Abstract: A data protecting method for a portable memory storage apparatus is provided. The method includes determining whether a mode signal is at a data protecting mode, and performing a file hiding procedure to change a file allocation table if the mode signal is at the data protecting mode, wherein a host system coupled to the portable memory storage device is allowed to only access a portion of logical addresses of the portable memory storage apparatus according to the changed file allocation table and files stored in the portable memory storage apparatus before the file hiding procedure are written into another portion of the logical addresses. Additionally, the method still includes performing a file showing procedure to change the file allocation table if the mode signal is not at the data protecting mode, wherein the host system may access all the logical addresses according to the changed file allocation table.

Abstract: A wear leveling method for non-volatile memory is provided, by which the non-volatile memory is substantially divided into a plurality of blocks and the blocks are grouped into a data area and a spare area. The method includes selecting a block based on an erased sequence when getting the block from the spare area. The method also includes performing a wear leveling procedure.

Abstract: A wear leveling method for a multi level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory is provided. The flash memory includes a first zone and a second zone respectively having a plurality of blocks, wherein each of the blocks includes an upper page and a lower page. The wear leveling method includes: respectively determining whether to start a block swapping operation of a wear leveling process in the first zone and the second zone of the flash memory according to different start-up conditions; and respectively performing the block swapping operation in the first zone and the second zone, wherein the blocks in the first zone are accessed by using only the lower pages, and the blocks in the second zone are accessed by using both the upper pages and the lower pages. Thereby, the lifespan of the flash memory is effectively prolonged and meaningless consumption of system resources is avoided.

Abstract: A wear leveling method for a flash is provided, wherein the flash memory includes a plurality of physical blocks grouped into at least a data area and a spare area. The method includes setting a first predetermined threshold value as a wear-leveling start value and randomly generating a random number as a memory erased count, wherein the random number is smaller than the wear-leveling start value. The method also includes counting the memory erased count each time when the physical blocks are erased and determining whether the memory erased count is smaller than the wear-leveling start value, wherein a physical blocks switching is performed between the data area and the spare area when the memory erased count is not smaller then the wear-leveling start value. Accordingly, it is possible to uniformly use the physical blocks, so as to effectively prolong a lifetime of the store system.

Abstract: A data writing method for a non-volatile memory is provided, wherein the non-volatile memory includes a data area and a spare area. In the data writing method, a plurality of blocks in a substitution area of the non-volatile memory is respectively used for substituting a plurality of blocks in the data area, wherein data to be written into the blocks in the data area is written into the blocks in the substitution area, and the blocks in the substitution area are selected from the spare area of the non-volatile memory. A plurality of temporary blocks of the non-volatile memory is used as a temporary area of the blocks in the substitution area, wherein the temporary area is used for temporarily storing the data to be written into the blocks in the substitution area.

Abstract: A memory management method and a controller for a non-volatile memory storage device are provided. The memory management method and the controller are adapted for establishing a logical-to-physical mapping table of each block in a memory buffer of the controller by merely reading the data stored in a system management area within a start page of each block, so as to promote the management efficiency of the non-volatile memory storage device. In addition, the method and the controller of the present invention integrate all of or a part of the system management areas within the start page for efficiently managing and using the memory capacity of all the system management areas within the start page.

Abstract: A block management and replacement method for a flash memory is provided. The method includes grouping physical blocks of the flash memory into physical units and dividing the physical units as a usage area and a replacement area, wherein the physical blocks grouped into the same physical unit are accessed by using a multi-planes accessing command. The method also includes when one of the physical block of the physical unit in the usage area is damaged, replacing the physical unit having the damaged physical block with one physical unit selected from the replacement area and recording the undamaged physical block within the replaced physical unit if there is an applicable physical unit in the replacement area; and replacing the damaged physical block with one physical block selected from the replacement area if there is no applicable physical unit but an undamaged physical block in the replacement area.

Abstract: A data management method, a controller and a storage apparatus thereof are provided. The method is adapted for a storage apparatus having a plurality of blocks. Parts of the blocks are linked to configure a plurality of mother and child blocks (M&C block). The data management method includes: (a) checking whether a mother and child block currently to be written with data is the same of a mother and child block which has been most lately written with data; (b) when it is determined that the mother and child block currently to be written with data is not the same of the mother and child block which has been most lately written with data, saving a transient data of the mother and child block currently to be written with data to a mother and child block transient relationship table.

Abstract: A method, an apparatus and a controller for managing memories are provided. In the present invention, a data accessing format of each of the memories is adjusted such that the accessing units for each data accessing operation are unified. A mapping table is then established for recording the adjusted data accessing format. When a data accessing command is received from a host, the mapping table is inquired so as to execute the data accessing command. Accordingly, incompatibility of hardware structures can be resolved, and management of different types of flash memory can be achieved.

Abstract: A flash memory storage apparatus including a multi level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory, a flash memory controller, and a host transmission bus is provided. The MLC NAND flash memory includes a plurality of blocks for storing data, wherein each of the blocks has an upper page and a lower page, and the writing speed of the lower page is faster than that of the upper page. The flash memory controller is electrically connected to the MLC NAND flash memory and is used for executing storage mode switching steps. The host transmission bus is electrically connected to the flash memory controller and is used for communicating with a host. The flash memory storage apparatus provided by the present invention can provide multiple storage modes in order to store different data.

