Patent ID: 6711676
Filing Date: 2004-03-23
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A method of providing upgrade information for a client computer having a motherboard, a memory, and a serial presence detect chip, comprising the steps:detecting a current hardware configuration of the client computer; establishing a target hardware configuration for the client computer; comparing the current hardware configuration to the target hardware configuration to identify an upgrade package for upgrading the client computer to the target hardware configuration; and recommending use of the upgrade package for upgrading the client computer; wherein the detection of the current hardware configuration of the client computer includes performing at least one task from the group of tasks consisting of (a, b, c) to gather information associated with the client computer, in which: task â€œaâ€  is accessing serial presence detect data from a serial presence detect chip of the client computer; task â€œbâ€  is accessing motherboard parameters from the memory of the client computer, said parameters comprising a manufacturer ID and a product ID of the motherboard; and task â€œcâ€  is determining a write-protect status of the serial presence detect chip of the client computer; and cross-referencing the information gathered with product specifications in a database; wherein the identification of the upgrade package is based at least partially upon the information gathered.