Patent ID: 7681205

Claim:
A driver managing method executing in a device using a driver managing apparatus for managing a driver, the method comprising: monitoring a change in a network environment of the device including a presence or absence of a connection to a network; detecting an output device connected to the network when the connection of the device to the network has been confirmed, and then installing a driver corresponding to the output device, determining, upon starting connect processing, whether connection to the network was carried out in the past based on whether a network address of the network is stored in a driver-information storing unit, and executing restore and install processing if the determination is made that there was connection to the network carried out in the past; wherein when a disconnection of the device from the network has been detected by the monitoring, driver information for restoring the driver to an installed state, the driver information corresponding to the output device, is saved in immediate response to the disconnection, and the driver is subsequently uninstalled.