Abstract: A data writing method for a non-volatile memory is provided, wherein the non-volatile memory includes a data area and a spare area. In the data writing method, a plurality of blocks in a substitution area of the non-volatile memory is respectively used for substituting a plurality of blocks in the data area, wherein data to be written into the blocks in the data area is written into the blocks in the substitution area, and the blocks in the substitution area are selected from the spare area of the non-volatile memory. A plurality of temporary blocks of the non-volatile memory is used as a temporary area of the blocks in the substitution area, wherein the temporary area is used for temporarily storing the data to be written into the blocks in the substitution area.

Abstract: A data writing method for a flash memory is provided. The data writing method includes following steps. First, a block is selected as a substitute block from a spare area of the flash memory, wherein the substitute block is used for substituting a data block in a data area for writing a new data. Next, the new data is directly written into the substitute block starting from a start page, wherein there is valid data in the data block before the address for writing the new data. Thereby, meaningless data moving can be reduced, system performance can be improved, and overlong waiting time for writing the new data can be prevented.

Abstract: A wear leveling method for a non-volatile memory is provided. The non-volatile memory is substantially divided into a plurality of blocks, and these blocks are grouped into at least a data area, a spare area, a substitute area, and a temporary area. The wear leveling method includes selecting blocks from the spare area according to different purposes and executing a wear leveling procedure.

Abstract: A flash memory writing method for writing data into a flash memory storage system is provided. In the present method, a big data usage number and a small data usage number are counted for each logical unit in the flash memory storage system, so as to respectively represent the numbers of writing a big data and a small data into each the logical unit. When a host system writes new data into a logical unit in the flash memory storage system, the new data is written through different writing processes according to the big data usage number and the small data usage number of the logical unit. Thereby, the data writing efficiency is improved and the lifespan of the flash memory storage system is prolonged.

Abstract: A memory management and writing method for managing a memory module is provided. The memory module has a plurality of memory units and a plurality of data input/output buses corresponding to the memory units. The method includes configuring a plurality of logical units, dividing each of the logical units as a plurality of logical parts, and mapping the logical parts of each of the logical units to physical blocks of the memory units. The method also includes respectively establishing mapping tables corresponding to the data input/output buses, and only using one of the data input/output buses to write data from a host system into the corresponding memory unit according to the mapping table corresponding to the data input/output bus. Accordingly, the method can effectively increase the speed of writing data into the memory module.

Abstract: A data writing method for a non-volatile memory is provided, wherein the non-volatile memory includes a data area and a spare area. In the data writing method, a plurality of blocks in a substitution area of the non-volatile memory is respectively used for substituting a plurality of blocks in the data area, wherein data to be written into the blocks in the data area is written into the blocks in the substitution area, and the blocks in the substitution area are selected from the spare area of the non-volatile memory. A plurality of temporary blocks of the non-volatile memory is used as a temporary area of the blocks in the substitution area, wherein the temporary area is used for temporarily storing the data to be written into the blocks in the substitution area.

Abstract: A memory management and writing method for managing a plurality of physical units of a memory chip is provided. The present method includes grouping the physical units into a first physical unit group and a second physical unit group, recording and calculating a first erase count of the first physical unit group and a second erase count of the second physical unit group, and calculating an erase count difference between the first erase count and the second erase count. The present method also includes determining whether the erase count difference is larger than an erase count difference threshold when a write command is received. The method further includes executing a switched writing procedure to write data corresponding to the write command into the memory chip when the erase count difference is larger than the erase count difference threshold. Thereby, the lifespan of the memory chip is effectively prolonged.

Abstract: A non-volatile memory storage system including a transmission interface, a memory module, and a controller is provided. The memory module includes first and second non-volatile memory chips. The first and the second non-volatile memory chips can be simultaneously enabled by receiving a chip enable signal from the controller via a chip enable pin. When the controller performs a multichannel access, the controller provides an access instruction to the first and second non-volatile memory chip, after enabling the first non-volatile memory chip and the second non-volatile memory chip with the chip enable signal. When the controller performs a single channel access, the controller provides the access signal to one of the first and second non-volatile memory chips, and provides a non-access instruction to the other one, after enabling the first non-volatile memory chip and the second non-volatile memory chip with the chip enable signal.

Abstract: A block management method for managing a plurality of physical blocks is provided. The method includes grouping the physical blocks into a plurality of physical units, grouping a portion of the physical units into a data area and a spare area, configuring a plurality of logical units, and grouping the logical units into a plurality of logical unit groups and configuring another portion of the physical units as a plurality of global random physical units corresponding to the logical unit groups, wherein each of the global random physical units corresponds to one of the logical unit groups. The method further includes getting the physical units from the spare area as global random substitute physical units of the global random physical units. Accordingly, the method can store data in the global random physical units or the global random substitute physical units, thereby reducing the time for executing a host write command.

Abstract: A data writing method for a flash memory, and a flash memory controller and a flash memory storage apparatus using the same are provided. First, data is received from a host system. Next, the data is divided into at least one frame. Afterwards, an error checking and correcting (ECC) code corresponding to the frame is generated so as to form at least one ECC frame. Then, the ECC frame is divided into a plurality of frame segments. Finally, the frame segments are written into a flash memory chip according to a non-sequentially ranking order.