Patent Publication Number: US-9841934-B2

Title: Information processing apparatus, installation system, and installation method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-139815, filed Jul. 13, 2015. The contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an installation system, and a method of installation. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In order to cause a printer to print data on a personal computer (PC), there is a necessity to install a printer driver that performs conversion into a page description language (PDL) corresponding to the printer (such as Printer Control Language (PCL), PostScript, or Portable Document Format (PDF)). With a printer icon (a logical printer) indicating a printer controlled by the printer driver, print setting information at the time of printing of the printer can be associated, and the print settings can be used at the time of printing by the printer. In Windows (registered trademark), from a property screen displayed by an operation on the printer icon, the print settings of the printer driver associated with the printer icon can be edited, for example. 
     When printing is executed using a printer driver with a PDL that does not correspond to the printer, the printer cannot recognize print data, causing a print error. In normal cases, when a printer is purchased, a printer driver that performs conversion into a PDL corresponding to the printer is included in a recording medium (such as a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), and a print error caused by a mismatch between the PDL corresponding to the printer and the PDL of the printer driver does not occur. In contrast, when a user installs a printer driver distributed from a Web server, there is a necessity to select and download a printer driver with a PDL corresponding to the printer. 
     The printer may support a plurality of PDLs. In this case, the user can select a printer driver with any PDL out of the supported PDLs and install the printer driver. However, available functions for printing may differ for each printer driver that performs conversion into each PDL. The available functions for printing supported by the printer driver often depend on the type of the printer or the PDL. For this reason, focusing attention on the transfer (carry-over) of print settings, a printer driver that performs conversion into a different PDL is highly likely not to be able to be installed with the print settings transferred (carried over). In contrast, a printer driver that performs conversion into the same PDL is highly likely to be able to be installed with the print settings transferred. In the case of Windows, for example, when a new printer replaces an old printer, the user normally deletes a printer icon of the old printer to delete a printer driver of the old printer and then installs a new printer driver. In this case, print setting information of the printer driver of the old printer is discarded. However, in order to avoid this situation, Windows includes a function that enables the new printer driver to be selected or installed with the print settings of the printer driver associated with the printer icon transferred by an operation by the user. 
     Although the foregoing describes manually selecting and installing the new printer driver, a system is developed that acquires a printer driver based on system information of a client and inherent information of a printing apparatus and transmits the printer driver together with installation information to the client, thereby enabling a printer driver optimum for an environment of the client to automatically be installed (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-086969). 
     However, although the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-086969 enables the client to install the optimum printer driver when replacing a printer, the system has a problem in that print settings of an existing printer driver cannot appropriately be transferred. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, an information processing apparatus includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a server, a detector configured to detect whether a first printer serving as a connection destination of an installed first driver has been changed to a second printer, an information acquirer configured to, when the detector detects that the first printer has been changed, acquire from the first driver first information that is information on the first driver and acquire from the second printer second information that is information on the second printer, an inquirer configured to transmit an inquiry request to request information on a driver for the second printer together with the first information and the second information to the server via the communication unit, and receive inquiry result information that is a response to the inquiry request and that includes the information on the driver for the second printer, a decider configured to determine a second driver to be installed from drivers indicated by the inquiry result information, a driver acquirer configured to acquire the second driver from the server via the communication unit, and an installer configured to carry over print settings of the first driver to install the second driver acquired by the driver acquirer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram of an example of an overall configuration of an installation system according to a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of an example of a hardware configuration of a client and a server; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer screen; 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram of an example of a screen of print settings of a printer driver; 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are diagrams briefly illustrating a printer driver installation operation in an information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a diagram of an example of a functional block configuration of the client according to the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram of an example of driver information; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of an example of connection destination information; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram of an example of a functional block configuration of the server of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  is a diagram of an example of a driver list of a specific device. 
         FIG. 11  is a flowchart of an example of a printer driver installation operation in the installation system according to the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a flowchart of an example of a printer driver installation operation in an installation system according to a modification of the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a diagram of an example of a functional block configuration of a client according to a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a flowchart of an example of an operation performed by a printer driver in a printer driver installation operation in an installation system according to a modification of the second embodiment; and 
         FIG. 15  is a flowchart of an example of an operation performed by an installer in the printer driver installation operation in the installation system according to the modification of the second embodiment. 
     
    
    
     The accompanying drawings are intended to depict exemplary embodiments of the present invention and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. Identical or similar reference numerals designate identical or similar components throughout the various drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In describing preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology may be employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this patent specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that have the same function, operate in a similar manner, and achieve a similar result. An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. 
     The following describes embodiments of a computer program, an information processing apparatus, an installation system, and a method of installation according to the present invention in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 15 . The present invention is not limited by the following embodiments, and components in the following embodiments include ones that those skilled in the art can easily think of, substantially the same ones, and ones of what is called the range of equivalence. Furthermore, various omissions, replacements, modifications, and combinations can be made to the components without departing from the essence of the following embodiments. 
     First Embodiment 
     Overall Configuration of Installation System 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram of an example of an overall configuration of an installation system according to a first embodiment. The following describes an outline of an overall configuration of this installation system  1  with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the installation system  1  is a system of what is called a point and print environment including clients  10   a  and  10   b , a printer  20 , and a server  30 . The clients  10   a  and  10   b  and the printer  20  are connected with each other in a communicable manner via a local area network (LAN), for example, and the LAN is communicable with the server  30  via a network  40 . Although the installation system  1  includes the two clients (the clients  10   a  and  10   b ) in  FIG. 1 , this is not limiting; one or three or more clients may be included. When any client in the clients  10   a  and  10   b  is indicated, or when they are collectively referred to, it or they will be referred to simply as a “client  10 ”. 
     The client  10  is an information processing apparatus, which is a general-purpose computer such as a PC, that transmits print data that requests printing to the printer  20  and causes the printer  20  to print the print data or receives a printer driver from the server  30  via the network  40 . 
     The printer  20  is an image forming apparatus that receives and prints out the print data converted into a PDL by the client  10 . The printer  20  may be an image forming apparatus including a printing function and may be a multifunction peripheral (MFP) including at least two functions out of a copying function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function, for example. Although the printer  20  directly receives the print data from the client  10  in the example in  FIG. 1 , the print data may be received via a print server. 
     The server  30  is a server apparatus that stores therein printer drivers corresponding to various printers and information on these printer drivers. 
     The network  40  is a network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet. The network  40  performs data communication on a communication protocol such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). 
