Patent ID: 8094330

Claim:
An image forming apparatus to which applications can be added, the image forming apparatus comprising: a controller board including a central processing unit and configured to execute: an auxiliary storage interface part configured to interface with one or more auxiliary storage devices that store one or more applications, such that the one or more applications are installed on the one or more auxiliary storage devices; a part configured to display a setting screen that receives launch selection information from a display part of the image forming apparatus, and to store information input via the setting screen as launch selection information, the launch selection information at least identifying a selection of the auxiliary storage device from among a plurality of kinds of the one or more auxiliary storage devices; a determining part configured to access the launch selection information in order to select the one or more auxiliary storage devices from which the one or more applications should be launched from among the plurality of kinds of the auxiliary storage devices, and to review the operation status of the selected one or more auxiliary storage devices; and an application launch part configured to launch the one or more applications from a single auxiliary storage device when a validity of license keys respectively corresponding to the one or more applications are confirmed and when the determining part selects the single auxiliary storage device and the operation status of the single auxiliary storage device is normal, and to launch the applications from a plurality of auxiliary storage devices when a validity of license keys respectively corresponding to the applications are confirmed and when the determining part selects the plurality of auxiliary storage devices and the respective operation statuses of the plurality of auxiliary storage devices are normal, the one or more auxiliary storage devices being at least one of a storage inside the image forming apparatus, a recording medium removable from the image forming apparatus without dissembling any other portion of the image forming apparatus, and a computer connected to the image forming apparatus via a network.