Patent ID: 6778346
Filing Date: 2004-08-17
Classification: G06F,G11B

Abstract:
A recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:changer means for selecting and carrying a plurality of tape cassettes, said plurality of tape cassettes being arranged therein and accommodating magnetic tapes on which a plurality of recording areas on a predetermined unit are formed; tape drive means for loading the tape cassette carried by said changer means and for recording to and reproducing from the magnetic tape accommodated in said tape cassette; hard disk drive means at least having a buffer area for recording and reproducing data in said tape drive means and a cue data area for recording cue data as part of a file to be recorded to said magnetic tape; recording area managing means for managing each recording area of the magnetic tape accommodated in the tape cassette arranged in said changer means as a continuously formed area; recording state managing means for managing the recording states of the file in said magnetic tape, said buffer area, and said cue data area; file recording control means for controlling operation for recording the file in said magnetic tape and said buffer area; cue data recording control means for forming cue data of said file and for recording the formed data to the cue data area; and erasing control means for controlling operation for erasing said recorded file or said cue data of the file, wherein when the capacity of a free area in said buffer area is equal to or less than a predetermined amount after said file is stored in said buffer area upon recording said file, said file recording control means records the file stored in said buffer area to said magnetic tape, wherein when the capacity of a free area in said buffer area is equal to or less than a predetermined amount in a state where said file has been recorded to both the buffer area and the magnetic tape, said erasing control means erases from said buffer area, the file with the lowest priority based on the access history of the files whose data has been recorded in said buffer area, said cue data area, and said magnetic tape in the recording state managed by said recording state managing means.