System and method for providing computer upgrade information
First Claim
1. A method of determining upgrade information for a client computer, comprising:
- establishing a communication link between the client computer and a server computer;
executing an upgrade program to detect a presence or absence of one or more of a plurality of individually specified hardware components of a current hardware configuration of the client computer;
comparing at least a portion of the detected hardware configuration with one or more product specifications;
identifying an upgrade package for the client computer at least in part in response to the comparing the at least the portion of the detected hardware configuration with the product specification;
determining a recommended upgrade package for the client computer based at least in part on a comparison of the detected hardware configuration to a target hardware configuration; and
transmitting one or more signals indicative of the recommended upgrade package from the client computer to the server computer without communicating to the server computer the current hardware configuration.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed which provide upgrade information for at least one computer. The method includes the steps of executing an upgrade program stored in a computer-readable medium on the at least one computer, detecting a current hardware configuration of the at least one computer, cross-referencing at least some of the information gathered during the detecting step with product specifications contained in a database, identifying an upgrade package for upgrading the at least one computer, wherein the identification of the upgrade package is based at least partially upon the information gathered during the detecting step and cross-referenced with the product specification database, and recommending use of the upgrade package for upgrading the at least one computer. The system and method may be used to provide upgrade information on a plurality of networked computers.
36 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of determining upgrade information for a client computer, comprising:
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establishing a communication link between the client computer and a server computer; executing an upgrade program to detect a presence or absence of one or more of a plurality of individually specified hardware components of a current hardware configuration of the client computer; comparing at least a portion of the detected hardware configuration with one or more product specifications; identifying an upgrade package for the client computer at least in part in response to the comparing the at least the portion of the detected hardware configuration with the product specification; determining a recommended upgrade package for the client computer based at least in part on a comparison of the detected hardware configuration to a target hardware configuration; and transmitting one or more signals indicative of the recommended upgrade package from the client computer to the server computer without communicating to the server computer the current hardware configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An article, comprising:
- a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a processor of a client computer to;
establish a communication link between the client computer and a server computer; detect a presence or absence of one or more of a plurality of individually specified hardware components of a current hardware configuration of the client computer; compare at least a portion of the detected hardware configuration with one or more product specifications; identify an upgrade package for the client computer at least in part in response to the comparing the at least the portion of the detected hardware configuration with the product specification; determine a recommended upgrade package for the client computer at least in part by comparing the detected hardware configuration to a target hardware configuration; and initiate transmission of a message comprising the recommended upgrade package from the client computer to the server computer without communicating to the server computer the current hardware configuration. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
- a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a processor of a client computer to;
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15. An apparatus, comprising:
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means for establishing a communication link between a client computer and a server computer; means for executing an upgrade program to detect a presence or absence of one or more of a plurality of individually specified hardware components of a current hardware configuration of the client computer; means for comparing at least a portion of the detected hardware configuration with one or more product specifications; means for identifying an upgrade package for the client computer at least in part in response to the comparing the at least the portion of the detected hardware configuration with the product specification; means for determining a recommended upgrade package for the client computer based at least in part on a comparison of the detected hardware configuration to a target hardware configuration; and means for transmitting one or more signals indicative of the recommended upgrade package from the client computer to the server computer without communicating to the server computer the current hardware configuration. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification