation on both of the hard disk and the flash memory when the command analyzed in the command analyzing section is a predetermined command for write-through acting as a command for writing data into a plurality of media.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a data recording apparatus includes an input unit to which a commands is input, a disk-shaped recording medium, a nonvolatile memory which serves as a cache memory for the disk-shaped recording medium, and a control unit which records the data recorded in the nonvolatile memory onto the disk-shaped recording medium on the basis of a command to turn off a function of using the nonvolatile memory as a cache memory for the disk-shaped recording medium, which is input to the input unit.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an information recording apparatus includes an input which receives a command, a disk-like recording medium, a non-volatile memory serving as a cache memory for the disk-like recording medium, and a control unit for flashing information recorded in the non-volatile memory to the disk-like recording medium in accordance with a flash command input into the input so as to make a vacant region inside the non-volatile memory.

Abstract: In a storage device, a high-speed read/write operation and low power consumption are realized and the service life of a storage medium which is a semiconductor memory can be made longer. The storage device includes a host interface, a command analyzing section which analyzes the contents of a command input from the host interface, a state determining section which determines the rotation state of a hard disk when a command analyzed by the command analyzing section is a command for instructing data writing, and a write processing section which transfers write data to the hard disk when the determination result of the state determining section indicates that the hard disk is being rotated and transfers the write data to the flash memory when the determination result indicates that the hard disk is not being rotated.