     Hardware Configuration of Client and Server 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram of an example of a hardware configuration of a client and a server. The following describes a hardware configuration of the client  10  and the server  30  with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
     First, the following describes the hardware configuration of the client  10  with reference to  FIG. 2 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the client  10  includes a CPU  501 , a ROM  502 , a RAM  503 , an auxiliary storage device  504 , an I/F  505 , a display device  506 , an input apparatus  507 , and a network I/F  508 . 
     The CPU  501  is an apparatus that controls the operation of the entire client  10 . The ROM  502  is a non-volatile storage device that stores therein computer programs such as firmware for the client  10 . The RAM  503  is a volatile storage device used as a work area of the CPU  501 . 
     The auxiliary storage device  504  is a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) that stores therein an operating system (OS), application programs, and various kinds of data. The I/F  505  is an interface for connecting various apparatuses and a bus  509 . 
     The display device  506  is a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, or an organic electro-luminescence (EL) display that displays various kinds of information such as a cursor, menus, windows, letters, and images. The input apparatus  507  is an input apparatus such as a mouse or a keyboard for performing operations such as receiving input of letters, numbers, and the like, selecting various kinds of instructions, and moving the cursor. 
     The network I/F  508  is an interface for communicating data via the network  40 . 
     The CPU  501 , the ROM  502 , the RAM  503 , the auxiliary storage device  504 , the I/F  505 , and the network I/F  508  are connected with each other in a communicable manner with the bus  509  such as an address bus or a data bus. 
     The computer programs for the client  10  may be recorded and distributed in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a compact disc recordable (CD-R), a digital versatile disc (DVD), or a Blu-ray disc as an installable or executable file. 
     The server  30  has a hardware configuration similar to that of the client  10 , and a description thereof is omitted. However, the ROM  502  and the auxiliary storage device  504  store therein various kinds of computer programs for the server  30  for controlling the server  30 . Also in this case, the computer programs for the printer  20  may be recorded and distributed in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM as an installable or executable file. 
     Print Settings of Printer Driver 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating an example of a printer screen.  FIG. 4  is a diagram of an example of a screen of print settings of a printer driver. The following describes an outline of the print settings of the printer driver with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
     In a PC with Windows installed as an OS, when a printer driver for controlling a printer is installed, for example, a printer icon (a logical printer) indicating a printer to be controlled by the printer driver is indicated as in the printer screen illustrated in  FIG. 3 . A user performs an operation (e.g., a right click) on the printer icon with a mouse serving as the input apparatus  507 , whereby a property screen illustrated in  FIG. 4  is displayed.  FIG. 4  illustrates a screen of a “detailed settings” tab in particular in the property screen. The user can perform print settings of the printer driver in this property screen. 
     The print settings of the printer driver include “basic settings” that can be set in a “general” tab of the property screen of the printer driver and “default settings” present in the “detailed settings” (refer to  FIG. 4 ) tab. “Basic settings” in the print settings can be set for each user. When there are a plurality of user accounts in the same PC, “default settings” in the print settings are set commonly for all the users. In the specification of Windows, information on these print settings is stored in a specific path of a registry stored in a system drive included in the auxiliary storage device  504 . When “basic settings” in the print settings are once set by the user, printing is performed on the print settings of the set “basic settings” when printing is performed by an application after that. When printing is performed by an application without “basic settings” set by the user, printing is performed on the print settings of “default settings” as an alternative to “basic settings.” 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the “detailed settings” tab includes a “new driver” button. When the user presses this button, a printer driver (a currently used printer driver) associated with the printer icon selected to open the property screen can be changed to be set to another printer driver. When a printer driver having the same name as that of the currently used printer driver is selected by the pressing of the “new driver” button, for example, the printer driver is updated, and both “basic settings” and “default settings” in the print settings are transferred as the print settings of the updated printer driver. In contrast, a printer driver having a name different from that of the currently used printer driver is selected by the pressing of the “new driver” button, the currently used printer driver is changed to the selected printer driver, and “basic settings” are not transferred, although “default settings” in the print settings are transferred. Consequently, when the currently used printer driver is changed, the printer icon selected to open the property screen is associated with the changed printer driver. In other words, the printer icon associated with the replaced, old printer driver does not remain. With this operation, a situation can be prevented in which the user erroneously performs printing with the printer icon associated with the replaced, old printer driver to cause a print error. 
     Although operations are illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  in which when the setting of the printer driver is manually changed, the original printer icon is associated with the new printer driver, and the printer icon associated with the replaced, old printer driver does not remain, this is not limiting. In other words, a printer icon associated with the new printer driver the setting of which has been changed may be newly created, and the printer icon associated with the replaced, old printer driver may remain as it is and may manually be deleted by the user appropriately. An installation operation in which a printer driver is automatically installed in the installation system  1  according to the present embodiment described below will be described with the original printer icon associated with the new printer driver and with the printer icon associated with the replaced, old printer driver not remaining. 
     Outline of Installation Operation of Installation System 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are diagrams briefly illustrating a printer driver installation operation in an information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. The following describes an outline of a printer driver installation operation of the installation system  1  according to the present embodiment with reference to  FIGS. 5A and 5B . 
     First, the user is assumed to be currently using a device  21  and a device  23  supporting a plurality of PDLs as devices used from the client  10 . The device  21  is assumed to be a multifunction peripheral with a device name of “Device A”, an IP address of “192.168.1.10”, corresponding PDLs of “PCL”, “PC-FAX”, and “PostScript (PS)”, and corresponding types (functions) of “printer”, “fax”, and “scanner”. The device  23  is assumed to be a multifunction peripheral with a device name of “Device B”, an IP address of “192.168.1.11”, a corresponding PDL of “PCL”, and corresponding types (functions) of “printer” and “scanner”. As illustrated in  FIG. 5A , printer drivers  50  to  52  are assumed to be installed in the client  10  as printer drivers corresponding to the device  21 . A printer driver  53  is assumed to be installed in the client  10  as a printer driver corresponding to the device  23 . 
     The printer driver  50  is a driver with a printer driver name of “Printer Driver A_PCL”, a corresponding device of “Device A”, a PDL to be converted of “PCL”, and a type (function) of “printer”. The printer driver  51  is a driver with a printer driver name of “Printer Driver A_PC-Fax”, a corresponding device of “Device A”, a PDL to be converted of “PC-Fax”, and a type (function) of “fax”. The printer driver  52  is a driver with a printer driver name of “Printer Driver A_PS”, a corresponding device of “Device A”, a PDL to be converted of “PS”, and a type (function) of “printer”. The printer drive  53  is a driver with a printer driver name of “Printer Driver B_PCL”, a corresponding device of “Device B”, a PDL to be converted of “PCL”, and a type (function) of “printer”. 
     A printer icon associated with the printer driver  50  that controls the device  21  as a printer is assumed to be a printer icon  60 . A printer icon name of the printer icon  60  is assumed to be “Printer Driver A_PCL Icon”. A printer icon associated with the printer driver  51  that controls the device  21  as a fax is assumed to be a printer icon  61 . A printer icon name of the printer icon  61  is assumed to be “Printer Driver A_PC-Fax Icon”. A printer icon associated with the printer driver  52  that controls the device  21  as a printer and uses “USB001” as a universal serial bus (USB) port as a connection destination port with the device  21  is assumed to be a printer icon  62 . A printer icon name of the printer icon  62  is assumed to be “Printer Driver A_PS Icon”. A printer icon associated with the printer driver  53  that controls the device  23  as a printer is assumed to be a printer icon  63 . A printer icon name of the printer icon  63  is assumed to be “Printer Driver B_PCL Icon”. 
     The user is assumed to newly purchase a device  22  with a device name of “Device C” and replace the device  21  with the device  22  with the same IP address assigned. In this situation, a device as a new connection destination of the printer icons (the printer icons  60  to  62 ) associated with the device  21  (device name: “Device A”), that is, an associated device is the device  22  (device name: “Device C”). When there is compatibility between the printer driver of the device  21  and the printer driver of the device  22 , even when printing is executed on the device  22  with the printer driver of the device  21 , the printing succeeds, whereas when there is no compatibility therebetween, a print error occurs, and there is a necessity to install a printer driver for the device  22  in the client  10 . Even when there is compatibility therebetween, when the device  22  has a new function that is not included in the device  21 , the new function cannot be used by the printer driver of the device  21 . 
     The client  10  of the installation system  1  according to the present embodiment detects that a connection destination device of the printer driver has been changed and downloads a printer driver corresponding to the changed device  22  (device name: “Device C”) from the server  30  (refer to  FIG. 1 ) and installs the printer driver so as not to cause a print error. In this situation, the client  10  downloads and installs an appropriate printer driver based on the following information (1) to (3) and the like. 
     (1) Information on the corresponding device, the PDL, and the type (function) of the current printer driver 
     (2) Information on the corresponding PDL and the corresponding type (function) of the replaced device 
     (3) Information on architecture of the CPU (x86/x64) 
     Although the manner that the client  10  detects that the device as the connection destination of the printer driver has been changed is the detection by communication with the new device  22  having the same IP address as that of the replaced device  21  as illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , this is not limiting. The client  10  may detect that the device as the connection destination of the printer driver has been changed by the fact that the setting of the connection destination port of the currently used printer has been changed by the user, for example. Alternatively, the client  10  may detect that the device as the connection destination of the printer driver has been changed by the fact that a printer driver corresponding to the new device has been installed by the user when the new device is introduced. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 5B , when the device  21  is replaced with the device  22  with the same IP address set, if the device  22  corresponds to the same PDL as those of the existing printer drivers (the printer drivers  50  to  53 ), the client  10  installs the printer driver of the same PDL. In this case, it is highly likely that the print settings of the old printer driver will be transferred to the print settings of the new printer driver. In contrast, if the device  22  does not correspond to the same PDL as those of the existing printer drivers (the printer drivers  50  to  53 ), the client  10  installs a printer driver of the same type (function). 
     In the example in  FIG. 5B , the device  22  corresponds to “PCL” as the PDL of the printer driver  50 , and therefore the client  10  installs a printer driver  50   a  having the same PDL as the printer driver for the device  22 . In this case, the original printer icon  60  is newly associated with the printer driver  50   a  and the device  22  and is replaced as a printer icon  60   a . The device  22  corresponds to “PC-Fax” as the PDL of the printer driver  51 , and therefore the client  10  installs a printer driver  51   a  having the same PDL as the printer driver for the device  22 . In this case, the original printer icon  61  is newly associated with the printer driver  51   a  and the device  22  and is replaced as a printer icon  61   a . In contrast, the device  22  does not correspond to “PS” as the PDL of the printer driver  52 , and therefore the client  10  installs a printer driver  52   a  with “PCL” that is the same type (function) (“printer”), is a different PDL, and is a PDL corresponding to the device  22  as the printer driver for the device  22 . In this case, the original printer icon  62  is newly associated with the printer driver  52   a  and the device  22  and is replaced as a printer icon  62   a . Although the existing printer drivers  50  to  52  are left (remain installed) in  FIG. 5B , they may be deleted (uninstalled). 
     When installing a new printer driver, the client  10  transfers the print settings of the old printer driver as the print settings of the new printer driver if possible. 
     Although the printer driver  52  uses the USB port as the connection destination port of the device  21  in the example in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , when a LAN port for an IP address of “192.168.1.10”, not the USB port, is assumed to be used similarly to the printer driver  50 , for example, as a result of the replacement with the device  22 , both the printer drivers  50   a  and  52   a  have “PCL” as the PDL and the LAN port as the connection destination port. In this case, the client  10  may cause the display device  506  to display an inquiry to the user as to whether the printer icons  60   a  and  62   a  associated with the printer drivers  50   a  and  52   a , respectively, are created. 
     Functional Block Configuration of Client 
       FIG. 6  is a diagram of an example of a functional block configuration of the client according to the first embodiment.  FIG. 7  is a diagram of an example of driver information.  FIG. 8  is a diagram of an example of connection destination information. The following describes the operation and a functional block configuration of the client  10  of the installation system  1  with reference to  FIGS. 6 to 8 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the client  10  includes an OS  11  and an application  12  that are installed and further includes a communication unit  13 , a storage unit  14 , and a display unit  15 . 
     The OS  11  is basic software such as Windows and controls the operation of a computer program such as the application  12 . The OS  11  includes a printer driver  11   a . The printer driver  11   a  is software that controls the operation of the printer  20  connected to the client  10 . When the printer  20  corresponds to a plurality of PDLs as illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a plurality of printer drivers  11   a  may be provided. The printer driver  11   a  may control a plurality of printers  20 . The printer driver  11   a  can thus be present in a variety of manners in the client  10 , and the printer driver  11   a  to be replaced and a new printer driver that replaces the printer driver  11   a  in the following installation operation of the installation system  1  will be expressed simply as a “printer driver”. 
     The application  12  is a computer program that generates print data and instructs the printer  20  to execute printing out. The application  12  includes an installer  12   a.    
     The installer  12   a  is a computer program that installs a printer driver for controlling the operation of the printer  20  in the client  10  in order to cause the printer  20  to perform printing out by the application  12 . In this example, the installer  12   a  functions as a resident application. The installer  12   a  is executed by the CPU  501  illustrated in  FIG. 2 , thereby implementing a change detector  101  (a detector), an information acquiring unit  102 , a determining unit  103 , an inquiring unit  104 , a decider  105 , a verifying unit  106 , a driver acquiring unit  107 , an installing unit  108 , an uninstalling unit  109 , and a graphical user interface (GUI) display controller  110 . 
     The communication unit  13  is a functional unit that performs data communication with the printer  20  and the server  30 . The communication unit  13  is implemented by the network I/F  508  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The storage unit  14  is a functional unit that stores therein the OS  11  as software, the application  12 , and various kinds of data such as print data. The storage unit  14  is implemented by the auxiliary storage device  504  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The display unit  15  is a functional unit that displays GUIs and the like by causing the OS  11  and the application  12  to be executed. The display unit  15  is implemented by the display device  506  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The change detector  101  is a functional unit that detects that a printer as a connection destination of an existing printer driver (a printer controlled by the printer driver) has been changed. The installer  12   a  functions as the resident application as described above, and the change detector  101  always detects whether the printer has been changed. 
     The information acquiring unit  102  is a functional unit that, if a change of the printer (a first printer) as the connection destination of the existing printer driver (a first printer driver) is detected by the change detector  101 , acquires from the existing printer driver information (first information) as information on the printer driver and acquires from a newly replaced printer (a second printer) connection destination information (second information) as information on the printer. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the driver information includes pieces of information on “driver name”, “printer icon name”, “PDL”, “type (function)”, “architecture”, and “corresponding device name”, for example. As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the connection destination information includes pieces of information on “device name”, “corresponding PDL”, and “corresponding type (corresponding function)”, for example. 
     The determining unit  103  is a functional unit that determines whether “corresponding device name” of the driver information and “device name” of the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  102  are different from each other, and if they are different from each other, determines the existing printer driver for which the driver information has been acquired to be an object to be replaced. 
     The inquiring unit  104  is a functional unit that, if it is determined that the existing printer driver is the object to be replaced by the determining unit  103 , transmits an inquiry request that requests information on a printer driver corresponding to the changed printer together with the driver information and the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  102  to the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The inquiring unit  104  receives inquiry result information as a response to the inquiry request from the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The inquiry result information is a list of printer drivers corresponding to the changed printer, for example, and includes pieces of information on “driver name”, “PDL”, “type”, “architecture”, “compatibility of print settings”, and “driver acquisition uniform resource locator (URL)”. 
     The decider  105  is a functional unit that determines a printer driver (a second driver) to be installed from the printer drivers indicated by the inquiry result information received by the inquiring unit  104 . 
     The verifying unit  106  is a functional unit that verifies whether the printer driver determined by the decider  105  has been installed in the client  10 . 
     The driver acquiring unit  107  is a functional unit that, if it is verified that the printer driver determined by the decider  105  has not been installed by the verifying unit  106 , transmits a driver request that requests the printer driver to the server  30  via the communication unit  13  based on “driver acquisition URL” corresponding to the printer driver from the inquiry result information. The driver acquiring unit  107  acquires (downloads) the printer driver as a response to the driver request from the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . 
     The installing unit  108  is a functional unit that installs the printer driver acquired by the driver acquiring unit  107  in the client  10 . When the inquiry result information indicates that “compatibility of print settings” for the installed printer driver is present, the installing unit  108  transfers the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced (the above-described “default settings” and “basic settings”) as the print settings of the installed, new printer driver. Having compatibility of print settings refers to a case that satisfies the following Condition 1 and Condition 2 when the print settings of the print driver to be replaced are applied to the new printer driver, for example. 
     Condition 1: Causing no error when a print setting screen is opened or printing is executed by the transfer of the print settings. 
     Condition 2: When the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced and the print settings of the new printer driver have a common function, the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced about the common function being included in the print settings of the new printer driver. 
     The uninstalling unit  109  is a functional unit that uninstalls the old printer driver to be replaced after the new printer driver is installed by the installing unit  108 . The installer  12   a  does not necessarily include the uninstalling unit  109 . In other words, the old printer driver to be replaced is not necessarily uninstalled. However, including the uninstalling unit  109  can delete an unnecessary printer driver and can thereby avoid the capacity of the auxiliary storage device  504  being tight. 
     The GUI display controller  110  is a functional unit that causes the display unit  15  to display necessary information about the printer driver installation operation by the installer  12   a . When the printer driver to be installed in the client  10  has not been determined from the inquiry result information by the decider  105 , the GUI display controller  110  causes the display unit  15  to display a warning message indicating the fact, for example. In this case, the GUI display controller  110  causes the display unit  15  to display the fact that no appropriate printer driver is found, the possibility that a print error may occur if printing is executed like this, prompting the user to install an appropriate printer driver, or the like as the warning message, for example. 
     Concerning the change detector  101 , the information acquiring unit  102 , the determining unit  103 , the inquiring unit  104 , the decider  105 , the verifying unit  106 , the driver acquiring unit  107 , the installing unit  108 , the uninstalling unit  109 , and the GUI display controller  110 , their functions are conceptually illustrated, and such configurations are not limiting. A plurality of functional units illustrated as independent functional units in  FIG. 6  may be configured as one functional unit, for example. On the contrary, a function possessed by one functional unit in  FIG. 6  may be divided into a plurality of ones to be configured as a plurality of functional units. 
     Functional Block Configuration of Server 
       FIG. 9  is a diagram of an example of a functional block configuration of the server of the first embodiment.  FIG. 10  is a diagram of an example of a driver list of a specific device. The following describes a functional block configuration of the server  30  of the installation system  1  with reference to  FIGS. 9 and 10 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the server  30  includes a communication unit  301 , an inquiry processing unit  302  (a compatibility determining unit), a driver acquiring unit  303 , a driver object storage unit  304 , and a driver information storage unit  305 . 
