Methods and systems for protecting data from potential corruption by a crashed computer program
US6631480B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 10, 1999 |
| Grant date | Oct 7, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 10, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/1446
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention is directed toward creating backup copies of previously saved data before it is modified by a crashed computer program executing in a preemptive multitasking operating system environment. The invention is advantageous in that it protects against data loss and corruption caused by operating system calls issued by malfunctioning, crashed computer programs.A method in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of: (a) monitoring operating system calls made by a crashed program; (b) intercepting a selected group of operating system calls made by a crashed program before they are executed by an operating system; (c) logging a subset of the selected group of intercepted operating system calls in a memory; (d) creating backup copies of data potentially modified by a further subset of the selected group of intercepted operating system calls; and (e) passing intercepted operating system calls to an operating system.In one embodiment of the present invention, backup copies of data are stored in backup files extracted from data appended to an undo file. In another embodiment of the present invention, backup copies of data are stored directly in backup files.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.