This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 2008-198101, filed on Jul. 31, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The embodiments discussed herein are related to a software updating device for updating a software installed in an information processing device, and a computer-readable storage medium storing software updating program.
The information processing device represented by personal computer and the like is installed with OS, driver, and software such as application, and the information processing device performs various functions by executing such software on the information processing device. Such software is often updated for defect repair and the like after being installed in the information processing device.
In updating for defect repair and the like, the software manufacturing company and the like often distributes a updated version updated therefore, a updated version for modifying the already installed software to a structure same as the updated version software, and the like as an update file for free, and the user of the information processing device and the software can acquire the update file to use to update the software.
In order to appropriately update the software, an update program of automatically acquiring the update file from the Internet and updating the software is conventionally known, where the information processing device installed with such update program operates as a updating device.
In addition to such update, the user of the information processing device often acquires a new software and installs the same in the information processing device to cause the information processing device to perform a new function, and often changes the setting of the already installed software to the setting complying with the needs unique to the user.
The status of the software in the information processing device thus changes with elapse of time.
The change in status of the software in the information processing device is not only status change desirable to the user, and may be status change not desirable to the user such as infection to virus software, destroying of software by bug etc., and the like. A technique of saving the backup of the software at the time point the status is normal to prepare for such undesirable status change, and reproducing the normal status using such backup when an undesirable status change (abnormality) occurs is being widely used. A devisal for reducing the capacity of the backup data is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-297021.
However, it is often difficult to determine whether the status of the software is normal or abnormal at a certain time point, and normally, reproduction sometimes needs to be carried out from the state well before the current status. If the software that is the cause of abnormality cannot be specified, a recovery process of returning the information processing device to a purchased state in which only the basic software such as OS is installed is sometimes desirable.
If such recovery or reproduction going back to the past is performed, the update of OS performed from the reproduced past time point to the present and the like all return to the past, and thus the update needs to be again performed after the reproduction, which is cumbersome.
In view of such situation, the disclosure of the present invention aims to provide a software updating device that contributes to simplification of procedures of recovery and the like, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a software updating program.
According to a basic aspect of software updating device includes:
a software updating section that obtains through communication an update file for a software installed in an information processing device, and that updates the software using the update file;
an update file selecting section that selects the update file for a piece of software set in advance, the update file being used in update of the piece of software by the updating section, and that saves the selected update file in a predetermined storing place; and
a backup updating section that updates a backup file of the software stored in a predetermined backup place, by using the update file stored in the storing place.
According to a basic aspect of a computer-readable storage medium storing a software update program which is installed in an information processing device to cause the information processing device to update a software installed in the information processing device; the software update program causing the information processing device to operate as:
a software updating section that obtains through communication an update file for a software installed in an information processing device, and that updates the software using the update file;
an update file selecting section that selects the update file for a piece of software set in advance, the update file being used in update of the piece of software by the updating section, and that saves the selected update file in a predetermined storing place; and
a backup updating section that updates a backup file of the software stored in a predetermined backup place, by using the update file stored in the storing place.
According to such basic mode, a software to be reproduced in time of recovery such as OS and driver is set in advance in the update file selecting section, so that the backup is also updated the software set is updated. Thus, if the status of the software is “reproduced” using such backup, the status in which the update up to the current time point on the OS and the like is completed but extra software is not installed is “reproduced”, and thus procedures of recovery and the like are simplified.
The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
Specific embodiments of the software updating device and the software updating program storage medium, whose basic modes are described above, will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, when a recovery program corresponding to the specific embodiment of the software updating program is installed and executed in a personal computer 100 illustrated in
The personal computer 100 includes a main unit 101 including a CPU, a RAM, a hard disc and the like; a display 102 for performing a screen display on a display screen 102a according to an instruction from the main unit 101; a keyboard 103 for inputting an instruction of a user and character information to the computer; and a mouse 104 for specifying an arbitrary position on the display screen 102a to input an instruction corresponding to the position.
The main unit 101 incorporates a CD drive that is to be loaded in a freely retrievable manner with a CD medium such as CD-ROM 105 (not illustrated in
The hardware construction view illustrates a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a RAM 112, a HDD (hard disc drive) 113, an MO drive 114, a CD drive 115, and a communication board 116, which are mutually connected through a bus 110.
The HDD 113 incorporates a hard disc 120, which is one type of recording medium, and performs records and generates information on the hard disc 120.
The communication board 116 is connected to a connection line such as LAN (Local Area Network) and the like. The personal computer 100 illustrated in
Here, the CD-ROM 105 stores the recovery program corresponding to one specific embodiment for the basic mode of the software updating program. The CD-ROM 105 is loaded in the main unit 101, and the recovery program stored in the CD-ROM 105 is read by the CD drive 115 and installed in the hard disc 120 via the bus 110.
