Automated network configuration of connected device
Contents
1. Next button 276 may initiate an automatic network setup process and then cause a Network Setup Progress screen such as screen 280 shown in FIG 9 to be displayed Selection of a Back button 278 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Welcome screen 212 of FIG 1B 0034 FIG 9 shows a Network Setup Progress screen 280 of the present invention While this screen 280 is displayed there is typically no user interaction possible other than selection of a Back button 284 Cancel button 283 or the like This screen 280 is displayed while the application attempts to set up the network after the com puter restarts with the Music Player Found screen of FIG 2 or the Manual Setup Checklist screen 186 of FIG 10 If the network is successfully set up the information handling system restarts and then the Music Player Found screen 220 of FIG 2 is displayed Alternatively if it is not possible to automatically set up the network a Manual Setup Checklist screen such as screen 286 shown in FIG 10 is displayed In this instance a Next button 282 may be disabled Selection of the Back button 284 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Network Not Set Up screen 274 of FIG 8 0035 In FIG 10 a Manual Setup Checklist screen 286 of the present invention is shown This screen 286 may be displayed if the application fails to a2. BUTTON 2 TURN THE CONTROL KNOB UNTIL CHECK FOR NEW MUSIC APPEARS THEN PRESS THE CONTROL KNOB TO BEGIN THE SEARCH DID YOUR MUSIC PLAYER DISPLAY SONG TITLES FROM YOUR SHARED MUSIC FOLDERS CANCEL 246 244 FIG 4 Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 4 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 CONFIRM THAT CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER MUSIC PLAYS BRANDING CONFIRM THAT YOUR MUSIC PLAYER IS ABLE TO PLAY ONE OF THE SHARED SONGS ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER DO THE FOLLOWING 1 PRESS Ca PLAY DID YOUR MUSIC PLAYER PLAY THE SONG S YES 2 ee NO 25 OTHER SONG FOLDERS DO YOU HAVE SONGS IN OTHER FOLDERS ON THIS COMPUTER THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER ae YES 26 NO 26 Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 5 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER BRANDING CONGRATULATIONS YOUR MUSIC PLAYER IS SUCCESSFULLY SET UP FINISHED NOTE PLACE ANY NEW SONGS INTO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING SHARED FOLDERS drive Audio ONLY SHARED FOLDERS ARE LISTED SEE BELOW NOW THAT YOUR MUSIC PLAYER IS PROPERLY SET UP INSTALL MUSICMATCH TO ORGANIZE RECORD AND PLAY MUSIC ON YOUR COMPUTER ALL SONGS AND PLAYLISTS AVAILABLE IN MUSICMATCH ON YOUR COMPUTER ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER TO INSTALL MUSICMATCH ON YOUR COMPUTER INSERT THE MUSICMATCH INSTALLATION CD IN YOUR COMPUTER S CD DRIVE AND FOLLOW THE ON SCREEN INSTRUCTIONS SEE YOUR USING YOU
3. The music player 104 may be attached either to speakers directly or to a stereo system 108 through standard wired or wireless connections 110 Alternatively the music player 104 may be attached to another information handling system Using network protocols known in the art such as Server Message Block SMB protocol and the like the music player 104 accesses the music files on the information handling system 102 through the network 106 and plays the files on the attached speakers or stereo system 108 In this way the music playing system 100 as shown in the embodi ment may provide interconnectivity among these various components such as the information handling system 102 stereo system 108 and music player 104 in order to share music and other files that were previously difficult to trans fer were configured in various formats and lacked the pervasiveness offered by the present system 100 0016 Referring generally now to FIGS 1A 22B FIGS 1B through 21 illustrate exemplary screens of a graphical user interface of the present invention and FIGS 22A amp 22B illustrate a flow diagram depicting a method for auto matically configuring the network 106 the device 104 connected to the network 106 and the information handling system 102 connected to the device 104 through the network 106 shown in FIG 1A In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention the configuration method is implemented as a set of instructions or softwar
4. handling system 102 in step 560 When the user selects the Finish button 271 on this screen 268 of FIG 7 the user interface closes and the software terminates execution 0064 In alternative embodiments it should be appreci ated that the software may provide a mechanism which allows the user to omit steps 310 470 in the configuration process directed to detecting the music player 104 on the network 106 and instead to proceed to steps 480 570 directed to searching for shared song folders containing music files on the information handling system 102 These music files may then be played on another information handling system connected to the network 106 rather than the music player 104 0065 Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity it should be recognized that elements thereof may be altered by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention In one embodiment the method disclosed may be imple mented as a set of instructions resident in memory of the information handling system 102 Until required by the information handling system 102 the set of instructions may be stored in another readable memory device for example in a hard disk drive or in a removable memory such as an optical disk for utilization in a CD ROM drive a floppy disk for utilization in a floppy disk drive a floppy optical disk for utilization in a floppy optical drive or a pers
5. radio button 260 selected may cause a Special Setup Instructions screen such as screen 358 shown in FIG 20 to be displayed Selection of a Back button 266 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Confirm That Music Plays screen 248 of FIG 5 0032 FIG 7 illustrates a Finished screen 268 of the present invention A list 270 indicates the song folders on the information handling system which are shared and thus accessible by the music player or other device over the network This list 270 may include the default song folders which have been found or created and then marked as shared during the configuration process This list 270 may further include other song folders which have been input by the user as containing music files and then also marked as shared during the configuration process Selection of a Finish button 271 may complete the configuration pro cess Selection of a Back button 272 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Other Song Folders screen 258 of FIG 6 0033 In FIG 8 a Network Not Set Up screen 274 of the present invention is shown This screen may be dis played if the user s network is not set up for example if TCP IP or networking is not configured or file sharing is not enabled on the information handling system Actions may then be taken and or suggested by to successfully set up the network For example selection of a
6. be described The method may be imple mented as a set of instructions or software for configuring the network 106 the device 104 and the information handling system 102 of the present invention For instance the set of instructions or software may reside on a removable medium such as a CD ROM DVD floppy disk and the like that is accessed by the information handling system 102 to configure the information handling system 102 the device 104 and the network 106 for operation in accordance with the set of instructions or software 0048 For example a removable medium may be inserted into the information handling system 102 FIG 1A At step 300 the Welcome screen 212 shown in FIG 1B is automatically displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 upon insertion of the removable medium When the user selects the Next button 214 on the Welcome screen 212 in FIG 1B the configuration soft ware on the information handling system 102 and or the music player 104 automatically checks whether the network 106 is enabled in step 310 This step includes confirming that TCP IP is configured and file sharing is enabled on the information handling system 102 0049 If TCP IP is not configured and or file sharing is not enabled the Network Not Set Up screen 274 shown in FIG 8 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 320 When the user selects the Next button 276 on this
