Method and system for installing software
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsChee Koon Lim, Choon Yin Teo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is a system and method for facilitating the installation of third party software programs according to the user's preferred configuration. While it permits the normal user inputs such as keying in of personal information and license keys, it masks the actual installation process and reactivates automatically the next installation once previous one is completed. Not only does it allow the user to configure the system of his choice, but it permits the manufacturer to customize the configuration effectively on a mass production and product to order system.
Claims12
A method for fulfilling an order for a personal computer (PC) that is preloaded with a functional operating system, said PC being configured to order (CTO) and delivered with requested software applications from third-party vendors, said software being loaded but not installed at the time of delivery, and said method comprising:
- loading the files required to install the third-party software applications onto the PC;
- and
- loading configuration information onto the PC, said configuration information indicating third-party software applications to be installed;
- generating an initialization file that indicates the status of the third-party software installation;
- and
- editing the initialization file to update the progress of the third-party software installation,
- wherein upon the first boot up of the PC after delivery, the configuration information is examined and each of the third-party software applications are sequentially installed and, if required, the PC is rebooted after each third-party software application is installed, and
- wherein if no initialization file exists when the computer is booted, examining the configuration information and creating the initialization file indicating the total number of third-party software applications to be installed and the sequence in which they are to be installed.
A method for installing configured to order (CTO) software applications onto a computer system comprising:
- loading any installation files required to install the software applications onto the PC;
- loading a configuration file onto the PC for each software application to be installed;
- reading the configuration file for each software application;
- compiling an installation list of software applications identified by the configuration files;
- and
- placing the installation list in an initialization file that further comprises counters for tracking the progress of the software application installations,
- wherein the configuration files are read and the initialization file is generated upon the first boot of the computer system by the end user,
- wherein said configuration file indicates the name of the software application to be installed and the location of the installation files associated with that software, and
- wherein said method permits the installation of the software applications sequentially and automatically while permitting the user to input personal information and license information and further allowing the system to reboot between software application installs.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.