When the recovery program installed in the hard disc 120 is activated, the recovery program in the hard disc 120 is loaded to the RAM 112, and executed by the CPU 111. Thus, when the recovery program is activated and executed in such manner, the personal computer 100 operates as one specific embodiment of the software updating device. That is, in the example described herein, the personal computer 100 and one embodiment of the software updating program are combined to form one embodiment of the software updating device.
The CD-ROM 105 is illustrated as the storage medium for storing the recovery program, but the storage medium for storing the software updating program of the present disclosure is not limited to a CD-ROM, and may be other storage media such as optical disc, MO, flexible disc, and magnetic tape. The software updating program of the present disclosure may be provided to the computer system directly through the communication network without via the storage medium.
The recovery program 300 is stored in the CD-ROM 105. The recovery program 300 includes a recovery tool 310, an online update tool 320, and an offline update tool 330. Details will be hereinafter described, but the outline of each tool will be described below.
The recovery tool 310 is a tool for recovering an internal state of the computer, and creates a recovery image and to reproduces the internal state using the recovery image.
The online update tool 320 is a tool for updating the software in the computer online, and acquires the update module from the Internet and updates the software.
The offline update tool 330 is a tool for updating the recovery image used in the recovery using the update module.
Each function built in the personal computer by installing and executing the recovery program 300 in the personal computer 100 illustrated in
The personal computer 100 is prepared with a C drive used as a system folder and a D drive used as a file folder, where when the recovery program 300 illustrated in
The recovery tool 410, the online update tool 420, and the offline update tool 430 correspond to the recovery tool 310, the online update tool 320, and the offline update tool 330 constructing the recovery program 300 illustrated in
The C drive of the personal computer 100 is used as the system folder as described above and is installed with an OS 510 and a driver 520. The C drive is installed with an application 530 for causing the personal computer 100 to operate as a desired device (e.g., word processor), including the recovery tool 410 and the like. In
The outline of the functions of the recovery tool 410, the online update tool 420, and the offline update tool 430 will be described, and thereafter, the details on the function of the recovery device constructed by such tools will be described.
The recovery tool 410 is a tool for providing not only recovery to a complete initial state but also recovery to a state of the personal computer 100 at the desired time point for the user of the personal computer 100. The user instructs the recovery tool 410 to create a recovery image through a predetermined operation when the personal computer 100 is in a state to be reproduced by the subsequent recovery, and the recovery tool 410 creates one recovery image file 600 corresponding to the backup of the entire C drive in response to such instruction. More specifically, all of the OS S510, the driver 520, and the application 530 installed in the C drive at the time point of receiving the instruction are collected and compressed to one file to suppress the capacity of the backup. The user can cause the recovery tool 410 to create multiple recovery image files 600 corresponding to each time point by performing the operation at each of multiple time points when reproduction is desired. The recovery tool 410 saves the multiple recovery image files 600 in the D drive.
Such recovery file image 600 corresponds to one example of a backup file in the basic mode of the software updating device and the software updating program, and the D drive corresponds to one example of the backup place.
In the tabulated list 610 illustrated in
As described above, the time point when the recovery image file 600 is created is an arbitrary time point according to the operation of the user, but the recovery image file 600 is desirably created when the personal computer is in the initial state to a certain extent in view of the original role of the recovery. In the example illustrated in
The online update tool 420 is a tool for accessing the Internet 700, acquiring the update module for updating the OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530, and updating the OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530 with the update module. The update module may be a updated version of the OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530, but may be a program for partially correcting the OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530 to substantially obtain the updated version. The technique itself of acquiring the update module from the Internet 700 and the like, and updating the OS and the like is also known as a program attached to the OS, and thus further detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The online update module 430 is a tool for updating the recovery image 600 using the update module acquired by the online update tool 420.
The details of the updating function of the software by the recovery device will be described below with reference to the flowchart and the like.
The recovery device executes update of the OS according to the setting of the user such as a predetermined time of the day or start-up of the personal computer (step S101). More specifically, as illustrated in
The recovery device that has executed the update of the OS then saves the update module used for such update (step S102). More specifically, the online update tool 420 saves the update module in a saved file 440 in the C drive. The saved file 440 is a file hidden so that the user cannot access.
The recovery device then executes update on the driver similarly to the OS (step S103), and saves the update module (normally, a updated version of the driver) used in the update of the driver in the save file 440 illustrated in
The recovery device then executes the update on the application (step S105).