     The communication unit  301  is a functional unit that performs data communication with the client  10 . The communication unit  301  is implemented by the network I/F  508  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     When receiving the inquiry request from the client  10  via the communication unit  301 , the inquiry processing unit  302  generates the inquiry result information as the list of the printer drivers corresponding to the printer changed by the client  10  based on the driver information and the connection destination information received together with the inquiry request and transmits the inquiry result information as a response to the inquiry request to the client  10  via the communication unit  301 . Specifically, the inquiry processing unit  302  first reads information on printer drivers that can be applied to the printer (the printer changed by the client  10 ) indicated by “device name” of the connection destination information from the driver information storage unit  305  and creates a list (a driver list) as illustrated in  FIG. 10 , for example. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the driver list includes pieces of information on “driver name” of each driver, “(corresponding) device name”, “type”, “PDL”, “version”, “architecture”, “driver acquisition URL”, and “compatibility of print settings”. Next, the inquiry processing unit  302  determines whether the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced in the client  10  can be transferred for each of the printer drivers listed in the driver list and writes a determination result in the column “compatibility of print settings” of the driver list as illustrated in  FIG. 10 . Furthermore, the inquiry processing unit  302  extracts printer drivers that match in all items of “device name”, “PDL”, and “type” indicated by the connection destination information and “architecture” indicated by the driver information from the driver list and generates inquiry result information that lists the extracted printer drivers. 
     The driver acquiring unit  303  is a functional unit that, if receiving the driver request from the client  10  via the communication unit  301 , acquires the printer driver indicated by the driver request from the driver object storage unit  304 . The driver acquiring unit  303  transmits the acquired printer driver as a response to the driver request to the client  10  via the communication unit  301 . 
     The driver object storage unit  304  is a functional unit that stores therein various kinds of drivers for controlling the devices. The driver object storage unit  304  is implemented by the auxiliary storage device  504  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The driver information storage unit  305  is a functional unit that stores therein information on the various kinds of drivers. The driver information storage unit  305  is implemented by the auxiliary storage device  504  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The inquiry processing unit  302  and the driver acquiring unit  303  are implemented by causing the CPU  501  to execute the computer programs stored in the auxiliary storage device  504  illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     Concerning the communication unit  301 , the inquiry processing unit  302 , the driver acquiring unit  303 , the driver object storage unit  304 , and the driver information storage unit  305 , their functions are conceptually illustrated, and such configurations are not limiting. A plurality of functional units illustrated as independent functional units in  FIG. 9  may be configured as one functional unit, for example. On the contrary, a function possessed by one functional unit in  FIG. 9  may be divided into a plurality of ones to be configured as a plurality of functional units. 
     Printer Driver Install Operation in Installation System 
       FIG. 11  is a flowchart of an example of a printer driver installation operation in the installation system according to the first embodiment. The following describes a procedure of a printer driver installation operation in the installation system  1  with reference to  FIG. 11 . 
     Step S 11   
     The change detector  101  of the installer  12   a  as a resident application always monitors whether the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver has been changed. The process then advances to Step S 12 . 
     Step S 12   
     The change detector  101  determines whether the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver is offline. If the printer is not offline (No at Step S 12 ), the process advances to Step S 13 ; if the printer is offline (Yes at Step S 12 ), the process returns to Step S 11 . 
     Step S 13   
     The change detector  101  detects whether the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver has been changed. If it is detected that the printer has been changed (Yes at Step S 13 ), the process advances to Step S 14 ; if the printer has not been changed (No at Step S 13 ), the process returns to Step S 11 . 
     Step S 14   
     If the change of the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver is detected by the change detector  101 , the information acquiring unit  102  acquires from the existing printer driver the driver information as information on the printer driver and acquires from the newly replaced new printer the connection destination information as information on the printer. The process then advances to Step S 15 . 
     Step S 15   
     The determining unit  103  determines whether “corresponding device name” of the driver information and “device name” of the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  102  are different from each other. If they are different from each other (Yes at Step S 15 ), the determining unit  103  determines the existing printer driver for which the driver information has been acquired to be the object to be replaced, and the process advances to Step S 16 . In contrast, if they are the same (No at Step S 15 ), the process advances to Step S 11 . 
     Step S 16   
     If it is determined that the existing printer driver is the object to be replaced by the determining unit  103 , the inquiring unit  104  transmits the inquiry request that requests the information on the printer driver corresponding to the changed printer together with the driver information and the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  102  to the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The inquiring unit  104  receives the inquiry result information as the response to the inquiry request from the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The process then advances to Step S 17 . 
     Step S 17   
     The decider  105  determines whether there are any printer drivers that match the printer driver to be replaced in all of “type”, “architecture”, and “PDL” of the driver information from the printer drivers indicated by the inquiry result information received by the inquiring unit  104 . If there are any matching printer drivers (Yes at Step S 17 ), the process advances to Step S 19 ; if there is no matching printer driver (No at Step S 17 ), the process advances to Step S 18 . 
     Step S 18   
     The decider  105  determines whether there are any printer drivers that match the printer driver to be replaced in all of “type” and “architecture” of the driver information from the printer drivers indicated by the inquiry result information received by the inquiring unit  104 . If there are any matching printer drivers (Yes at Step S 18 ), the process advances to Step S 19 ; if there is no matching printer driver (No at Step S 18 ), the process advances to Step S 24 . 
     Step S 19   
     If there is any matching printer driver at Step S 17  or S 18 , the decider  105  determines the printer driver to be the printer driver to be installed. The verifying unit  106  verifies whether the printer driver determined by the decider  105  has been installed (introduced) in (to) the client  10  and whether the printer driver determined by the decider  105  has been installed (introduced) but is newer in version than the printer driver to be replaced. If it is determined that the printer driver determined by the decider  105  has not been installed or has been installed but is newer in version than the printer driver to be replaced by the verifying unit  106 , the driver acquiring unit  107  transmits the driver request that requests the printer driver to the server  30  via the communication unit  13  based on “driver acquisition URL” corresponding to the printer driver determined by the decider  105  from the inquiry result information. The driver acquiring unit  107  acquires (downloads) the printer driver as the response to the driver request from the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The process then advances to Step S 20 . 
     Step S 20   
     The installing unit  108  determines whether the inquiry result information indicates that “compatibility of print settings” for the printer driver acquired by the driver acquiring unit  107  is present. If “compatibility of print settings” is “present” (Yes at Step S 20 ), the process advances to Step S 21 ; if “compatibility of print settings” is “absent” (No at Step S 20 ), the process advances to Step S 22 . 