7. components such as the infor mation handling system 102 stereo system 108 and music player 104 Therefore it should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the following examples may be rearranged additional features added and different routing methods employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention 0022 For example FIG 1B illustrates a welcome screen 212 that is displayed as a result of an information handling system executing configuration instructions or software stored on a removable medium Preferably after the con figuration has completed the configuration application may only be accessed again from the removable medium in order to ensure the integrity of the configuration On the welcome screen 212 selection of a Next button 214 may cause an application of the present invention to determine if a net work is enabled If the network is enabled a Music Player Found screen such as screen 220 shown in FIG 2 may be displayed Alternatively if the network is not enabled a Network Not Set Up screen such as screen 274 shown in FIG 8 may be displayed On the welcome screen 212 selection of a Cancel button 216 may cause a Confirm Cancel screen such as screen 364 shown in FIG 21 to be displayed Further a Back button 218 may be disabled 0023 In FIG 2 a Music Player Found screen is shown This screen 220 may indicate whether one
8. followed the set up instructions for the music player the music player will not play music files from the shared song folders on the information handling system Again selecting a Finish Oct 31 2002 button 354 may cause the user interface to close and the application to terminate Selecting a Back button 356 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Confirm That Music Plays screen 248 of FIG 5 0045 In regards to FIG 20 a Special Setup Instruc tions screen 358 is shown This screen 358 includes sug gestions for moving music files into a default song folder or specifying non default song folders as shared folders Selecting a Next button 360 causes the Finished screen 268 of FIG 7 to be displayed Selecting a Back button 362 causes the Other Music Folders screen 258 of FIG 6 to be displayed 0046 In FIG 21 a Confirm Cancel screen 364 is displayed to confirm the selection of the Cancel button from any of the previous screens shown in FIGS 1B through 20 Selecting a Finish button 366 causes the user interface to close and the application to terminate Selecting a Back button 368 returns to the previous screen from which the Cancel button was selected 0047 Referring now to FIGS 1A 22B a method for automatically configuring the network 106 the device 104 i e the music player 104 and the information handling system 102 will
9. or more music players are detected on the network Selection of a radio button labeled Yes 222 allows a user to indicate that the correct number of music players accessible over the network have been found Alternatively selection of a radio button labeled No 224 allows a user to indicate that the correct number of music players accessible over the network have not been found Selection of a Next button 226 with the Yes radio button 222 selected may cause a Standard Song Folders screen such as screen 230 shown in FIG 3 or a Music Player Set Up Successful screen such as screen 310 shown in FIG 13 to be displayed Alternatively selection of the Next button 226 with the No radio button 224 selected may cause a Music Player Not Found screen such as screen 292 shown in FIG 11 to be dis played Further selection of a Back button 228 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Welcome screen 212 of FIG 1B 0024 FIG 3 illustrates a Standard Song Folders screen Display of this screen 230 may cause the application of the present invention to search the information handling system for default song folders containing music files Preferably this search is performed automatically without user input or intervention The results of the search may be displayed in a list box 232 For example the search results may be displayed folder by folder as the search resu
10. the application may check whether a DHCP server exists If a DHCP server exists a Troubleshooting DHCP Server screen such as screen 316 shown in FIG 14 is displayed If a DHCP server does not exist an IP Address Required screen such as screen 322 shown in FIG 15 is displayed Selection of a Back button 298 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Music Player Found screen 220 of FIG 2 the Manual Set Up Checklist screen 286 of FIG 10 and the like 0037 In FIG 12 a Music Player Found screen 300 of the present invention is shown This screen 300 is displayed if one or more music players are detected on the network and may be utilized as a second instance of the screen 220 shown in FIG 2 A radio button labeled Yes 302 allows the user to indicate that the correct number of music players has been found A radio button labeled No 304 allows the user to indicate that the correct number of music players has not been found Selection of a Next button 306 with the Yes radio button 302 selected may cause a Music Player Setup Successful screen such as screen 310 shown in FIG 13 to be displayed Alternatively selection of the Next button 306 with the No radio button 304 selected may cause the application to check to whether a DHCP server exists If a DHCP server exists the Troubleshooting DHCP Server screen 316 of FIG 14 is displayed If a
11. 1 2002 Sheet 13 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 300 WELCOME FIE 1B YOUR NETWORK IS NOT SETUP 320 THE INSTALLATION PROGRAM WILL NOW ATTEMPT TO SETUP YOUR NETWORK AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOWING THIS SETUP YOUR PC WILL AUTOMATICALLY REBOOT FIG 8 330 NETWORK ENABLED 340 NETWORK ENABLED J THE INSTALLATION PROGRAM WAS UNABLE TO AUTOMATICALLY SETUP YOUR NETWORK FOLLOW THE CHECKLIST TO SETUP YOUR NETWORK MANUALLY FIG 10 NETWORK ENABLED MUSIC PLAYER NOT FOUND 430 SEE AT DIAGNOSTIC CHECKLIST FOR i LEAST ONE USER TO FOLLOW IN CONSULT YOUR USER S MANUAL SUPPORT FIG 14 PLAYER TROUBLESHOOTING RETRY FIG 11 X NUMBER OF MUSIC PLAVER S WERE FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK Is THIS THE CORRECT NUMBER SEE AT LEAST ONE PLAYER DHCP NOT FOUND CONSULT USER S MANUAL ON HOW TO SET UP IP ADDRESS ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER MAKE SURE IT IS CORRECT SET AND CLICK NEXT FIG 15 X NUMBER OF MUSIC PLAYER S WERE FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK Is THIS THE CORRECT NUMBER SEE AT LEAST ONE PLAYER X NUMBER OF MUSIC PLAYER S WERE FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IS THIS THE CORRECT NUMBER FIG 22A Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 14of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 CONGRATULATIONS 470 YOUR NETWORK AND X NUMBER OF MUSIC PLAYER S HAVE BEEN S
12. 104 on the network 106 the Music Player Found screen 330 shown in FIG 16 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 460 In the event that multiple music players 104 are connected to the network 106 this screen 330 confirms that the correct number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 If the correct number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 the user selects the Next button 336 with the Yes radio button 332 selected on this screen 330 of FIG 16 In response the Music Player Set Up Successful of FIG 13 and then the Standard Song Folders screen of FIG 3 are displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in steps 470 and 480 Alternatively step 470 may be omitted and the Standard Song Folders screen of FIG 3 may be displayed to the user in step 480 0058 If the software finds no music player 104 on the network 106 in step 450 the IP Address Required screen 322 shown in FIG 15 is again displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 440 Additionally if the incorrect number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 in step 460 the IP Address Required screen 322 shown in FIG 15 is again displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 440 0059 If the software verifies that the music player 104 is seen on the network 106 and the correct number of music players 10
