Method of updating firmware

• US 20050251799A1
• Filed: 05/05/2005
• Published: 11/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lite-On It Corporation (Lite-On Technology Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lite-On It Corporation (Lite-On Technology Corporation)
• Inventors: Wang, Chun-Cheng
• Application Number:
  US11/121,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20050251799A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A method of updating firmware, for updating a plurality of electronic devices is disclosed. The method includes: first, providing a firmware update files having firmware program codes, each firmware program code respectively corresponds to one of the electronic devices; then, decompressing a part of the firmware update file, and writing into the corresponding electronic device; then, checking whether a writing error occurs; and, checking whether the update is complete; if not, repeat the step of writing.

Claims

1. A method of updating firmware, for updating a plurality of electronic devices, the method comprising:

(a) providing a firmware update file, the firmware update file having a plurality of firmware program codes, each of the firmware program codes respectively corresponding to one of the electronic devices;

(b) decompressing a part of the firmware update file, for writing into the corresponding electronic device to perform an update;

(c) checking whether a writing error occurs; and

(d) checking whether the update is complete, if not, returning to step b.

2. The method of updating firmware according to claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises reading from the corresponding electronic device the part of the firmware update file written during step (b), for checking whether the writing error occurs.

3. The method of updating firmware according to claim 1, wherein the part of the firmware update file is being re-rewritten into the corresponding electronic device if the writing error occurs during step (c).

4. The method of updating firmware according to claim 1, wherein each of the firmware program codes includes a model number parameter, whereby the correspondence between the electronic devices and the firmware program codes can be known according to the model number parameters.

5. The method of updating firmware according to claim 1, wherein each of the firmware program codes includes a version parameter, whereby the firmware program code, based on the version number parameter, can be determined whether to be newer than a firmware program code already existed in the corresponding electronic device.

6. The method of updating firmware according to claim 1, wherein the firmware update file is generated by:

providing the firmware program codes;

entering a version parameter and a model number parameter corresponding to each of the firmware program codes, and performing error checking;

compressing the firmware program codes; and

generating the firmware update file according to the compressed firmware program codes.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the firmware update file further comprises a firmware update execution file.

8. The method of updating firmware according to claim 1 being used in a DOS operating system.

9. A method of updating firmware, for updating a plurality of electronic devices, the method comprising:

providing a firmware update file, the firmware update file having a plurality of firmware program codes, each of the firmware program codes respectively corresponding to one of the electronic devices;

by using a multi-thread procedure, simultaneously writing each of the firmware program codes into the corresponding electronic device; and

checking whether a writing error occur.

10. The method of updating firmware according to claim 9, wherein the checking step comprises reading the part of the firmware update file from the corresponding electronic device written during the writing step, for checking whether the writing error occurs.

11. The method of updating firmware according to claim 9, wherein the part of the firmware update file is being re-rewritten into the corresponding electronic device if the writing error occurs during the checking step.

12. The method of updating firmware according to claim 9, wherein each of the firmware program codes comprises a model number parameter, whereby the correspondence between the electronic devices and the firmware program codes can be known according to the model number parameters.

13. The method of updating firmware according to claim 9, wherein each of the firmware program codes comprises a version parameter, whereby according to the version number parameters, the firmware program codes can be determined whether to be newer than the firmware program codes within the corresponding electronic devices

14. The method of updating firmware according to claim 9, wherein the firmware update file is generated by:

providing the firmware program codes;

entering a version parameter and a model number parameter to each of the corresponding firmware program codes, and performing error checking; and

generating the firmware update file according to the firmware program codes.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the firmware update file further comprises a firmware update execution file.

16. The method of updating firmware according to claim 9 being used in a Windows operating system.

17. A method of generating a firmware update file, comprising:

providing a plurality of firmware program codes;

entering a version parameter and a model number parameter to each of the corresponding firmware program codes, and performing error checking; and

determining whether to compress the firmware program codes and generating the firmware update file according to the compressed firmware program codes.

18. The method of generating the firmware update file according to claim 17, wherein the step of determining of whether to compress the firmware program codes depends on an operating system the update file is applied to.

19. The method of generating the firmware update file according to claim 18, wherein the firmware program codes are not compressed if the operating system is the Windows operating system.

20. The method of generating the firmware update file according to claim 18, wherein the firmware program codes are being compressed if the operating system is the DOS operating system.