     Step S 21   
     If the inquiry result information indicates that “compatibility of print settings” for the printer driver acquired by the driver acquiring unit  107  is present, the installing unit  108  installs the new printer driver with the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced (the above-described “basic settings” and “default settings”) transferred as the print settings of the acquired, new printer driver. In this case, the printer icon associated with the printer driver to be replaced is associated with a newly installed printer icon. The process then advances to Step S 23 . 
     Step S 22   
     If the inquiry result information indicates that “compatibility of print settings” for the printer driver acquired by the driver acquiring unit  107  is absent, the installing unit  108  installs the new printer driver without the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced (the above-described “basic settings” and “default settings”) transferred as the print settings of the acquired, new printer driver. In this case, the printer icon associated with the printer driver to be replaced is associated with a newly installed printer icon. The process then advances to Step S 23 . 
     Step S 23   
     After the new printer driver is installed by the installing unit  108 , if the old printer driver to be replaced is unnecessary, the uninstalling unit  109  uninstalls the old printer driver. The installation operation ends with the foregoing processing. 
     Step S 24   
     If the printer driver to be installed in the client  10  is not determined from the inquiry result information by the decider  105 , the GUI display controller  110  causes the display unit  15  to display a warning message indicating the fact, and the installation operation ends without any new printer driver installed in the client  10 . 
     The foregoing operations at Steps S 11  to S 24  execute the printer driver installation operation for the client  10  in the installation system  1 . 
     As described above, the client  10  according to the present embodiment detects the change of the printer connected to the existing printer driver, and if detecting it, transmits the inquiry request based on the driver information and the connection destination information to the server  30 , receives as the response thereto the inquiry result information as the list of printer drivers that indicates the printer driver corresponding to the changed printer and indicates the presence or absence of the compatibility of print settings, installs a printer driver to which the print settings of the existing driver can be transferred with high possibility from the inquiry result information, and transfers the print settings if possible. With this operation, the new printer driver can automatically be installed with the print settings of the existing printer driver appropriately transferred. 
     Although the foregoing describes the printer driver as the driver installed in the client  10  and the printer (including the multifunction peripheral) as the device connected to the client  10 , they are not limiting. In other words, the driver installed in the client  10  may be a scanner driver, a fax driver, or the like, and the connected device may be a scanner apparatus, a fax apparatus, or the like, in which the above-described operation can also be applied to operations to transfer operation settings of those devices. 
     Although the inquiry processing unit  302  reads the information on the printer drivers that can be applied to the printer (the printer changed by the client  10 ) indicated by “device name” of the connection destination information from the driver information storage unit  305  to create the driver list and determines whether the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced in the client  10  can be transferred for each of the printer drivers listed in the driver list, this is not limiting. In other words, the inquiring unit  104  of the client  10  may receive the inquiry result information in which the result of “compatibility of print settings” is not indicated from the server  30 , and the decider  105  (the compatibility determining unit) may determine whether the print settings of the printer driver to be replaced in the client  10  can be transferred for each of the printer drivers indicated by the inquiry result information and write a determination result in the column “compatibility of print settings” of the inquiry result information, for example. 
     Modification 
     In the installation operation illustrated in  FIG. 11 , the installer  12   a  functions as the resident application, and the change detector  101  always detects whether the printer has been changed. The present modification describes a case in which when the user manually starts up the installer  12   a , the change detector  101  detects whether the printer has been changed, and the installation operation is executed. 
       FIG. 12  is a flowchart of an example of a printer driver installation operation in an installation system according to a modification of the first embodiment. The following describes a procedure of a printer driver installation operation in the installation system  1  of the present modification with reference to  FIG. 12 . 
     Step S 31   
     The user starts up the installer  12   a  of the printer driver by an operation on the input apparatus  507 . The process then advances to Step S 32 . 
     Step S 32   
     If the user selects “replace the current printer driver to install a new printer driver” by an operation on the input apparatus  507  in accordance with an installation sequence of the installer  12   a  (Yes at Step S 32 ), the process advances to Step S 33 ; if it is not selected (No at Step S 32 ), the process advances to Step S 40 . 
     Step S 33   
     The user selects the printer icon associated with the existing printer driver to be replaced by an operation on the input apparatus  507  in accordance with the installation sequence of the installer  12   a . The process then advances to Step S 34 . 
     Step S 34   
     The change detector  101  determines whether the existing printer driver associated with the printer icon selected by the user supports a replacement function. If the existing printer driver supports the replacement function (Yes at Step S 34 ), the process advances to Step S 35 ; if the existing printer driver does not support the replacement function (No at Step S 34 ), the process advances to Step S 41 . 
     Step S 35   
     The user selects a device (printer) as a connection destination by an operation on the input apparatus  507  in accordance with the installation sequence of the installer  12   a . The process then advances to Step S 36 . 
     Step S 36   
     The change detector  101  determines whether the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver is offline. If the printer is not offline (No at Step S 36 ), the process advances to Step S 37 ; if the printer is offline (Yes at Step S 36 ), the process advances to Step S 41 . 
     Step S 37   
     If the change of the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver is detected by the change detector  101 , the information acquiring unit  102  acquires from the existing printer driver the driver information as information on the printer driver and acquires from the newly replaced new printer the connection destination information as information on the printer. The process then advances to Step S 38 . 
     Step S 38   
     The determining unit  103  determines whether “corresponding device name” of the driver information and “device name” of the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  102  are different from each other. If they are different from each other (Yes at Step S 38 ), the determining unit  103  determines the existing printer driver for which the driver information has been acquired to be the object to be replaced, and the process advances to Step S 39 . In contrast, if they are the same (No at Step S 38 ), the process advances to Step S 42 . 
     Step S 39   
     If it is determined that the existing printer driver is the object to be replaced by the determining unit  103 , the inquiring unit  104  transmits the inquiry request that requests the information on the printer driver corresponding to the changed printer together with the driver information and the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  102  to the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The inquiring unit  104  receives the inquiry result information as the response to the inquiry request from the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The process then advances to Step S 43 . 
     Step S 40   
     If the user does not select “replace the current printer driver to install a new printer driver” by the operation on the input apparatus  507  in accordance with the installation sequence of the installer  12   a , the client  10  executes an installation operation in accordance with an installation sequence of a normal new driver. The installation operation then ends. 