13. 4 were found on the network 106 in steps 390 420 or 460 the Music Player Setup Successful screen 310 shown in FIG 13 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 470 The user then selects the Next button 312 on this screen 310 and the Standard Song Folders screen 230 shown in FIG 3 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 480 Alternatively step 470 may be omitted and the Standard Song Folders screen 230 of FIG 3 may be US 2002 0161865 Al displayed in step 480 After the network 106 the music player 104 and the information handling system 102 have been configured the user must set up shared song folders on the information handling system 102 to be accessed by the music player 104 The software automatically searches the information handling system 102 for song folders In one embodiment the software may search for pre designated ie default folders The screen 230 shown in FIG 3 then prompts the user to designate the found song folders as shared or not shared ie file sharing is enabled or not enabled for these folders 0060 After the user designates certain song folders as shared or not shared the user selects the Next button 236 in this screen 230 Then in step 490 the software confirms whether at least one music folder is designated as shared If not then the No Shared Folder Found screen 340 shown in FIG 17 is displayed t
14. ADDRESS MUST BE SPECIFIED MANUALLY ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER SEE YOUR USING YOUR CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER GUIDE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO CONFIGURE YOUR MUSIC PLAYER S NETWORK SETTINGS CLICK NEXT TO CONTINUE WHEN YOU HAVE SPECIFIED THE IP ADDRESS ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER MUSIC PLAYER FOUND NO MUSIC PLAYER S HAVE BEEN FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IS THIS CORRECT Je YES 33 NO 33 Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 10 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 NO SHARED FOLDER CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER FOUND BRANDING THERE ARE NO STANDARD SONG FOLDERS SHARED WITH YOUR MUSIC PLAYER AT LEAST ONE STANDARD SONG FOLDER WITH SONG FILES MUST BE SHARED WITH YOUR MUSIC PLAYER Ss 342 CLICK EITHER BACK OR NEXT TO RETURN TO THE STANDARD SONG FOLDERS SETUP SCREEN TROUBLESHOOTING SHARED FOLDERS THERE IS A PROBLEM THAT THE SET UP WIZARD CANNOT FIX TO GET TECHNICAL SUPPORT SEE TROUBLESHOOTING AND GETTING HELP IN YOUR USING YOUR CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER GUIDE FOR CONTACT INFORMATION PROBLEM AN ATTACHED MUSIC PLAYER CANNOT DISPLAY A SHARED FOLDER Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 11 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 TROUBLESHOOTING CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER MUSIC PLAYBACK BRANDING THERE IS A PROBLEM THAT THE SETUP WIZARD CANNOT FIX TO GET TECHNICAL SUPPORT SEE TROUBLESHOOTING AND GETTING HELP IN YOUR USING YOUR CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER GUIDE
15. DHCP server does not exist the IP Address Required screen 322 of FIG 15 is displayed Selection of a Back button 308 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Music Player Not Found screen of FIG 11 0038 FIG 13 shows a Music Player Set Up Successful screen 310 of the present invention This screen 310 may be displayed after the application has confirmed that the net work has been set up and the correct number of music players have been found Selection of a Next button 312 may cause the Standard Song Folders screen 230 of FIG 3 to be displayed Selection of a Back button 314 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Music Player Found screen 220 of FIG 2 the Music Player Found screen 300 of FIG 12 or the like 0039 In FIG 14 a Troubleshooting DHCP Server screen 316 of the present invention is shown This screen US 2002 0161865 Al 316 is displayed if the network is properly set up the user has verified that the music player s is properly powered on and the application finds a DHCP server but the application is still not able to find the music player s on the network The screen 316 may provide instructions 318 to consult a user s manual for more information on troubleshooting the problem Selecting a Finish button 320 may cause the user interface to close and the application to terminate Selecting a Back button 321
16. FOR CONTACT INFORMATION PROBLEM AN ATTACHED MUSIC PLAYER CANNOT PLAY A SONG IN A SHARED FOLDER CANCEL 356 354 FIG 19 352 SPECIAL SETUP CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS BRANOING FOR BEST PERFORMANCE OF YOUR MUSIC PLAYER MOVE YOUR OTHER SONG FOLDERS INTO ONE OF THE STANDARD SHARED SONG FOLDERS YOU MAY DO THAT AFTER YOU FINISH WITH THIS SETUP PROGRAM NOTE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO MOVE YOUR SONG FOLDERS YOU WILL NEED TO SHARE THESE FOLDERS AND THEN DO THE FOLLOWING ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER SO THAT IT CAN FIND THEM 1 PRESS THE OPTIONS BUTTON AND USE THE CONTROL KNOB TO SELECT THE SEARCH WHOLE SHARE OPTION 2 USE THE CONTROL KNOB TO SELECT THE YES OPTION 3 PRESS THE OPTIONS BUTTON TO EXIT THE OPTIONS MENU ACCESS TIME WILL BE MUCH LONGER FOR SONGS THAT ARE NOT IN A STANDARD SHARED SONG FOLDER SEE YOUR USING YOUR CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER GUIDE FOR MORE INFORMATION CANCEL Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 12 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER CONFIRM CANCEL BRANDING THE MUSIC PLAYER SETUP IS NOT COMPLETE TO CONFIRM THAT YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE SETUP CLICK FINISH TO CONTINUE WITH THE SETUP CLICK BACK NOTE IF YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED PROBLEMS WITH THE SETUP SEE THE TROUBLE SHOOTING SECTION OF YOUR USING YOUR CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER GUIDE FOR ASSISTANCE FINISH CANCEL FIG 21 Patent Application Publication Oct 3
17. NT POWER BUTTON ALSO IF YOU SPECIFIED THE IP ADDRESS ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYERS MAKE SURE THAT SETTING IS CORRECT CLICK NEXT TO SEARCH AGAIN FOR THE MUSIC PLAYER ON YOUR NETWORK MUSIC PLAYER FOUND NO MUSIC PLAYER S HAVE BEEN FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IS THIS CORRECT Je YES 30 aal 3 Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 8 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 318 MUSIC PLAYER CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER SET UP SUCCESSFUL BRANOING CONGRATULATIONS YOUR MUSIC PLAYER CONNECTION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY SET UP CLICK NEXT TO SHARE SONG FOLDERS WITH YOUR MUSIC PLAYER CANCEL 314 312 FIG 13 310 TROUBLESHOOTING CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER DHCP SERVER BRANDING THERE IS A PROBLEM THAT THE SET UP WIZARD CANNOT FIX TO GET TECHNICAL SUPPORT SEE TROUBLESHOOTING AND GETTING HELP IN YOUR USING YOUR CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER GUIDE FOR CONTACT INFORMATION PROBLEM THE NETWORK IS ENABLED THE MUSIC PLAYERS ARE POWERED ON AT BOTH THE REAR POWER SWITCH AND THE FRONT POWER BUTTON A DHCP SERVER EXISTS BUT ONE OR MORE MUSIC PLAYERS CANNOT BE FOUND BACK FINISH CANCEL Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 9 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER BRANDING A DHCP SERVER WAS NOT FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IF YOU DO HAVE A DHCP SERVER TURN IT ON AND RESTART THIS SET UP PROGRAM IP ADDRESS REQUIRED IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A DHCP SERVER AN IP
18. R CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER GUIDE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO INSTALL MUSICMATCH YOUR NETWORK DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE SET UP PROPERLY CLICK NEXT TO AUTOMATICALLY SET UP YOUR NETWORK AFTER YOUR NETWORK IS SET UP YOUR COMPUTER WILL RESTART AND THEN THIS INSTALLATION PROGRAM WILL RESUME AUTOMATICALLY Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 6 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 NETWORK SET UP CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER PROGRESS BRANDING THE NETWORK IS BEING SET UP PLEASE WAIT MANUAL SET UP CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER CHECKLIST BRANOING YOUR NETWORK COULD NOT BE SET UP AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW TO TURN ON FILE SHARING IN WINDOWS 2000 RIGHT CLICK ON MY NETWORK PLACES ON YOUR WINDOWS DESKTOP THEN SELECT PROPERTIES RIGHT CLICK LOCAL AREA CONNECTION THEN SELECT PROPERTIES SELECT CHECK FILE AND PRINTER SHARING FOR MICROSOFT NETWORKS THEN CLICK OK IF YOU DO NOT SEE THIS ITEM CLICK INSTALL TO INSTALL IT CLICK NEXT TO CONTINUE WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE ABOVE STEPS CANCEL 286 FIG 10 Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 7 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 MUSIC PLAYER NOT CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER FOUND BRANDING A MUSIC PLAYER WAS NOT FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK MAKE SURE THAT YOUR MUSIC PLAYERS ARE 1 PLUGGED INTO A POWER OUTLET 2 CONNECTED TO YOUR NETWORK 3 POWERED ON AT BOTH THE REAR POWER SWITCH AND THE FRO
19. SETUP PROGRAM THIS PROGRAM HELPS YOU SETUP YOUR SYSTEM SO THAT YOUR MUSIC PLAYER CAN PLAY SONG FILES STORED ON YOUR COMPUTER IT ALSO HELPS YOU MANAGE THE SONG FOLDERS THAT ARE SHARED WITH THE MUSIC PLAYER TIPS 1 MAKE SURE THAT YOUR MUSIC PLAYERS STEREO SYSTEM AND COMPUTERS ARE ALL CONNECTED AND TURNED ON 2 THE SETUP PROCESS WILL CHANGE YOUR NETWORK SETTINGS AND CONFIGURATIONS SO WRITE THESE DOWN IN CASE A RESET IS REQUIRED WECOME CLICK CANCEL AT ANY TIME TO EXIT W MUSIC PLAYER S HAVE BEEN FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IS THIS CORRECT YES NO Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 3 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 STANDARD SONG FOLDERS BRANDING STANDARD SONG FOLDERS C My Documents My Music address C Program Files MusicMatch Music address SHARED FOLDERS ARE MARKED ABOVE WITH ICON FOLDERS THAT ARE NOT SHARED ARE MARKED ABOVE WITH ICON AT LEAST ONE OF THE LISTED FOLDERS SHOULD BE SHARED FOR BEST MUSIC PLAYER PERFORMANCE TO SHARE A FOLDER NOT SHARED SELECT THE FOLDER AND THEN CLICK SHARED TO NOT SHARE A FOLDER SHARED SELECT THE FOLDER AND THEN CLICK NOT SHARED BACK NEXT CANCEL 237 236 FIG 3 CONFIRM FOLDERS CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER DISPLAYED BY MUSIC PLAYER BRANDING CONFIRM THAT YOUR MUSIC PLAYER DISPLAYS SONG TITLES FROM THE SHARED SONG FOLDERS ON THIS COMPUTER ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER DO THE FOLLOWING 238 I PRESS THE OPTIONS
20. UCCESSFULLY SET UP NEXT YO WILL SET UP YOUR FILE SHARES FIG 13 MUSIC FOLDER LIST STANDARD FOLDERS SHARE NOT SHARE FIG 3 IN ORDER TO PLAY 500 MUSIC ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER WITH THIS PC YOU MUST SHARE AT LEAST ONE FOLDER FIG 17 IS AT LEAST ONE FOLDER SHARED CONSULT USER S GUIDE TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKLIST FIG 18 CONFIRM DISPLAY OF SHARED FOLDERS INSTRUCT USER TO PLAY A SAMPLE FILE ON THE MUSIC PLAYER AND CONFIRM THAT IT PLAYED DID THE MUSIC PLAY 530 540 CONSULT USER S GUIDE TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKLIST FIi 18 END 560 DO YOU HAVE MUSIC IN OTHER FOLDERS ON THI COMPUTER FINISH FOR FUTURE DOWNLOADS OF MUSIC BE SURE TO PLACE IT IN ONE OF THE STANDARD FOLDERS SHARED WITH THE MUSIC PLAYER INSTALL MM FIE 7 FOR BEST PERFORMANCE MOVE FILES IF YOU DO NO MOVE THEM FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO SEARCH WHOLE SHARE ON MUSIC PLAYER FIG 20 570 FIG 228 US 2002 0161865 Al AUTOMATED NETWORK CONFIGURATION OF CONNECTED DEVICE RELATED APPLICATIONS 0001 The present application claims the benefit under 35 U S C 11 e of U S Provisional Application Serial No 60 286 592 filed Apr 25 2001 FIELD OF THE INVENTION 0002 The present invention generally relates to the field of networks and more specifically to a method and a system of automatically config
21. US 20020161865A1 as United States a Patent Application Publication co Pub No US 2002 0161865 Al Nguyen 43 Pub Date Oct 31 2002 54 75 73 21 22 60 51 AUTOMATED NETWORK CONFIGURATION OF CONNECTED DEVICE Brian G Nguyen Garden Grove CA US Inventor Correspondence Address GATEWAY INC 14303 GATEWAY PLACE ATTENTION MARK S WALKER MAIL DROP SD 21 POWAY CA 92064 US Assignee Gateway Inc Appl No 10 041 363 Filed Jan 8 2002 Related U S Application Data Provisional application No 60 286 592 filed on Apr 25 2001 Publication Classification ineen GO6F 15 177 GO6F 17 00 WELCOME YOUR NETWORK IS NOT SETUP THE INSTALLATION PROGRAM WILL NOW ATTEMPT TO SETUP YOUR NETWORK AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOWING THIS SETUP YOUR PC WILL AUTOMATICALLY REBOOT 52 US O annen 709 220 700 94 57 ABSTRACT The present invention is directed to a method and a system of automatically configuring a network a device connected to the network and an information handling system con nected to the device through the network so that the device is able to access shared data on the information handling system For example a device such as a music player is able to access shared music files stored on the information handling system through the network and then play such files on speakers or a stereo system attached to the music player The configuration method ma
22. believed that the network configuration for connected devices of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description It is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing US 2002 0161865 Al from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages the form herein before described being merely an explanatory embodiment thereof It is the intention of the following claims to encom pass and include such changes What is claimed is 1 A music system comprising an information handling system coupled to a local area network the information handling system including a first set of instructions providing a graphical user interface and a music player coupled to and capable of accessing shared data on the information handling system through the local area network the music player including a second set of non interactive instructions wherein the first set of instructions is capable of sending network settings from the information handling system to the music player automatically detecting the music player by the information handling system through the network automatically searching for music data on the information handling system and sharing at least a portion of the music data on the information handling system with the music pla
23. diment of the present invention and 0011 FIGS 22A and 22B are flow diagrams depicting a method for automatically configuring the network the device connected to the network and the information han dling system connected to the device through the network shown in FIG 1A in accordance with an exemplary embodi ment of the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 0012 Reference will now be made in detail to the pres ently preferred embodiments of the invention examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings 0013 Referring generally to FIGS 1A through 22B exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown An information handling system such as a personal com puter convergence system information appliance and the like may be connected to a thin device such as a music player video player or the like through a network such as a home network local area network LAN or the like The device generally does not have internal storage like that of a typical computer and thus accesses data such as music video and the like on the information handling system through the network Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method and a system for automatically configuring the network the device and the information handling system so that the device is able to access such data on the information handling system For example the music US 2002 0161865 Al player
24. e executed by the infor mation handling system 102 Portions or steps of the con figuration method may also be implemented as software or firmware running on the device 104 which operates in conjunction with the instructions or software executed by the information handling system 102 The set of instructions or software on the information handling system 102 and or the device 104 may configure the information handling system 102 and the device 104 to enable the exchange of data using known network protocols pre built into an oper Oct 31 2002 ating system installed on the information handling system 102 such as the SMB protocol and the like 0017 The set of instructions or software executed by the information handling system 102 is preferably implemented in a wizard format which guides the user through a single path in a flowchart of possible situations as shown in FIGS 22A amp 22B The figures denoted in FIGS 22A amp 22B refer to the screens of the graphical user interface shown in FIGS 1B 21 which may be displayed to a user by the configura tion instructions or software executed by the information handling system 102 0018 In order to setup the network 106 the device 104 i e the music player and the information handling system 102 to utilize the device 104 i e to access the music files on the information handling system 102 through the network 106 and play the music files on the attached speakers or stereo sy
