Powerquest Corporation

The University of Texas System

Roy M Jenevein

Val Arbon

Andy Vincent Lawrence

Derrick S Shadel

Heidi S Kramer

The invention provides systems and methods for storing and recovering images in a computer partition, and more particularly to tools and techniques for placing and extracting images to and from the same partition that is imaged. Both a factory image and a user-updateable image may be stored on the same partition. Copies of a portion of the partition data and/or the system data for the imaged partition can be stored at a specified location within the imaged partition, in a separate partition, or on a removable recovery medium, thereby allowing images to be recovered after disruption of the imaged partition's system data. The image may be stored contiguously or non-contiguously. The image may also be stored as a system file or as an image container which comprises one or more than one image file. To speed restoration time and to assist recovery, the image may be stored at or near the end of the partition. Familiar or novel image formats may be used. By storing one or more partition images in the imaged partition, the invention eliminates consumer confusion between bootable partition size and disk size, without sacrificing the advantages provided by imaging.

Storing a computer disk image within an imaged partition

An automated method and apparatus for identifying and copying lost files from a mass data storage device of a computer when file system information (as opposed to the actual data files) stored on the mass data storage device has been corrupted or destroyed. The mass data storage device is scanned on a sector-by-sector basis in order to attempt to identify sectors containing file system data structures and file attributes. Identification is made using data signature and/or pattern matching filters. The location of, and any valid information found in, such sectors is used then to derive information useful in locating files to be copied to another storage device. For example, in a FAT, NTFS or other cluster-oriented file system, if information on the number of sectors per cluster (SPB) is not available from a boot directory, it and a cluster base (the starting sector of cluster 0) are calculated using the physical location of the beginning sectors of the directories or folders. When a starting cluster is known from a directory entry, but not additional file allocation information, a cluster chain may be reconstructed utilizing one or more of several disclosed methods.

Method and apparatus for recovering data from damaged or corrupted file storage media

An improved wafer-wide optical bus interconnect is described for use in wafer-scale integration systems. By optically coupling sub-systems on the wafer, faults normally found in electrically based interconnection topologies are avoided. The invention incorporates a planar waveguide which couples emitters and detectors distributed throughout the wafer. The waveguide transmits an omnidirectional emission from an optical diode to all detectors on the wafer. The only electrical connection between sub-systems on the wafer may be for power.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Roy M Jenevein