     Step S 41   
     The GUI display controller  110  causes the display unit  15  to display the inability of replacement of the existing printer driver associated with the printer icon selected by the user, and the installation operation ends without any new printer driver installed in the client  10 . 
     Step S 42   
     If it is determined that “corresponding device name” of the driver information and “device name” of the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  102  are the same by the determining unit  103 , the GUI display controller  110  causes the display unit  15  to display the unnecessity of replacement of the existing printer driver, and the installation operation ends without any new printer driver installed in the client  10 . 
     Steps S 43  to S 50   
     Operations at Steps S 43  to S 50  are similar to the operations at Steps S 17  to S 24 , respectively, illustrated in  FIG. 11 . 
     As described above, the installer  12   a  is started up with timing of the operation by the user without being functioned as a resident application. With this operation, the new printer driver can be installed with the print settings of the existing printer driver appropriately transferred with timing desired by the user. 
     Second Embodiment 
     The following describes an installation system according to a second embodiment mainly on points different from the installation system  1  according to the first embodiment. The first embodiment describes the operation in which the installer  12   a  is started up as the resident application, and the change detector  101  always detects whether the printer has been changed. The present embodiment describes an operation in which a change detector  111  (described below) corresponding to the change detector  101  is included in the printer driver  11   a , and when the client  10  uses a printer, that is, when the printer driver  11   a  is started up, the change detector  111  detects whether the printer has been changed, and if it is detected that the printer has been changed, requests the installer  12   a  to install a new printer driver. A configuration of the installation system according to the present embodiment is similar to the configuration of the installation system  1  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and a hardware configuration of a client and a server included in the installation system is similar to the hardware configuration illustrated in  FIG. 2 . A functional block configuration of the server is similar to the functional block configuration illustrated in  FIG. 9 . 
     Functional Block Configuration of Client 
       FIG. 13  is a diagram of an example of a functional block configuration of a client according to a second embodiment. The following describes the operation and functional block configuration of the client  10  of the installation system according to the present embodiment with reference to  FIG. 13 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the client  10  includes the OS  11  and the application  12  that are installed and further includes the communication unit  13 , the storage unit  14 , and the display unit  15 . 
     The OS  11  is basic software such as Windows and controls the operation of a computer program such as the application  12 . The OS  11  includes the printer driver  11   a.    
     The printer driver  11   a  is software that controls the operation of the printer  20  connected to the client  10 . The printer driver  11   a  includes a rendering  16   a  and a printer UI  16   b.    
     The rendering  16   a  converts print data delivered from an application (not limited to the application  12 ) of the client  10  into a specific PDL. The printer UI  16   b  is executed by the CPU  501  illustrated in  FIG. 2 , thereby implementing the change detector  111 , the information acquiring unit  112 , the determining unit  113 , a display controller  114 , a print setting unit  115 , and a notifying unit  116 . 
     The application  12  is a computer program that generates print data and instructs the printer  20  to execute printing out. The application  12  includes the installer  12   a.    
     The installer  12   a  is the computer program that installs the printer driver for controlling the operation of the printer  20  in the client  10  in order to cause the printer  20  to perform printing out by the application  12 . The installer  12   a  is executed by the CPU  501  illustrated in  FIG. 2 , thereby implementing a notification acquiring unit  117 , the inquiring unit  104 , the decider  105 , the verifying unit  106 , the driver acquiring unit  107 , the installing unit  108 , the uninstalling unit  109 , and the GUI display controller  110 . 
     Operations of the communication unit  13 , the storage unit  14 , and the display unit  15  are similar to the respective operations described in the first embodiment. 
     The change detector  111  is a functional unit that detects that a printer as a connection destination of an existing printer driver (a printer controlled by the printer driver) has been changed. The change detector  111  detects whether the printer has been changed when the printer driver  11   a  is started up as described above. 
     The information acquiring unit  112  is a functional unit that, if a change of the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver is detected by the change detector  111 , acquires from the existing printer driver information as information on the printer driver and acquires from a newly replaced printer connection destination information as information on the printer. 
     The determining unit  113  is a functional unit that determines whether “corresponding device name” of the driver information and “device name” of the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  112  are different from each other, and if they are different from each other, determines the existing printer driver for which the driver information has been acquired to be an object to be replaced. 
     The display controller  114  is a functional unit that causes the display unit  15  to display information necessary for the operation of the printer driver  11   a , a screen for print settings, or the like. 
     The print setting unit  115  is a functional unit that performs new settings, changes, or the like of print settings via the screen for print settings displayed on the display unit  15  by the display controller  114 . 
     The notifying unit  116  is a functional unit that, if it is determined that the existing printer driver is the object to be replaced by the determining unit  113 , notifies the installer  12   a  of a replacement request that requests replacement with the new printer driver together with the driver information and the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  112 . 
     The notification acquiring unit  117  is a functional unit that acquires the notification of the replacement request, the driver information, and the connection destination information from the notifying unit  116  of the printer driver  11   a.    
     The inquiring unit  104  is a functional unit that, when the notification of the replacement request is acquired by the notification acquiring unit  117 , transmits an inquiry request that requests information on a printer driver corresponding to the changed printer together with the driver information and the connection destination information to the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The inquiring unit  104  receives inquiry result information as a response to the inquiry request from the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . 
     Operations of the decider  105 , the verifying unit  106 , the driver acquiring unit  107 , the installing unit  108 , the uninstalling unit  109 , and the GUI display controller  110  are similar to the respective operations described in the first embodiment. 
     Concerning the change detector  111 , the information acquiring unit  112 , the determining unit  113 , the display controller  114 , the print setting unit  115 , and the notifying unit  116  of the printer driver  11   a  and the notification acquiring unit  117 , the inquiring unit  104 , the decider  105 , the verifying unit  106 , the driver acquiring unit  107 , the installing unit  108 , the uninstalling unit  109 , and the GUI display controller  110  of the installer  12   a , their functions are conceptually illustrated, and such configurations are not limiting. A plurality of functional units illustrated as independent functional units in  FIG. 13  may be configured as one functional unit, for example. On the contrary, a function possessed by one functional unit in  FIG. 13  may be divided into a plurality of ones to be configured as a plurality of functional units. 
     Printer Driver Installation Operation in Installation System 
       FIG. 14  is a flowchart of an example of an operation performed by a printer driver in a printer driver installation operation in an installation system according to a modification of the second embodiment.  FIG. 15  is a flowchart of an example of an operation performed by an installer in the printer driver installation operation in the installation system according to the modification of the second embodiment. The following describes a procedure of a printer driver installation operation in the installation system according to the present embodiment with reference to  FIGS. 14 and 15 . First, the following describes an operation of the printer driver  11   a  with reference to  FIG. 14 . 