25. he Music Player Setup Successful screen 310 of FIG 13 to be displayed Selecting the Next button 336 with the No radio button 334 selected may cause the IP Address Required screen 322 of FIG 15 to be redisplayed Likewise selecting a Back button 338 may cause the IP Address Required screen 322 of FIG 15 to be redisplayed 0042 Regarding FIG 17 a No Shared Folder Found screen 340 of the present invention is shown This screen 340 may be displayed if the user has failed to share any song folders on the information handling system Selecting a Next button 344 may cause the Standard Song folders screen 230 of FIG 3 to be redisplayed Likewise selecting a Back button 345 may cause the Standard Song Folders screen 230 of FIG 3 to be redisplayed 0043 In FIG 18 a Troubleshooting Shared Folders screen 346 is displayed This screen 346 is displayed if the user indicates that having followed the set up instructions for the music player no shared folders were found Selecting a Finish button 348 may cause the user interface to close and the application to terminate Selecting a Back button 350 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Confirm Folders Found screen 238 of FIG 4 0044 FIG 19 shows a Troubleshooting Music Play back screen 352 of the present invention This screen 352 is displayed if the user indicates that having
26. ike In yet another aspect of the present invention portions or steps of the configuration method may also be implemented as software or firmware executed by the music player which operates in a non interactive format such as a hidden daemon or the like The software or firmware on the music player may operate in conjunction with the instructions or software executed by the information handling system 0007 It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed The accompanying drawings which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the general description serve to explain the principles of the invention BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0008 The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which 0009 FIG 1A illustrates an information handling system connected to a device through a network in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention 0010 FIGS 1B 21 illustrate screens of a graphical user interface for automatically configuring a network a device connected to the network and an information handling system connected to the device through the network in accordance with an exemplary embo
27. is able to access music files stored on the information handling system through the network and then play such files on speakers or a stereo system attached to the music player 0014 Referring now to FIG 1A an exemplary embodi ment 100 of the present invention is shown wherein an information handling system 102 is connected to a device 104 through a network 106 The information handling system 102 may be a typical desktop computer mobile computer personal digital assistant convergence system digital information appliance Internet appliance or the like and the device 104 may be a music player video player or the like as contemplated by a person of ordinary skill in the art The information handling system 102 is connected to the device 104 through the network 106 which may be a home network a local area network LAN wireless network or the like Although one information handling system 102 and one device 104 are shown in FIG 1A those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of information handling systems and devices may be included in the network 106 without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention 0015 In the illustrated embodiment the device 104 is a music player 104 such as the Gateway Connected Music Player and is connected to the information handling system 102 through a home network 106 Music files are stored on the information handling system 102 such as MP3 files and the like
28. lts are found which may also indicate the progress of the search Alternatively all of the search results may be displayed only after the search has completed The screen 230 may not accept user input until the search has completed Addition ally if no default song folder is found as a result of the search a default song folder may be created such as C My Documents My Music The list box 232 includes default song folders that the application has either found or created Oct 31 2002 on the information handling system and may include any number of song folders as desired by a person of ordinary skill in the art Information about each song folder may include the following either a shared or not shared icon next to the folder name folder location number of music files contained in the folder disk space consumed by the music files in the folder shared folder name and the like 0025 Selecting a folder that is currently shared and then selecting a Not Shared button 234 may cause the selected folder to be marked as not shared Likewise selecting a folder that is currently not shared and then selecting a Shared button 235 may cause the selected folder to be marked as shared 0026 Selection of a Next button 236 may cause the application of the present invention to confirm that at least one folder has been shared If at least one folder is shared a Confirm Folders Displayed by Music Player
29. may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as Music Player Not Found screen 292 of FIG 11 the Music Player Found screen 300 of FIG 12 or the like 0040 FIG 15 illustrates an IP Address Required screen 322 This screen 322 is displayed if the application fails to find a DHCP server The sereen 322 may provide instructions 324 to consult a user manual for information about setting an IP address on the music player Alterna tively a wizard may be provided to supply suggestions Selecting a Next button 326 may cause the application to look for attached music players If at least one music player is found a Music Player Found screen such as screen 330 shown FIG 16 is displayed If no music player is found then the IP Address Required screen of FIG 15 is redisplayed Selecting a Back button 328 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Music Player Found screen 300 of FIG 12 the Music Player Not Found screen 292 of FIG 11 or the like 0041 In FIG 16 a Music Player Found screen 330 of the present invention is shown A radio button labeled Yes 332 allows the user to indicate that the correct number of music players have been found A radio button labeled No 334 allows the user to indicate that the correct number of music players have not been found Selecting a Next button 336 with the Yes radio button 332 selected may cause t
30. n 250 selected and the Troubleshooting Music Playback screen 352 shown in FIG 19 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 540 If the user selects the Finish button 354 the user interface closes and the soft ware terminates execution 0063 Otherwise if the song plays the user selects the Next button 254 with the Yes radio button selected 250 and the Other Song Folders screen 258 shown in FIG 6 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 550 This screen 258 checks whether the user has music files in other song folders on the information handling system 102 If the user has music files in other song folders the user selects the Next button 264 with the Yes radio button 260 selected and the Special Setup Instructions screen 358 shown in FIG 20 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 570 This screen 358 instructs the user either to move the music files into the song folders already designated as shared or alternatively to allow any song folder on the information handling system 102 designated as shared to be searched for music files Oct 31 2002 Otherwise if the user does not have music files in other song folders the user selects the Next button 264 with the No radio button selected 262 and the Finished screen 268 shown in FIG 7 is displayed to the user on the information
