DEVICE SETTINGS RESTORE POINT

• US 20090158295A1
• Filed: 12/17/2007
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Burg, David, Sadovsky, Vlad
• Granted Patent: US 8,352,784 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/108
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1438 Restarting or rejuvenating
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application

Abstract

A method and a device may be provided for saving and restoring one or more settings associated with the device. The one or more settings may be saved and changed before performing a task. After completion of the task, or after a determined failure of the task to complete, the one or more settings may be restored. Communications may be exchanged between a host and the device to create a restore point for saving the one or more settings, to change any of the one or more settings before performing the task, and to restore the one or more settings after completion of the task, or after determining the failure of the task to complete. The device may create and store the one or more settings in a restore point in the device, or may send the one or more settings to the host for storing.

Claims

1. A machine-implemented method for a host to interact with a device, the machine-implemented method comprising:

sending at least one first communication from one of the host or a meta-host to the device to cause creation of a restore point for saving at least one setting associated with the device;

sending at least one second communication from the host to the device to change the at least one setting associated with the device;

sending at least one third communication from the meta-host to the device to restore the at least one setting of the device when the meta-host detects that the host communicating with the device terminated unexpectedly; and

sending the at least one third communication from the host to the device to restore the at least one setting of the device after the host terminates normally.

2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the sending of at least one first communication from a host to the device to cause creation of a restore point, further comprises:

sending a communication to the device to cause the device to create the restore point in a FLASH RAM associated with the device.

3. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one third communication includes a request for the device to restore the at least one setting from the restore point.

4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the host and the device are capable of changing the one or more settings associated with the device, and

communications among the meta-host, the device, and the host use a well-known protocol and a set of formats describing communication methods and individual or packaged settings.

5. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the at least one second communication and the at least one third communication include respective digital signatures,

the at least one setting remains unchanged when the digital signature included in the at least one second communication is invalid, and

the at least one setting is not restored when the digital signature included in the at least one third communication is invalid.

6. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the sending of at least one first communication from the host to the device to cause creation of a restore point, further comprises;

determining that the device is incapable of processing a request to create a restore point,

sending, by the host, at least one fourth communication to the device to obtain the at least one setting from the device, and

storing, by the host, the at least one setting in a storage device of a processing device on which the host resides; and

the machine-implemented method further comprises;

sending, from the host, at least one fifth communication, including the stored at least one setting, to the device for the device to restore the at least one setting.

7. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request from the device for storage, in response to the sending of the at least one first communication;

allocating the storage in response to receiving the request for the storage;

sending, from the host to the device, a confirmation that the storage is allocated;

receiving from the device, in response to the sending of the confirmation that the storage is allocated, the at least one setting;

storing the received at least one setting in the restore point in the storage;

receiving a request from the device for contents of the restore point; and

sending the contents of the restore point to the device, the device being arranged to restore the at least one setting from the contents of the restore point.

8. A device comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory connected to the at least one processor, the memory comprising;

instructions for facilitating creation of a restore point including at least one setting associated with the device, in response to receiving a request to create the restore point;

instructions for changing the at least one setting associated with the device, in response to receiving a request to change the at least one setting from a host; and

instructions for restoring the at least one setting from the restore point, in response to receiving a request from to restore the at least one setting.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions for facilitating creation of a restore point including at least one setting associated with the device, further comprise:

instructions for creating the restore point in a queue in a non-volatile storage component of the device and storing the at least one setting in the restore point.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions for facilitating creation of a restore point including at least one setting associated with the device, further comprise:

instructions for creating the restore point in a FLASH RAM component of the device and storing the at least one setting in the restore point.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein:

the instructions for facilitating creation of a restore point including at least one setting associated with the device, further comprise;

instructions for requesting storage from a processing device on which the host resides,

instructions for receiving a confirmation indicating that the storage is allocated, and

instructions for sending the at least one setting to the host for storing into the restore point created in the storage, in response to receiving the confirmation indicating that the storage is allocated; and

the instructions for restoring the at least one setting from the restore point, in response to receiving a request, further comprise;

instructions for requesting the processing device to provide the at least one setting stored in the storage,

instructions for receiving the at least one setting from the processing device in response to requesting the processing device to provide the at least one setting stored in the storage, and

instructions for restoring the at least one setting received from the processing device.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions for restoring the at least one setting from the restore point, further comprise:

instructions for verifying whether a requester of the restoring of the at least one setting from the restore point is authorized, and

instructions for restoring the at least one setting from the restore point only when the requester is verified as being authorized.

13. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions for restoring the at least one setting from the restore point, further comprise:

instructions for verifying whether a requester of the restoring of the at least one setting from the restore point is authorized by validating a digital signature included with the request to restore the at least one setting, and

instructions for restoring the at least one setting from the restore point only when the digital signature is verified to be valid.

14. A machine-implemented method for saving and restoring at least one setting associated with a device, the machine-implemented method comprising:

sending a first request, from a host to a device, to create a restore point for saving at least one setting associated with the device;

sending a second request, from the host to the device, to change the at least one setting associated with the device;

detecting an unexpected termination of an application communicating with the device; and

sending, in response to the detecting of the unexpected termination, a third request, from the host to the device, to restore the at least one setting from the restore point.

15. The machine-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

including a digital signature with the first request and the third request, wherein

communications between the device and the host use a well-known protocol and a set of formats describing communication methods and individual or packaged settings.

16. The machine-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

sending, by a server to device, a firmware upgrade to the device, the sending being performed by using the host as a pass-through proxy such that the firmware upgrade is not stored by the host, wherein

the at least one setting associated with the device includes at least a portion of firmware associated with the device before the firmware upgrade.

17. The machine-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

sending, by the host, a firmware upgrade to the device, wherein

the at least one setting associated with the device includes at least a portion of firmware associated with the device before the firmware upgrade.

18. The machine-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, at the host, a request for storage from the device in response to the sending of the first request;

allocating the storage on a processing device on which the host resides;

sending, to the device, a confirmation that the storage is allocated;

receiving, at the processing device, the at least one setting from the device; and

storing the at least one setting in the restore point in the allocated storage.

19. The machine-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, at the host, a request for the at least one setting stored in the restore point in allocated storage, in response to the sending of the third request; and

sending the at least one setting from the restore point to the device to restore the at least one setting, in response to the receiving, at the host, of the request for the at least one setting stored in the restore point in the allocated storage.

20. The machine-implemented method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining, at a processing device in which the host resides, that the device is incapable of processing the first request;

sending at least one communication to the device to request the device to send the at least one setting;

receiving the at least one setting from the device; and

storing the received at least one setting in a storage device of the processing device on which the host resides.