Patent ID: 6834034
Filing Date: 2004-12-21
Classification: G11B

Abstract:
An optical disk data erasing apparatus for connecting to a host computer through an interface bus, said optical disk data erasing apparatus comprising:a judgement means for judging whether or not a loaded optical disk is a write-once optical disk; an instruction recognition means for recognizing an instruction from the host computer; a disk recording information acquisition means for acquiring disk recording information relating to a data-recorded area or a data-unrecorded area of the write-once optical disk based on a disk recording information acquisition instruction issued by the host computer; a determination means for determining whether or not data are recorded on the write-once optical disk based on the disk recording information obtained by said disk recording information acquisition means; and an erasing means for executing a data erasing process based on the instruction from said instruction recognition means wherein said erasing means overwrites the optical disk when said judgement means judges the optical disk to be the write-once optical disk and said determination means determines data are recorded on the write-once optical disk, by irradiating the optical disk with a laser beam having a same recording power as that at recording, thereby erasing data recorded in the data-recorded area of the optical disk, and when said determination means determines data are not recorded on the write-once optical disk, said determination means returns an error signal to the host computer to notify a user that the data erasing process has not been executed.