31. network 14 The method as described in claim 12 further com prising the step of enabling file sharing on the information handling system 15 The method as described in claim 12 wherein the configuring step includes providing an IP address from the information handling system to the music player 16 The method as described in claim 12 further com prising the steps of creating a first user profile and a second user profile enabling access by the first user profile to one or more music folders on the information handling system and limiting access by the second user profile to at least one of the music folders on the information handling sys tem accessible by the first user profile US 2002 0161865 Al 17 The method as described in claim 12 further com prising the steps of accessing a music file in the shared music folder on the information handling system by the music player through the network and outputting the music file on an audio system coupled to the music player 18 The method as described in claim 12 wherein the method is accomplished utilizing instructions executed by the information handling system 19 The method as described in claim 18 wherein the method is further accomplished utilizing instructions executed by the music player in conjunction with the instructions executed by the information handling system 20 A storage medium readable by an information han dling system and having instructi
32. ng system 102 in step 380 The Music Player Not Found screen 292 shown in FIG 11 may provide the user with troubleshooting tips 0053 After troubleshooting the problem with the music players 104 the user selects the Next button 296 on this screen 292 of FIG 11 and the software again verifies whether the music player 104 is accessible over the network 106 in step 400 If the software finds at least one music player 104 on the network 106 the Music Player Found screen 300 shown in FIG 12 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 420 In the event that multiple music players 104 are connected to the network 106 this screen 300 confirms that the correct number of music players 104 was found on the network 106 If the correct number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 the user selects the Next button 306 with the Yes radio button 302 selected on this screen 300 of FIG 12 In response the Music Player Set Up Successful of FIG 13 and then the Standard Song Folders screen of FIG 3 are displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in steps 470 and 480 Alternatively step 470 may be omitted and the Standard Song Folders screen of FIG 3 may be displayed to the user in step 480 0054 If the software finds no music player 104 on the network 106 in step 400 the software then checks for the Oct 31 2002 existence of a DHCP serve
33. o the user on the information handling system 102 in step 500 0061 Otherwise if at least one song folder is shared the software inserts one or more sample music files in one of the shared song folders The Confirm Folders Displayed by Music Player screen 238 shown in FIG 4 is then displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 510 This screen 238 confirms that song titles from the shared song folders on the information handling system 102 are displayed on the music player 104 If the song titles are not displayed the user selects the Next button 244 with the No radio button 242 selected and the Troubleshoot ing Shared Folders screen 346 shown in FIG 18 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 520 If the user selects the Finish button 348 on this screen 346 of FIG 18 the user interface closes and the software terminates execution 0062 Otherwise if the song titles are displayed the user selects the Next button 244 with the Yes radio button 240 selected and the Confirm That Music Plays screen 248 shown in FIG 5 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 530 This screen 248 allows the user to select and play a song from one of the shared song folders such as the sample music file or another music file If the song does not play the user selects the Next button 254 with the No radio butto
34. onal computer memory card for utilization in a personal computer card slot Further the set of instructions may be stored in the memory of another information handling system and transmitted over a local area network or a wide area network such as the Internet when desired by the user Additionally the set of instructions may be transmitted over a network in the form of an applet that is interpreted or compiled after transmission to the information handling system 102 rather than prior to transmission One skilled in the art would appreciate that the physical storage of the set of instructions or applet physi cally changes the medium upon which it is stored electri cally magnetically chemically physically optically or holo graphically so that the medium carries computer readable information 0066 In exemplary embodiments the method disclosed may be implemented as a set of instructions or software readable by an information handling system Further it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed are examples of exemplary approaches Based upon design preferences it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the method can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present invention The accompanying method claims present ele ments of the various steps in a sample order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented 0067 It is
35. ons encoded thereon for causing the information handling system to perform in a music system comprising the information handling system Oct 31 2002 communicatively coupled to a network and a music player communicatively coupled to and capable of accessing shared data on the information handling system through the network a method for configuring the music system com prising the steps of configuring the music player for accessing the informa tion handling system through the network automatically detecting the music player by the informa tion handling system through the network automatically searching for one or more music folders on the information handling system and specifying at least one of the music folders on the infor mation handling system as shared data accessible by the music player through the network
36. ontent which may be accessible by a second user such as a parent 0020 The configuration software or firmware on the music player 104 is preferably implemented in a non interactive format such as a hidden daemon or the like This daemon on the music player 104 may accept commands from the wizard on the information handling system 102 via the network 106 and perform the appropriate configurations on the music player 104 Thus the user is relieved of the burden of utilizing the often unfriendly controls and small display on the music player 104 As part of the configuration process the configuration software or firmware on the music player 104 may perform the following tasks accept an IP address from the wizard on the information handling system 102 for example via User Datagram Protocol UDP or the like and or automatically configure its own IP address restart a network search for music folders on the information handling system 102 after the wizard on the information handling system 102 shares the music folders send diag nostic results to the information handling system 102 and configure other options on the music player 104 e g volume and the like US 2002 0161865 Al 0021 Referring now to FIGS 1B through 21 features of the present invention will be discussed in relation to exemplary display screens of the present invention A user interface may include a variety of features to provide inter connectivity among various
37. play one of the music files in the shared song folders A radio button labeled Yes 250 allows the user to indicate that music played while a radio button labeled No 252 allows the user to indicate that music did not play 0029 Selection of a Next button 254 with the No radio button 252 selected may cause a Troubleshooting Music Playback screen such as screen 352 shown in FIG 19 to be displayed Alternatively selection of the Next button 254 with the Yes radio button 250 selected may cause a Other Song Folders screen such as screen 258 shown in FIG 6 to be displayed Selection of a Back button 256 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Confirm Folders Displayed by Music Player screen 238 of FIG 4 0030 In FIG 6 a depiction of an Other Song Folders screen 258 of the present invention is shown A radio button labeled Yes 260 allows a user to indicate that there are music files in a song folder other than the default song US 2002 0161865 Al folders A radio button labeled No 262 allows the user to indicate that there are no other music files in song folders other than the default song folders 0031 Selection of a Next button 264 with the No radio button 262 selected may cause a Finished screen such as screen 268 shown in FIG 7 to be displayed Alternatively selection of the Next button 264 with the Yes