The online update tool 420 illustrated in
In saving the update module, the online update tool 420 selects and saves only the update module used in the update of a part of the software selected and set in advance by the user or the manufacturer of the OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530 installed in the personal computer 100. In the example of the flowchart illustrated in
The online update tool 420 corresponds to one example of the update file selecting section in the basic mode described above in terms of the selective saving of the update module.
The tabulated list 710 illustrated in
In the example illustrated in
After various software are updated and the update modules are saved in step S101 to step S105 of
If the presence of the recovery image file is confirmed in step S107 of
A confirmation screen 800 is a screen displayed on the display screen 102a of the display 102 illustrated in
A message 801 for confirming whether to update the recovery image to the latest is displayed on the confirmation screen 800, and an option button 802 for selecting the options to be hereinafter described, a permit button 803 for permitting the update to the latest, and a prohibit button 804 for prohibiting the update.
When the permit button 803 is selected by the operation of the user, the update of applying the most recent update module (i.e., same updating target with the largest ID number) of the update modules 700 saved in the saved file 440 for the most recent recovery image file (i.e., with the largest ID number) of the recovery image files 600 saved in the D drive is designated for the offline update tool 430. A specific method of updating will be hereinafter described.
When the prohibit button 804 is selected by the operation of the user, it is designated for the offline update tool 430 that any update module is no applied.
When the option button 802 is selected by the operation of the user, an image selection screen of selecting the recovery image file of the updating target is displayed.
A message 811 for prompting the selection of the updating target is illustrated on the image selection screen 810, and a selection field 812 for illustrating the recovery image file saved in the D drive in a list and accepting the selection of the recovery image file through the click operation, a confirm button 813 for confirming the recovery image file selected in the selection field 812 as the updating target, and a return button 814 for returning to the check screen illustrated in
When the confirm button is selected by an operation of the user, the recovery image file selected on the selection field 812 is designated as the updating target for the offline update module 430, and a module selection screen for selecting the update module used in updating the updating target is displayed. In the example illustrated in
A message 821 for prompting the selection of the module is illustrated on the module selection screen 820, and a selection field 822 for illustrating the update module saved in the saved file 440 in a list and accepting the selection of the update module through the click operation, a confirmation button 823 for determining the use of the update module selected in the selection field 822 for the update, and a return button 824 for returning to the image selection screen illustrated in
When the confirmation button 823 is selected by an operation of the user, it is designated to the offline update tool 430 that the update module selected in the selection field 822 is used for the update.
When the permit button 803 of
In step S110 of
The reproduction in the temporary folder 450 by the recovery tool 410 is no big different technically from the normal recovery, and is different from the normal recovery in the meaning of reproducing with the current OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530 remained as they are.
Next, the recovery device performs update using the update module for each software of the temporary folder in step S111 of
The update on the software in the temporary folder 450 is technically slightly different from the update on the current OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530 by the online update tool 420 described in
Thereafter, in step S112 of
The substantial update of the recovery image file 600 is realized through the cooperative operation of the recovery tool 410 and the offline update tool 430, and thus one example of the backup updating section in the basic mode is constructed by the recovery tool 410 and the offline update tool 430.
In a tabulated list 900 illustrated in
The image ID 910 in the tabulated list 900 corresponds to the image ID 620 illustrated in
The update ID 920 in the tabulated list 900 corresponds to the update ID 720 illustrated in
An application date 940 in the tabulated table 900 illustrates the date when the recovery image file is updated.
A stored region 950 in the tabulated list 900 corresponds to the stored region 750 illustrated in
Thus, when the current OS 510, the driver 520, and the application 530 are updated as illustrated in
The recovery image file updated in such manner is used by the recovery tool 410 illustrated in
According to such application mode, the time point in a state in which the reproduction by the recovery is desired can be selected through operation. The recovery tool 410 in the specific embodiment corresponds to one example of the backup creating section in the application mode.
According to such application mode, the capacity of the backup file can be suppressed. The recovery tool 410 in the specific embodiment corresponds to one example serving as both the reproducing section and the update saving section in the application mode, and the offline update tool 430 corresponds to one example of the reproducing and updating section in the application mode.
According to such application mode, the selective update to the backup file desired by a user becomes possible. The offline update tool 430 in the specific embodiment has a function corresponding to one example of the function of the backup updating section in the application mode, as described in
According to such application mode, the unnecessary update can be omitted with the operation of the user. The offline update tool 430 in the specific embodiment has a function corresponding to one example of the function of the backup updating section in the application mode, as described in
According to the software updating device and the storage medium storing the software update program of the present disclosure, the procedures of recovery and the like can be simplified.
All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiment(s) of the present invention(s) has(have) been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2008-198101 | Jul 2008 | JP | national |