Network-based software recovery for computing devices

• US 20020099975A1
• Filed: 01/22/2001
• Published: 07/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Evans, Tracy J., Whiteside, Derek J.
• Granted Patent: US 6,829,732 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/63 Image based installation; Cloning; Build to order

Abstract

This abstract has been included pursuant to Section 1.72(b) of the Rules for Patent and Trademark Cases, Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This abstract is intended only to enable the Patent and Trademark Office and the public to generally determine the nature of the technical disclosure. This abstract is not intended to aid in the interpretation of the scope of any claim.

A computing device manufactured in a build to customer order (BTCO) environment includes an internal disk drive which is loaded with a custom software package during manufacturing. When the user desires to reload the software placed on the internal disk drive during manufacturing, such as after the drive has been replaced or after a virus has degraded the data resident on the internal disk drive, the user can recover the previously installed software package by accessing a network server available on a network. In order to assemble the previously installed software package, an identifier is conveyed from the computing device to the network server. This enables the network server to ascertain the software package, assemble the package, and transmit the package to the particular computing device.

Claims

1. In a computing device, a method for receiving recovery software from a network, comprising:

transmitting an identifier to a network location, said identifier being an attribute of a particular computing device; and

receiving recovery software from said network location, said recovery software including a substantial portion of a software package installed during manufacturing of said computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving said identifier from an input device.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said input device is a keyboard.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said identifier is read from a read-only memory.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said identifier is a serial number of said computing device.

6. The method claim 1 wherein said network location is a web site available by way of an interface to the World Wide Web.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said substantial portion of said software package includes customized software which is not part of a standard software package installed on a model of computing device.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving software which includes an updated version of said software package installed during manufacturing of said computing device.

9. In a network server, a method for conveying a software package to a computing device, comprising:

receiving, by way of a network interface, an identifier which originated from said computing device; and

determining, based on said identifier, a software package previously installed on said computing device during manufacturing of said computing device.

10. The network server of claim 9 wherein said network interface is an interface to the World Wide Web.

11. The network server of claim 9 wherein said identifier is a serial number of said computing device.

12. The network server of claim 9 wherein said substantial portion of said software package includes customized software which is not part of a standard software package installed on a model of computing device.

13. The network server claim 9 further comprising assembling said software package previously installed on said computing device during said manufacturing.

14. The network server of claim 13 further comprising transmitting said software package previously installed on said computing device to said computing device by way of said network interface.

15. The network server of claim 9 further comprising determining if an updated version of a certain portion of said software package previously installed on said computing device is available.

16. The network server of claim 15 further comprising transmitting said updated version of said certain portion of said software package to said computing device.

17. The network server of claim 9 further comprising receiving software which includes an updated version of said software package installed during manufacturing of said computing device.

20. The computing device of claim 19 further comprising an input device for receiving said identifier from a user of said computing device.

21. The computing device of claim 20 wherein said input device is a keyboard.

22. The computing device of claim 20 further comprising a disk drive for storing said identifier.

23. The computing device of claim 19 wherein said identifier is a serial number of said computing device.

24. The computing device of claim 19 wherein said transmitter transmits said network location to a web site available by way of the World Wide Web.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein said network is the Internet and wherein said network location is available on the World Wide Web.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein said substantial portion of said software package includes customized software which is not part of a standard software package installed on a model of computing device.

28. The method of claim 25 further comprising receiving software which includes an updated version of said software package installed during manufacturing of said computing device.

18. A program storage device readable by a computing device, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computing device to perform method steps for directing said computing device to access a network location for the purpose of receiving a software package previously installed on said computing device during manufacturing of said computing device, said method comprising:

said computing device executing a computer program used for accessing information at said network location;

by way of said computer program, said computing device transmitting an identifier to said network location, said identifier being descriptive of said software package; and

said computing device receiving said software package from said network location.

19. A computing device adapted to receive recovery software from a network, comprising:

a transmitter for transmitting an identifier to a network location, said identifier being used to identify a single computing device; and

a receiver for receiving recovery software from said network location, said recovery software including a substantial portion of a software package installed during manufacturing of said single computing device.

25. A method for conducting software recovery of a computing device by way of a network, the method being encoded into electrical signals which are directed through computer resources managed by a service provider, wherein said resources lie between said computing device and a server, said method comprising:

conveying an identifier toward a network location, said identifier being an attribute of a particular computing device; and

conveying recovery software from a direction of said network location, said recovery software including a substantial portion of a software package installed during manufacturing of said computing device.

29. A method of conducting software recovery of a computing device, the method comprising:

said computing device transmitting an identifier to a network location, said identifier being an attribute of a particular computing device;

receiving, by way of a server positioned at said network location, an identifier which originated at said computing device;

said server determining, based on said identifier, a software package previously installed on said computing device during manufacturing of said computing device; and

said computing device receiving recovery software from said network location, said recovery software including a substantial portion of a software package installed during manufacturing of said computing device.