38. player 104 on the network 106 the Music Player Found screen 220 shown in FIG 2 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 390 In the event that multiple music players 104 are connected to the network 106 this screen 220 confirms that the correct number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 If the correct number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 the user selects the Next button 226 with the Yes radio button 222 selected on this screen 220 of FIG 2 In response the Music Player Set Up Successful of FIG 13 and then the Standard Song Folders screen of FIG 3 are displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in steps 470 and 480 Alternatively step 470 may be omitted and the Standard Song Folders screen of FIG 3 may be displayed to the user in step 480 0052 If the software does not find an accessible music player 104 on the network 106 in step 370 the Music Player Not Found screen 292 shown in FIG 11 may be displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 380 Additionally if the incorrect number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 in step 390 the user selects the Next button 226 with the No radio button 224 selected on this screen 220 of FIG 2 and in response the Music Player Not Found screen 292 shown in FIG 11 is displayed to the user on the information handli
39. r on the network 106 in step 410 Additionally if the incorrect number of music players 104 were found on the network 106 in step 420 the software then checks for the existence of a DHCP server on the network 106 in step 410 0055 If a DHCP server is detected in step 410 then the Troubleshooting DHCP Server screen 316 shown in FIG 14 may be displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 430 This screen 316 may provide instructions 318 to consult a user s manual for more infor mation on troubleshooting the problem If the user selects the Finish button 320 the user interface closes and the software terminates execution 0056 Alternatively if a DHCP server is not detected the IP Address Required screen 322 shown in FIG 15 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 440 The software prompts the user to set a recommended static IP address on the music player 104 and then provide the information handling system 102 with a compatible IP address The software on the information handling system 102 may also provide ie push the recommended static IP address to the device 104 and the software or firmware on the device 104 may then set its IP address 0057 After the IP address is set on the music player 104 the software again verifies whether the music player 104 is accessible utilizing the network 106 in step 450 If the software finds at least one music player
40. screen such as screen 238 shown in FIG 4 may be displayed Alternatively if at least one folder is not shared a No Shared Folder Found screen such as screen 340 shown in FIG 17 may be displayed Further selection of a Back button 237 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Music Player Found screen 220 of FIG 2 the Music Player Set Up Successful screen 310 of FIG 13 or the like 0027 FIG 4 shows a Confirm Folders Displayed by Music Player screen Selection of a radio button labeled Yes 240 may allow a user to indicate that song folders were found Alternatively selection of a radio button labeled No 242 may allow a user to indicate that song folders were not found Additionally selection of a Next button 244 with the No radio button 242 selected may cause a Troubleshooting Shared Folders screen such as screen 346 shown in FIG 18 to be displayed Further selection of the Next button 244 with the Yes radio button 240 selected may cause a Confirm That Music Plays screen such as screen 248 shown in FIG 5 to be displayed Selection of a Back button 246 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Standard Song fold ers screen 230 of FIG 3 0028 FIG 5 illustrates a Confirm That Music Plays screen 248 of the present invention This screen 248 enables a user to confirm that a music player is able to
41. screen 274 of FIG 8 the Network Set Up Progress screen 280 shown in FIG 9 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 at step 330 If TCP IP is not configured the software configures the infor mation handling system 102 to support communications with the network 106 Also if file sharing is not enabled the software enables file sharing on the information handling system 102 Then in step 340 the software again checks whether the network 106 is enabled If the network 106 is still not enabled then the Manual Set Up Checklist screen 286 shown in FIG 10 is displayed to the user on the information handling system 102 in step 350 After the user manually sets up the network 106 the user selects the US 2002 0161865 Al Next button 288 on this screen 286 of FIG 10 and in response the software again checks whether the network 106 is enabled in step 360 0050 If the software confirms that the network 106 is enabled in step 310 340 or 360 the software then detects the existence of a DHCP server on the network 106 and verifies whether the music player 104 can be seen on the network 106 in step 370 The software scans the network 106 and identifies each device on the network 106 based on the MAC address of the device For instance if the MAC address begins with 00 04 32 xx xx xx the device may be considered and identified as the music player 104 0051 If the software finds at least one music
42. stem 108 the configuration instructions or soft ware executed by the information handling system 102 may perform the following tasks install and or configure the information handling system 102 for communications with the network 106 install and or configure a TCP IP stack on the information handling system 102 install and or enable file sharing on the information handling system 102 detect a DHCP server on the network 106 for assignment of IP addresses to the information handling system 102 and the device 104 i e the music player detect the music player 104 search for and enable file sharing of music folders on the information handling system 102 and insert a sample music file on the information handling system 102 to verify the success of the entire configuration process 0019 In addition on secured operating systems such as Windows NT Windows 2000 and like secured operating systems the configuration instructions or software executed by the information handling system 102 may also create a user account with appropriate access rights grant permis sions to each music folder on the information handling system 102 and grant permissions to each shared music folder on the information handling system 102 For example it may be preferable to limit access rights depending on a user profile on the information handling system 102 so that a first user of the information handling system 102 such as a child is unable to access certain c
43. ta on the information handling system through the network the music player suitable for processing music data in a digital format wherein the program of instructions is capable of config uring the music player for accessing the information handling system through the network automatically detecting the music player by the information handling system through the network automatically searching for one or music folders on the information handling system and specifying at least one of the music folders Oct 31 2002 on the information handling system as shared data accessible by the music player through the network 7 The music system as described in claim 6 wherein configuring the music player for accessing the information handling system through the network includes providing an IP address from the information handling system to the music player 8 The music system as described in claim 6 wherein the program of instructions is further capable of creating a first user profile and a second user profile enabling access by the first user profile to one or more music folders on the information handling system and limiting access by the second user profile to at least one of the music folders on the information handling system accessible by the first user profile 9 The music system as described in claim 6 wherein the music player is further capable of accessing a music file in the shared music folder on the information handling sys