     Step S 51   
     The user starts up (activates) the printer driver  11   a  by a startup operation of a print setting screen, an execution operation of a printing operation, or the like of the printer by an operation on the input apparatus  507 . The process then advances to Step S 52 . 
     Step S 52   
     The change detector  111  determines whether the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver is offline. If the printer is not offline (No at Step S 52 ), the process advances to Step S 53 ; if the printer is offline (Yes at Step S 52 ), the installation operation ends without any new printer driver installed in the client  10 . 
     Step S 53   
     The change detector  111  detects whether the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver has been changed. If it is detected that the printer has been changed (Yes at Step S 53 ), the process advances to Step S 54 ; if the printer has not been changed (No at Step S 53 ), the installation operation ends without any new printer driver installed in the client  10 . 
     Step S 54   
     If it is detected that the printer as the connection destination of the existing printer driver has been changed by the change detector  111 , the information acquiring unit  112  acquires from the existing printer driver the driver information as information on the printer driver and acquires from the newly replaced new printer the connection destination information as information on the printer. The process then advances to Step S 55 . 
     Step S 55   
     The determining unit  113  determines whether “corresponding device name” of the driver information and the “device name” of the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  112  are different from each other. If they are different from each other (Yes at Step S 55 ), the determining unit  103  determines the existing printer driver for which the driver information has been acquired to be the object to be replaced, and the process advances to Step S 56 . In contrast, if they are the same (No at Step S 55 ), the installation operation ends without any new printer driver installed in the client  10 . 
     Step S 56   
     If it is determined that the existing printer driver is the object to be replaced by the determining unit  113 , the notifying unit  116  notifies the installer  12   a  of the replacement request that requests replacement with the new printer driver together with the driver information and the connection destination information acquired by the information acquiring unit  112 . 
     The foregoing operations at Steps S 51  to S 56  execute the operation of the printer driver  11   a  in the installation operation in the installation system according to the present embodiment. Next, the following describes an operation of the installer  12   a  with reference to  FIG. 15 . 
     Step S 71   
     The notification acquiring unit  117  of the installer  12   a  waits until the acquisition of the notification of the replacement request, the driver information, and the connection destination information from the notifying unit  116  of the printer driver  11   a . The process then advances to Step S 72 . 
     Step S 72   
     If the notification of the replacement request is acquired from the notifying unit  116  (Yes at Step S 72 ), the notification acquiring unit  117  advances the process to Step S 73 ; if the notification of the replacement request is not acquired (No at Step S 72 ), the notification acquiring unit  117  returns the process to Step S 71  to wait until the acquisition of the replacement request. 
     Step S 73   
     If the notification of the replacement request is acquired by the notification acquiring unit  117 , the inquiring unit  104  transmits the inquiry request that requests the information on the printer driver corresponding to the changed printer together with the driver information and the connection destination information to the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The inquiring unit  104  receives the inquiry result information as a response to the inquiry request from the server  30  via the communication unit  13 . The process then advances to Step S 74 . 
     Steps S 74  to S 81   
     Operations at Steps S 74  to S 81  are the same as the operations at Steps S 17  to S 24 , respectively, illustrated in  FIG. 11 . 
     As described above, in the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment in which the installer  12   a  is started up as the resident application, and the change detector  101  always detects whether the printer has been changed, when the client  10  uses a printer, that is, when the printer driver  11   a  is started up, the change detector  111  detects whether the printer has been changed, and if it is detected that the printer has been changed, requests the installer  12   a  to install the new printer driver. With this operation, in addition to having the effect of the first embodiment, there is no need to keep the installer  12   a  started up as a resident application, and when the printer driver  11   a  is started up, the installation operation of the printer driver is executed, whereby a processing load of the client  10  can be reduced. 
     When at least one of the change detector  101 , the information acquiring unit  102 , the determining unit  103 , the inquiring unit  104 , the decider  105 , the verifying unit  106 , the driver acquiring unit  107 , the installing unit  108 , the uninstalling unit  109 , and the GUI display controller  110  of the installer  12   a  of the client  10  in the first embodiment is implemented by the execution of a computer program, the computer program may be embedded and provided in the ROM  502  illustrated in  FIG. 2  or the like. When at least one of the change detector  111 , the information acquiring unit  112 , the determining unit  113 , the display controller  114 , the print setting unit  115 , and the notifying unit  116  of the printer driver  11   a  of the client  10  and the notification acquiring unit  117 , the inquiring unit  104 , the decider  105 , the verifying unit  106 , the driver acquiring unit  107 , the installing unit  108 , the uninstalling unit  109 , and the GUI display controller  110  of the installer  12   a  in the second embodiment is implemented by the execution of a computer program, the computer program may be embedded and provided in the ROM  502  illustrated in  FIG. 2  or the like. When at least one of the inquiry processing unit  302  and the driver acquiring unit  303  of the server  30  in the embodiments is implemented by the execution of a computer program, the computer program may be embedded and provided in the ROM  502  illustrated in  FIG. 2  or the like. 
     The computer programs executed in the installation systems of the embodiments may be recorded and provided in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a compact disc recordable (CD-R), and a digital versatile disc (DVD), as an installable or executable file. The computer programs executed in the installation systems of the embodiments may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. The computer programs executed in the installation systems of the embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet. The computer programs executed in the installation systems of the embodiments have a module structure including at least one of the functional units. As actual hardware, the CPU  501  reads the computer programs from the ROM  502  and executes them, whereby the units are loaded onto a main memory and are generated. 
     The present invention can install a new printer driver with print settings of an existing printer driver appropriately transferred when a new printer is introduced. 
     The above-described embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the present invention. Thus, numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, at least one element of different illustrative and exemplary embodiments herein may be combined with each other or substituted for each other within the scope of this disclosure and appended claims. Further, features of components of the embodiments, such as the number, the position, and the shape are not limited the embodiments and thus may be preferably set. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure of the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. 
     The method steps, processes, or operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance or clearly identified through the context. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed. 
     Each of the functions of the described embodiments may be implemented by one or more processing circuits or circuitry. Processing circuitry includes a programmed processor, as a processor includes circuitry. A processing circuit also includes devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA) and conventional circuit components arranged to perform the recited functions.