44. ted to the network and an information handling system connected to the device through the net work so that the device is able to access shared data on the information handling system For example a device such as a music player is able to access shared music files stored on the information handling system through the network and then play such files on speakers or a stereo system attached to the music player 0005 In one aspect of the present invention a music system includes an information handling system communi catively coupled to a network and a music player commu nicatively coupled to and capable of accessing shared data on the information handling system through the network A method for configuring the music system includes the steps of configuring the music player for accessing the informa tion handling system through the network automatically detecting the music player by the information handling system through the network automatically searching for one or more music folders on the information handling system and specifying at least one of the music folders on the information handling system as shared data accessible by the music player through the network Oct 31 2002 0006 In another aspect of the present invention the configuration method may be implemented as a set of instructions or software executed by the information han dling system which provides a graphical user interface such as a setup wizard or the l
45. tem through the local area network and outputting the music file on an audio system coupled to the music player 10 The music system as described in claim 9 wherein the music player is further capable of converting the music file from a first digital format suitable for output by the infor mation handling system to a second analog format suitable for output by the audio system coupled to the music player 11 The music system as described in claim 6 wherein the program of instructions is executed from a storage medium by the information handling system 12 In a music system comprising an information handling system communicatively coupled to a network and a music player communicatively coupled to and capable of accessing shared data on the information handling system through the network a method for configuring the music system com prising the steps of configuring the music player for accessing the informa tion handling system through the network automatically detecting the music player by the informa tion handling system through the network automatically searching for one or more music folders on the information handling system and specifying at least one of the music folders on the infor mation handling system as shared data accessible by the music player through the network 13 The method as described in claim 12 further com prising the step of configuring the information handling system for communications with the
46. uring the network a device con nected to the network and an information handling system connected to the device through the network BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0003 A network such as a home network or a local area network LAN generally includes one or more information handling systems such as a typical desktop computer mobile computer Internet appliance and the like The network may also include thin devices such as a music player e g Gateway Connected Music Player or a video player Thin devices usually do not have internal storage like that of a typical computer and thus will rely on the network to access data such as music video and the like from the computers on the network However setting up such a network is overly complicated for most users especially ordinary users of a home network considering the plethora of possible operating system and network configuration combinations The normal setup process requires the user to read the user guide and manually configure the network the device s and the computer s Such a setup process is overly complicated and thus limits consumer desire to purchase and utilize such thin devices SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0004 Accordingly the present invention is directed to a method and a system for automated configuration of con nected devices The invention provides for instance a method and a system of automatically configuring a net work a device connec
47. utomatically set up the network and may provide instructions for guiding the user through a manual setup of the network Once the manual setup is completed the user may select a Next button 288 to cause the application to check again if the network is set Oct 31 2002 up If the network is set up the application may then search for at least one attached music player and if at least one music player is found then the Music Player Found screen 220 of FIG 2 is displayed Alternatively if the network is set up and at least one music player is not found the Music Player Not Found screen 292 of FIG 11 is displayed Selection of a Back button 290 may cause a previous screen to be redisplayed such as the Network Not Set Up screen 274 of FIG 8 0036 FIG 11 illustrates a Music Player Not Found screen 292 of the present invention This screen 292 may be displayed if no music players are found on the network the user indicates that not enough music players were found on the network and the like The screen 292 may provide instructions 294 to guide the user in troubleshooting the failure of the application to locate the music player By selecting a Next button 296 the application will again search again for a music player If one or more music players are found a Music Player Found screen such as screen 300 shown in FIG 12 may be displayed Alternatively if no music player is found then
48. y be implemented as a set of instructions or software executed by the information handling system which provides a graphical user interface such as a setup wizard Portions of the configuration method may also be implemented as software or firmware executed by the music player which operates in a non interactive format such as a hidden daemon THE INSTALLATION PROGRAM WAS UNABLE TO AUTOMATICALLY SETUP YOUR NETWORK FOLLOW THE CHECKLIST TO SETUP YOUR NETWORK MANUALLY 360 NETWORK SEE AT LEAST ONE PLAYER X NUMBER OF MUSIC PLAYER S WERE FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IS THIS THE CORRECT NUMBER MUSIC PLAYER NOT FOUND DIAGNOSTIC CHECKLIST FOR USER TO FOLLOW IN TROUBLESHOOTING X NUMBER OF MUSIC PLAYER S WERE FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IS THIS THE CORRECT NUMBER ENABLED 380 130 CONSULT YOUR USER S MANUAL CONSULT USER S MANUAL ON HOW TO SET UP IP ADDRESS ON YOUR MUSIC PLAYER MAKE SURE IT IS CORRECT SET AND CLICK NEXT X NUMBER OF MUSIC PLAYER S WERE FOUND ON YOUR NETWORK IS THIS THE CORRECT NUMBER Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 1 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 100 102 106 i AA Bua gt una Nye val FIG 1A Patent Application Publication Oct 31 2002 Sheet 2 of 14 US 2002 0161865 A1 CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER BRANDING WELCOME TO THE CONNECTED MUSIC PLAYER
49. yer through the local area network and wherein the second set of instructions is capable of accepting network settings from the infor mation handling system 2 The music system as described in claim 1 wherein the network settings include an IP address for the music player 3 The music system as described in claim 1 wherein the first set of instructions is further capable of creating a first user profile and a second user profile enabling access by the first user profile to one or more music folders on the information handling system and limiting access by the second user profile to at least one of the music folders on the information handling system accessible by the first user profile 4 The music system as described in claim 1 wherein the music player is further capable of outputting the shared music data on the information handling system via an audio system coupled to the music player 5 The music system as described in claim 4 wherein the music player is further capable of converting the shared music data from a first digital format suitable for output by the information handling system to a second analog format suitable for output by the audio system coupled to the music player 6 A music system comprising an information handling system communicatively coupled to a network the information handling system having a program of instructions and a music player communicatively coupled to and capable of accessing shared da
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